What is a Giclée Print

Posted on January 26, 2011 by RandyCBrown

In today’s post, I’m going to be discussing the giclée print, what it is, how it’s produced, and what value it has in the wildlife art world.

The word giclée (pronounced zee-clay) is derived from the French verb gicler, which means to spurt, spatter, or spew. This term is used because large format ink jet printers are used to print the giclée prints. Ink jet printers operate by means of a print head that literally sprays the ink onto the printed surface.

The ink jet printers that Continue reading →

Posted in From the Easel | Tagged color-corrected, digital manipulation, giclée print, ink jet printer, offset lithograph, original painting, scanning | Leave a comment

How to Paint a Mallard Duck Wing

Posted on January 20, 2011 by RandyCBrown

In this post, I’m going to teach you how to paint a mallard duck wing, using a quick and easy to master method. Today, I’ll only be giving you instructions for painting the underside of a mallard duck wing, but in a later post, I’ll show you how to paint the top side of the wing.

The underside of a mallard duck wing is made up of a series of small feathers that cover the main flight feathers and the secondary feathers of the upper side of the wing. I have created a method of painting these feather groups that greatly simplifies the process and looks realistic without having to paint each individual feather. The method involves Continue reading →

Posted in Acrylic Painting | Tagged brush strokes, feather groups, flight feathers, how to paint waterfowl, ivory black, mallard duck, sable brush, titanium white, waterfowl painting | 5 Comments

How to Paint With Acrylics

Posted on January 16, 2011 by RandyCBrown

How to Paint With Acrylics is a great series of books from the late Walter Foster’s acclaimed “How to Draw and Paint” series. This particular book is entitled “Landscapes” and is a great addition to any beginner’s library of how-to books. I started out with this and 4 other books in the series.

How To Paint With Acrylics Learn acrylic painting techniques from these modern experts. Follow the processes by which they compose a painting, from initial drawings through to completion. Walter Foster’s acclaimed “How to Draw and Paint” series has motivated Continue reading →

Posted in Art Books | Tagged acrylics, paint, Walter Foster | Leave a comment

Clark Color Labs

Posted on January 15, 2011 by RandyCBrown

I received my first digital SLR camera four years ago and immediately began looking for a photo processing service to handle the images I wanted to print. I had been using Clark Color Labs for the past thirty years for film processing, so I began searching the internet to see if Clark had a website. I was glad to find they did.

During the internet search, I found numerous sites that handle digital photo processing, but their prices were a good bit higher than the prices Clark was offering. I went to the Clark Color Labs website Continue reading →

Posted in From the Easel | Tagged digital photo processing, digital SLR camera, JPEG, photo processing service, reference photos, wildlife artist | Leave a comment

Golden Acrylics

Posted on January 15, 2011 by RandyCBrown

I could never achieve the look in a wildlife painting that I wanted until I discovered Golden Acrylics Heavy Body Paints. When I first started painting in 1983, I started with oil paints. I guess the reason was because as a child, I would receive oil paint-by-number sets that contained oil paint. When I first tried acrylic paint, I was not impressed with it at all. To me it was hard to work with because I was trying to apply the same techniques with acrylic paints that I had been accustomed to with the oil paint.

When I finally learned the secret to using acrylic paint, I really began to feel comfortable with it as a medium. It was not until I discovered Continue reading →

Posted in Color | Tagged golden acrylics, oil, techniques, tube paint, wildlife painting | 2 Comments

Art Scam-Don’t Become a Victim

Posted on January 13, 2011 by RandyCBrown

Art scam is a subject I knew absolutely nothing about until a few days ago. I’ve just gone through an ordeal with a scammer so I got my education first hand. Fortunately, I have been listening to all the media about the different scams out there so I didn’t get caught blindsided by this one.

This scam started out when I received an email Thursday December 30, 2010 from an individual with a foreign name asking if I had any wildlife art for sale. I responded with information about my website and directed the individual there.

On January 3, 2011, I received another email from the same individual asking for prices for a particular painting that was displayed on my website. I replied with information Continue reading →

Posted in From the Easel | Tagged art scam | Leave a comment

Contemporary Art

Posted on January 8, 2011 by RandyCBrown

Contemporary Art Book According to Wikipedia, “Contemporary art can be defined variously as art produced at this present point in time or art produced since World War II. The definition of the word contemporary would support the first view, but museums of contemporary art commonly define their collections as consisting of art produced since World War II.”

I never realized I was actually defined as a comtemporary artist. My work does not look like any of the artwork I’ve seen that is being called contemporary art, but yet it meets Continue reading →

Posted in From the Easel | Leave a comment

Ducks Unlimited-A Wildlife Artist’s Best Friend

Posted on January 6, 2011 by RandyCBrown

Ducks Unlimited is, in my opinion, one of wildlife art’s greatest allies. Not only does the organization provide wildlife artists and waterfowl artists a huge potential for revenue from the sale of artwork, they provide an ever growing resource from which artists can pull from in terms of habitat for the ducks on which we so desperately depend.

Back in 1937, a group of sportsmen decided it was time to do something about the dwindling waterfowl population in North America. Their mission was then, and still today, is Continue reading →

Posted in From the Easel | Tagged conservation, Ducks Unlimited, habitat, limited edition, lithograph, North America, waterfowl, wetlands | Leave a comment

Acrylic Paint Brushes

Posted on January 4, 2011 by RandyCBrown

Creating art with acrylic paint can be very rewarding. Unlike oil paints that require months to cure, acrylic paintings can be finished in a matter of hours. A completed acrylic painting can be framed the next day.

But creating paintings in acrylic require a specialized type of brush. Yes, the same brushes that are used for watercolor and oil can be used for acrylics, but it is not recommended. Acrylic paints tend to have a more abrasive texture that either oil or water color. Some of the application techniques for acylic paints are much more damaging to brushes that with the other mediums.

Acrylic brushes tend to be made from Continue reading →

Posted in Artist Brushes | Tagged acrylic paint, bright, brushes, fan brush, filbert, long flat, oil, paintings, rigger, rounds, ship rigging, short flat, watercolor | 3 Comments

Wooden Painting Easel

Posted on January 3, 2011 by RandyCBrown

If you’re looking for a great studio easel, you’ve got to give this one a serious look. The price is affordable and it’s a quality piece of equipment.

The Bassett Studio Easel is perfect for the apartment or small studio but large enough to solidly accomodate canvasses up to 39 inch. Maximum easel height is 86 inches minimum 54-1/2 inches. Has a fine furniture Continue reading →