Oil Painting Links

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Title of articles

Use the following question format for creating the titles for your articles:
How to…
What are…

Use initial capital for first word, and lowercase for all other words.

Subject matter for articles

To come up with ideas for articles, do a search on these topics. You can also take a look at the oil painting section of general knowledge websites such as wannalearn dot com or wikipedia, , or about dot com
learn oil painting
oil painting techniques
how to oil paint
oil painting lessons
oil painting instruction
learn oil painting
painting with oils
oil painting how to
oil painting
oil paints
oil painting tips

Use of keywords and keyword phrases

Each article should be relevant to one keyword or one keyword phrase. An example of a keyword is: “canvas”. An example of a keyword phrase is “acrylic paints”. Follow these guidelines:

• repeat the keyword or keyword phrase several times in the article
• look at the ads that automatically appear at the end of the article when you publish it. They should be relevant to the content of the article. If they are not relevant to the content of the article, try adding more text related to the topic of the article, and repeating the keyword or keyword phrase a few more times.

Length and quality

The length and quality should be similar to:

• paintinglinks.com/plein-air/what-equipment-do-i-need-for-plein-air-painting.htm

or to

• paintinglinks.com/plein-air/a-comparison-of-pochade-boxes.htm

The article should be divided into between 5 and 9 paragraphs. Label each paragraph with an h2 heading that describes what people will find in the paragraph.

Excerpt

Write a short two or three line excerpt in the box above. This excerpt will appear in the index, and will also appear at the top of the article when it is published. Example:

Water soluble oil paints offer an alternative to traditional oil paints that can solve problems for artists who are allergic to paint thinners. This article describes what water soluble oil paints are, and how to use them, to help you decide if they are for you.

Html tags to use

Use the following tags:

• h2 for section headings. The heading should describe what information is in the paragraph
• use ul for lists in which the order does not matter. You can click on the ul quicktag above.
• use ol for lists in which the order does matter. You can click on the ol quicktag above.

Graphics

Use a graphic if it will help the article. If you get a graphic from a website, check the source for any restrictions on use. You may only use it if the owner says it is okay to use the graphic for educational purposes.

This is how to link a graphic from the gallery: (right click the image to find the url - do not use the url in the address bar. Remove the session id from the end of the url link. The session id starts with ?gid.)

Writing style

A few things to keep in mind:

• Do not inlcude your own opinions unless you are an expert in your field. If you are quoting an expert, provide the source.
• Write in the third person unless you are an expert in your field.
• Stick to the facts. We aim to provide useful, factual information.
• Keep language simple and free of cultural references. The readers may come from all over the world with different cultural, religious and political backgrounds.
• If a reference to an article on another site is made, add an excerpt paragraph explaining what the other article is going to tell the reader. If you find something worth linking to, we can create a reference page with those links, (similar to this page: http://graphicssoft.about.com/od/paintertutorials/). Keep a note of what they are with a short description and group them together under a specific topic, then you will have another article to submit.
• Keep the articles short yet full of content, no more than 300 words.

Copyright

Do not copy any article word for word that you find on the web. You may quote sections provided you give proper credit to the original author, and provide a link to the original source. By submitting your article to this site, you are assigning copyright to paintinglinks.com. You may not submit the same article to any other site.

How to submit the article

To submit the article:

1. Go to www.paintinglinks.com/plein-air or www.paintinglinks.com/oil
2. In the author area (you will find this at the bottom right hand side of your screen), click on login
3. Enter your login and password
4. Click the Write tab to write the article.
5. Write the excerpt
6. Click one or more of the categories in the box at the right hand side of the screen
7. Click publish

Artist credits

If the article is submitted by an artist whose work is featured in the gallery, add the following to the first line of the article.
by Artist Name

How to include an image in an article

First you need to add the image to the gallery, then you can copy the link location to paste it into your article.

1. Click on the current painting in the right sidepanel. This opens the image in the gallery.
2. Above the title of the painting is the full pathname. Click on Gallery (the top level folder name).
3. Click on the album and navigate through to the sub-albums where you want to add the image.
   Note: If there is no appropriate album, email me and I will add one for you.
4. Next to the album from the ablum actions dropdown list, select Edit Album.
5. Under Options, click Add Items.
6. Click Browse and find the file you want to uploaod.
7. At the bottom of the page, click Add Items.
8. Once the file is uploaded, navigate back to the album and click on the image.
9. To get the URL for the file, right click the large image and click Copy Image Location.
10. Return to your article and paste the url in the a href link.

• Virtual Pose 3. The next best thing to working with a live model, Virtual Pose(r) 3 provides professional and student artists with an accurate and convenient method of viewing the human form–without needing access to a live model and studio sessions. The CD-ROM and companion book that features models in 70 high resolution poses which can be zoomed in on and rotated 360 degrees.
• Virtual Pose Children & Teens. For drawers, painters and sculptors, this latest installment in the popular series is the next best thing to working with a real, clothed junior model.
• Virtual Pose Duo. Drawing and painting two or more figures is challenging for the artist because body position changes, the visual weight shifts, shadows change and the psychological relationship develops. Virtual Pose Duo allows the artist to study the relationship more closely without any changes.
• Virtual Pose®. An excellent source of model poses for practicing your figure drawing. The nice thing about this system is that you can rotate the model on your computer
  and draw the same pose from different angles.

