The Art of Poochie Myers

Here is an example of claw edges..holding onto the edge or grabbing the viewer.

Sounds easy but it requires lots of eneregy and knowhow. For instance just using color alone you have to consider lots of rules - yellow and white are always good. Blue always rises, Red sinks down. Black makes trenches.

Bumps on the edges look like you bumped into someone. Use a claw instead, like grabbing someone’s elbow. People respond to this.

Never overemphasize conners beacuse this would draw your eye right out of the canvas.

Put cool yellows next to bright strong greens. You can always use and “awakening” color in dull areas, like strong pink.

Strong red at the bottom is too much, use dry brush on indian red, sienna on top of it for interest. Earth tones calm down any color.

If you still have a bump somewhere then cut it in several sections of color.

Blue areas would be best if you used 2 different blues to liven the area. Keep the margins soft.

Use pastels to test colors in areas, and to keep them spray with Krylon. You can wet the pastels and mix the colors for interest with light on top of dark while wet.

Shapes should never be stubbed on the end, always a tip.

Turquoise with red is always great!

Don’t stop anything or any color in the middle or middle of the edges.

Have fun.

In order to have audience view your painting you have to invite them in with a color, line or something interesting. We read from left to right so on the left side is the entrance..usually. In the East it is opposite.

You want the audience to stay a while then exit. We don’t want to lose our audience until we are ready to let them go.

Making an exit is just as important. We want the painting to breathe. Enter and exit.

Golden Mean

The Golden Mean has been the measurment of perfection for thousands of years. It is complicated but you can make it simple. Just don’t put anything important smack in the middle..! The photographers have a rule of 1/3 and 1/3 and 1/3 - in any of these sections you can have the most important object for the most effect. The Golden Mean measurments are about the same but you think 2/3 and 1/3 . Or 3/5s and 2/5s.  Just notice where the xs are on the picture and put your “center of interest” in one of these spaces.

Doesn't have to look alike on each side.

Whether you are painting or sculpting or beading you have to be aware of balance. This doesn’t mean totally even on each side, but it has to feel balanced. The audience feels crazy and disjointed when confronted with something out of kilter. It has to always “feel just right” This is difficult to describe with words.

Kandinsky always painted several ideas before he painted the “real thing”  so, try it you might like it. Some of your “trials” might look better than the end product…ask why.

Drawing with your brush will require some practice too. Many artists can draw beautifully with pencil or pen but with the paint brush comes a new challenge. Just practice…lots. Anything can be better with practice. Holding your brush like a pen will make a tight line and holding it like a paint brush will make a different line…try different ways to hold the brush. Pushing hard will usually make the line thicker. try different ways to push, light to hard.

Sometimes you might find a great variety when using a wide flat  brush..use it on the tip edge like a little brush. When you use it on the end sideways you can make straight lines… Just try different ways.

Practice. and Have Fun.

This interesting thought about art reflects my own ideas:……..”and I realized that what is interesting about painting for me is that “everything is connected to something else”  The things we see are just  the tip of the iceberg of conscoious recognition.  The artist may or may not see the parts unseen, but somehow he or she knows they are there.” John B.

Yarka watercolors are the most wonderful pigments. The color are strong and stay same even when dry. Yarka is made in Russia.

Instead of painting with a brush when using your watercolors try just using the tube color..drawing directly on your painting. You can use a pallet knife to spread out the color in areas or brush.

Watercolors are lots of fun, quick and easy. The brand Yarca Watercolors are very potent and will not dry lighter like usual watercolors.  You can’t find tube Yarcas (if you do please tell me) but the pan Yarcas are really great to use.

Have fun.

Rug Making is lots of fun. Just use heavy canvas, turn it down about and inch and glue it all around the edges.
Coat it twice with gesso front and back. Coat the back with Gloss Medium. Paint the front any way you want. I painted simple shapes of key west houses and light house. Give it 2 coats of paint and then finish with another coat of Gloss Medium. (or flat medium if you don’t want a shine)
Have fun