Posted on

Painting Wrinkles And Grey Hair – 12 Tips & Tricks

Painting wrinkles and grey hair have their own unique challenges. I’ve loved drawing and painting wrinkles ever since I was a kid. The more wrinkles, the better as far as I was concerned. Wrinkles add a lot of interest and character to a portrait.

painting wrinkles and grey hair article title graphic showing a man with grey hair and grey beard

In my portrait painting tips article, I gave a basic 3 step process for painting wrinkles. In this article, I’ll go over 12 tips for painting wrinkles and grey hair including how to think about wrinkles in a different way. If you are intimidated about painting wrinkles,

Continue Reading »

Posted on

How To Paint A Digital Portrait – Step-By-Step With Pictures

When I got my iPad, painting a realistic digital portrait was the first thing I wanted to try. As a traditional oil painter, I don’t want my digital portraits to look like digital paintings. I wanted them to look like real oil paintings. In this article, I’ll show you how I do it.

Digital portrait painting title card

Procreate was the first program I tried, but I didn’t get the results I wanted. After giving ArtRage a try, I found that painting a realistic digital portrait was much easier for me to achieve. It’s a program that just seemed to work for me. I know many artists that use Procreate and other painting programs with great success.

NOTE: If you don’t have a digital program to paint in, you can still follow along using whatever types of paint you have. The basics are still the same.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Is Digital Painting Real Art? Thoughts From An Oil Painter.

Graphic title slide showing a hand holding a stylus and a painting in vibrant colors of a portrait of a woman. Text reads Is Digital Art Real Art?

Digital painting – is real art or not? I’ve struggled with this question ever since I picked up a tablet and started painting digitally. Through the years, I’ve created art by making real, tangible pieces with paint on canvas that I can hold in my hands. Real art could only be made with real art supplies – not pixels, right?

After having done both traditional and digital painting, I think the answer is that as far as talent and creating a work of art in today’s world, digital painting is “real” art. If you are only measuring digital art based on it taking on a form that is handcrafted with a variety of materials, then no, it doesn’t qualify as “real” art. But is that second sentence true or is it just a perception? To find out, I’ll explore the definition of fine art, the biases in art, art-shaming and

Continue Reading »

Posted on

What Is Alla Prima? All Your Questions Answered

a href=”https://shelleyhannafineart.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Allaprimapin1.jpg”>
<

One thing that I’ve learned in doing oil painting is there are a lot of terms such as alla prima that can be a little confusing. It was a term being thrown around by other painters I knew and I had no clue what it meant.

alla prima title2

I have a clearer picture now but I thought I’d dive in a little deeper so I could answer any questions you may have.

First of all, the term alla prima is taken from the Italian phrase “at first attempt” and is a painting technique done in one layer in one sitting. The approach takes advantage of spontaneity and the artist must use their skill and intuition to match colors and value.

That seems simple enough, but there are a lot of other questions I had about this method of painting which I will share below.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

How To Paint A Senior Dog Portrait – Tips & Tricks

A senior dog portrait painting has a few unique challenges. But these sweet older faces are so rewarding to paint for a variety of reasons.

Senior Dog Portrait Title

When painting portraits of older people, you need to take into account how to paint wrinkles, grey hair and changing facial features. When you paint a senior dog portrait, having a plan for painting the white fur on their face as well as the changing skin on their nose can make your portrait a success.

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Should Artists Sign Their Paintings? Why is it important?

Whether an artist should or shouldn’t sign their paintings seems to create a lot of confusion, especially for beginning artists. When do you sign it? Where do you sign it? Why should you sign it? These are all questions I’ll answer today.

Sign Paintings Title Card

Before getting into all the details, I’ll let you know a few basic things right now. An artist should always sign their paintings because it achieves 3 things: 

  • It creates authenticity
  • Helps future collectors identify the work and
  • Gives the artist a sense of completion

Of course, there is much more to it than the list above. There is also how to sign, where to sign, what to sign and when to sign along

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Can I Make A Digital Painting Look Traditional On The iPad?

Ever since I picked up an iPad and started painting, my number one goal was to make my digital painting look like a traditional oil painting. I wasn’t convinced it was possible and, of course, I can still tell the difference. However, a lot of people that view my work can’t tell the difference between my digital and traditional paintings.

make digital traditional title

Yes, it is possible to make a digital painting look like a traditional oil painting. Use the same process that traditional painters and a program that gives a natural application of paint. This will give you a good result. Throughout the rest of this article, I will show you a practice painting I did using

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Why Paint Upside Down? 15 Helpful Painting Hacks

It’s always exciting to start a painting, but there are a lot of simple painting hacks that can make the process much easier. Below you’ll find 15 helpful painting hacks that I’ve used and some that other artists have shared with me throughout the years.

Painting hacks title card

Helpful Painting Hacks #1 – Paint Upside Down

I learned this amazing trick decades ago, but continue to use it nearly every time I paint. When you look at your painting for too long, something bizarre

Continue Reading »

Posted on

How To Paint White Fur – Painting A White German Shepherd Step-By-Step

paint white fur pin 1 paint white fur pin 2 paint white fur pin 3 paint white fur pin 4

Knowing how to paint white fur may not seem like that big of a challenge until you try it. The trick is to not paint white fur with white paint – at least not at first.

how to paint white fur step by step title

In today’s tutorial, I’ll walk you through step-by-step how I painted this beautiful white German Shepherd named Maiden. I’ll go over some of the challenges I had with the lighting of the fur and how to model it. I’ll also talk about how I decided when to

Continue Reading »

Posted on

Can You Paint Oil Paint Over Acrylic Paint?

oil over acrylic pin 1 oil over acrylic pin 2 oil over acrylic pin 3 oil over acrylic pin 4

When I first started painting in oils, I wasn’t sure if I could paint oil paint over acrylic paint. There seemed to be a lot of rules about layering with oils and mediums and it was a little confusing.

can I paint oil paint over acrylic paint title

I decided to take an oil painting class to make sure I was doing things the right way. During the class, I told a fellow painter I painted in acrylics for many years. She told me you CAN paint oil paint over acrylic paint, but never acrylic over oil. Why? Because paints with a higher oil to pigment ratio (fat) must always be layered over paint with a lower oil to pigment ratio (lean). After doing more research, I’ve found more useful tips and information when painting oils and acrylics that I think you’ll find beneficial, so keep reading.

Continue Reading »