• Image Management Software, a great software package
  for managing digital photographs. You can also use it to automatically update photographs of your paintings on your website.
• WorkingArtist 3.0 Artist Software, a comprehensive software package for
  artists to manage the business side of art, such as cataloging artwork, managing patron contacts, invoices,
  tracking show entries and projects, creating mailing lists and show and slide labels, and all the other stuff you need to
  do to make a living at art. Created by Kathryn Townsend

Here are some glossaries of art terms for artists:

• ArtLex Art Dictionary, an extensive reference tool of
  art terms.

• American Artist Magazine a widely read and respected resource featuring paintings, drawings and sculptures of artists in a variety of mediums. A source of inspiration to begining and seasoned artists. Contains articles on how artists can improve their skills and how collectors can improve their knowledge of fine art. Contains balanced coverage of the art world.
• The Artist’s Palette Full of beautiful images from the work of well known artists in oil, watercolor and mixed media. Written articles by the artists provide readers with advice and tips on ways to create a masterpiece.
• Leisure Painter Inspires, guides and encourages beginners and improvers with instruction, and general advice on ways to progress. Experienced and popular tutors set projects, describe their own working methods and offer helpful tips and ideas.
• International Artist In each 164 page bi-monthly issue of International Artist magazine it takes you inside the studios of the world’s best artists. They tell you the thought processes behind their creative methods and reveal their painting techniques. For beginners, intermediate & professionals as well.
• American Art Review, a good review of historical
  American artists and their work. Usually some nice artwork by good historic artists.
• Fine Art Connoisseur engages enthusiasts and fine-art collectors with in-depth editorial that builds upon the breadth of information offered by the world’s most important art authorities.
• Southwest Art This magazine is a must for the art collector–both beginning and experienced. The work of the West’s most accomplished artists comes to your home every month in the pages of Southwest Art. Each issue highlights up-and coming artists and emerging art trends.

In order to mix your paints, you have to know some basics about the color wheel. There are three primary colors: red, yellow, and blue, and we use these to mix the secondary colors: red and yellow make orange, yellow and blue make green, and red and blue make purple. If you mix all three primary colors you get anything from brown to black. For a good color wheel diagram, see The Artist’s Toolkit.

At least that is the theory. However, if you have tried to mix oil paints, you know that this is not always true, and that mixing two colors can just as easily make a pile of mud brown. This is because oil paints are not always pure colors, each one has what is called a bias. A bias is a touch of another color mixed in with the base color to get a color variation. For example, French Ultramarine is a blue with a red bias and Prussian Blue is a blue with a yellow bias. Cadmium Yellow has a blue bias, and Cadmium Yellow Deep has a red bias. This means that you can mix Prussian Blue and Cadmium Yellow to get a good green, but if you mix Prussian Blue with Cadmium Yellow Deep you will get a muddy green because you are actually mixing all three primaries, not just two of them. For more information on colors, see the Winsor & Newton website.

If you are a beginner, use six colors so that each primary has a different bias. For example, use French Ultramarine (red bias) and Cobalt Blue (yellow bias), Cadmium Yellow Light (blue bias) and Cadmium Yellow Medium (red bias), and Alizarin Crimson (blue bias) and Cadmium Red Light (yellow bias). If you want to mix a clean secondary color, make sure you mix two primaries with the same bias.

One successful artist who uses a limited palette is Kevin Macpherson. Read his book Fill Your Oil Paintings With Light & Color for good instruction on color mixing.

Another good source of information on color wheels, color palettes and color harmony is the Virtual Art Academy course on Color.

Once you have created your masterpiece you want to ensure that it will be enjoyed for years to come, so you should apply a protective coat of varnish to seal the paint. However, what kind of varnish to use and how to apply it is a question asked by many artists. Here is what Winsor & Newton recommend:

What kind of varnish should I use?

The varnish you use should have the following characteristics. It should:

• be clear and resistant to yellowing
• provide protection against dirt and dust
• put an even sheen on the painting (no dull patches)
• be easily removable in case the painting needs restoration at any time in the future.

How and when should I apply it?

Make sure the painting is completely dry. If you used thin paint, this usually takes about six months. If you used thicker (impasto) paint, it will take much longer. If you apply the varnish too soon, one or more of the following will happen:

• The varnish will not dry, it will become tacky.
• The varnish will sink into the paint and possible turn the paint into a solvent.
• Matt varnishes can sink into the paint and leave a white residue.
• The varnish will crack.

To test if the painting is dry enough to varnish, apply a small amount of white (mineral) spirits with a rag to a corner of the painting. If no color comes off onto the rag, the painting is ready to varnish.

Apply the varnish with a soft, wide brush, or spray it on. Do not use a rag.
Run the brush in long strokes either across or down the painting, but not both, and not diagonally or in small strokes. Apply a thin coat only.

For more information on varnishes, see the Winsor & Newton Oil Color Book.