This book will make you an artist by Ruth Millington
Art is a wonderful hobby which has many benefits. It can help to relieve stress, encourage creativity, develop concentration and allow you to lose yourself in the pleasure of producing something. In today’s post, Ruth Millington, author of ‘This Book Will Make You an Artist’ (Nosy Crow ISBN: 978-1839944758) shares some ideas for having a go at this hobby. So-
Why Don’t You…Make Some Art?
4 activities that will make you an artist – with Ruth Millington
“Taking a line for a walk” was how the great artist Paul Klee once described his drawing process. He believed that being more spontaneous helped him to be more creative, and the proof is in his wonderful compositions, which are filled with colourful dots, shapes, stick figures and faces. We can learn a lot from his approach. Rather than aiming for perfection, budding artists should focus on experimenting, playing and expressing themselves freely. With that in mind, here are 3 quick and easy activities that will help artists of all ages to be more creative.
1. Take a line for a walk
German-Swiss artist Paul Klee loved to experiment with black ink on paper, playing around with lines – long and short, thick and thin, and squiggly ones, too. With a pen, crayon or pencil, start in the middle of a piece of paper with a small dot. You are now going to take it a walk, without taking your hand away from the paper. Want to zig zag up and down, wiggle around, or loop-the-loop with your line? It’s up to you! Press harder for a thick line and softer for a thin line. Fill the page with your line, leaving as much or as little space as you like with your continuous line drawing.
2. Collage with colour
In his late career, French artist Henri Matisse moved from painting to collage, covering the walls of his home and studio with large cut outs of fruits, flowers and plants. “I have made a little garden all around me where I can walk”, he explained. Taking a pair of scissors, cut your own shapes from coloured paper, taking inspiration from nature’s leaves, flowers and patterns. Once you have a pile of shapes, arrange them on a piece of white card, considering which colours clash or contrast when placed side by side – this is called colour theory. Spend some time playing with your colourful composition before you stick down your shapes.
3. Paint en plein air
Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot and Auguste Renoir famously painted outside or, as art historians say, en plein air. Rather than trying to make perfect landscapes, they looked at how light and colour changed the scenes around them. Using loose, rapid brushstrokes, they focused on capturing details which stood out to them – shadows on an umbrella, reflections on the water, yellow light falling on a branch. Like the Impressionists, take some paints, paper or canvas and a board to lean on outdoors – now paint your own view of the world, not thinking too hard but simply looking at the colours which you can see and adding them in small dabs to your composition. This is an opportunity for you to illustrate your unique impression of the world around you.
4. Splash with paint
During the 1930s, Ukrainian artist Janet Sobel experimented with a new way of painting, using the energy of her whole body. Instead of working carefully and calmly like many other artists, she would drip, drop and even throw paint in a messy method, called the “drip painting” technique onto paper, card, envelopes and canvases which she laid on the floor. She would even use her vacuum cleaner to drag the paint across the canvas, leaving no empty space and creating an all-over quality. Sobel wanted to enjoy the act of making and express herself: “I only paint what I feel”. She would often listen to music while painting, so why not put on some of your own music and start dripping paint onto a large piece of paper on the floor, using brushes, sticks, spoons and anything else you can find in the house.
And remember, being an artist is all about experimenting – with different colours, dots, lines and materials. There is no right or wrong and it’s also okay, and even important, to make mistakes. Some of the most famous masterpieces in museums were the result of happy accidents!
Keep on creating and you will become an artist!
Many thanks to Ruth for these lovely ideas and taking the time to be part of NNFN this year. Thanks also to Sîan at Nosy Crow for all her help and support.
