April's Tip of the Month.... helping to protect your copyright and your identity as the artist!

 This is a very sad but necessary job for an artist in today's web wide world. The Internet is a wonderful resource for artists helping them to advertise their artwork and skills as an artist. So many of the public though are  totally unaware of the fact that an image posted on the web by an artist of their painting is not an image that can just be used for any purpose by others.

 Using an artists image for any reason without prior permission from the artist or copying that image for a piece of your own artwork digitally or with pencil or  paint is a breach of the artists copyright.

So how can an artist help to educate the general public, raise awareness of copyright and keep your identity as the artist?

I am still trying ideas and very open to others ideas but...

 Here are some ideas that I am now using that you all are welcome to try too.

1.  An image of your painting on your blog, website,  face book page or art forum page is clearly attributed to you but people share images or down load them from the Internet. Some do ask permission to use your image which is wonderful but when they share and then other people share or save your image and re post in time your identity as the artist can become lost. To stop this happening put your name, the name of the painting and the word copyright very clearly on the actual image.

 Most photo editing programs have the tools to do this. I use photoshop CS3

a. Open the image of your painting in photoshop
b. Click on the T in the tool bar (see arrow on image below down the left hand side) and draw a text box onto your image
c. Type in the name of your painting, your name and the word copyright. This creates a text layer on top of your painting.

d. Now save your image as a jpg in the usual way. Make sure you do not put full resolution images on the web. Keep them between 600-800 pixels on the long side.

2. Don't just put a copyright logo in the bottom corner of your website or blog. Its sad but true that most people don't notice it. Write a sentence explaining at the top of your website face book page, twitter site or blog where it is much more easily seen. This is what I use. Feel free to adapt this for your own use too.

All paintings are the copyright of Ona Kingdon. Please respect this copyright and do not use or reproduce any photograph of a painting or use the idea for a painting or digital manipulation of your own without seeking permission first.

3. Regularly check your images using google image search. Go to the google image page.

a. Click on the camera (see arrow in photo below)

b. This will now appear

c. Upload your image and then press search by image


d. Google will then list web addresses where you image is found. You can also browse through the visually similar images just in case anyone has altered your painting.

These tips wont stop the hardened criminal who is determined to infringe copyright but it will reduce the chances that your image is being used by someone who is less aware. It will also mean that if they do use it your name goes with it unless they choose to remove it and then its not so innocent a use! It will also help to keep you informed of where your images are being used and then you will be able to e mail that person or company and ask them to remove the image. You might think like I did a couple years ago... but no one knows me, they wont use an image of mine. If its there on the web someone will use it for something so please take the precautions to stop, at the very least, your identity as the artist becoming lost.

Let me know if you have any other ideas for helping  artists keep their name with their images and help protect the copyright on their work.

Ona

Mist-Ted

Here's another miniature...

My curious little Ted wants to see into our world in the study or living room because its rainy inside his painting world. He has come really close to the glass to see us and to dream of warm cosy fires and hugs, but the glass keeps misting up. Humidity can be such a problem sometimes!

 Mist-Ted wipes away a small section with his paw so he can see you all.  The painting is 2 and 3/4 inches by 4 and 7/16 inches and its painted on Fabriano hot press paper.

Ona

Publicity for The NWWS 73rd Annual International Open Exhibition 2013

This promotional flyer for the NWWS 73rd International Exhibitioncame in the mail yesterday...

It is a real honor to have my painting  ' baby on Board'  featured on it along with several other beautiful paintings. I hope that those of you within travelling distance will be able to visit the exhibition when it opens later this month. It promises to be well worth the visit.

The 73rd Annual International Open Exhibition 2013

April 15 – May 31, 2013

Mercer View Gallery, 8236 SE 24th St., Mercer Island, Washington 98040

Coded Thoughts

The mysterious goings-on inside teen brains have befuddled countless parents over the years. At times it is almost feels as if teenagers are thinking in an alien or 'coded' language that adults are not invited to be part of or simply do not 'get'. 

The simple fact is that teenage brains are still developing. They do indeed think differently.  So the next time you're ready to yell,

"WHAT in the world were you thinking when you did that?",

remember ...teenagers are not thinking the way adults think.

Tansparent Watercolour 31.5 by 21 inches on Arches cold press paper.

Splash 15 winner Notification!

I was thrilled when I opened an e mail today from Rachel Wolf and Sarah Laichas from North Light books to say....

"Congratulations! We are very happy to inform you that one of your paintings has been selected for publication in North Light Books' Splash 15: Creative Solutions." 

It is an honor to be chosen for such a prestigious book along with so many fabulous watercolour artists.You can see who else has been selected HERE

The painting that has been chosen for publication is the one of my two naughty Ted's 'Intoxiate-Ted and Inebriate-Ted' who found an unopened bottle of whisky in Grandpa's study one day. I sure hope the news of their upcoming fame won't result in more celebrations ;)

The book will be published next year.

Ona

Ona's March Tip of the Month!

This months artistic tip is all about Colour!

Understanding how people see and interpret colour can help you to create a feeling of distance and space or create an enclosed claustrophobic feeling in your paintings. It can make objects jump out at you even though they aren’t in the foreground of your painting or areas closer to you in terms of perspective appear less obvious.

It’s time to get technical and impress our artistic friends and families with some scientific words :) 

Every colour that we see travels to us on a wave…. not a watery wave but a wave of light. Each colour we see has a different wave length (the distance between each peak of the wave).  Warm colours have a longer wavelength (a longer distance between each peak of the wave) than cool colours. 

Our eyes have lenses in them. As the light hits our eyes and travels through these lenses, colours with shorter wavelengths of visible light e.g. blue, are bent by our eye's lenses more than colours with longer wavelengths e.g. red. As a result each colour is focused onto a slightly different place on the retinas at the back of our eyes. This is referred to as Chromatic Aberration.

And now here comes another big word to impress people with…

 Chromostereopsis is an illusion whereby the impression of depth is perceived in a two dimensional object such as a painting. This illusion of depth is attributed in some way to the process of chromatic aberration that I described above. Although there is no clear scientific theory as to exactly why chromostereopsis works but somehow we  perceive the warmer colours with longer wavelengths as feeling closer than cooler colours with shorter wavelengths.

Even though we dont fully understand exactly how and why it works, chromostereopsis can be a fun word to drop into a conversation… try this one ;)

Partner…. "are you still in the studio? When is it supper time?"

Artist….  "I’m very busy exploring the psychology of chromostereopsis. Can you make supper tonight?"

Do let me know if it gets you extra painting  time.

BUT how can we use this illusion in our paintings?

Basically if you paint an object using a colour with a longer wavelength than the colours you have used around it, the object will appear to jump out at the viewer even if it’s further away in the painting in terms of perspective.

Conversely if you use a colour with a comparatively shorter wavelength it will push things back that are actually closer in perspective but that you don’t want people to notice as fast or first.

To illustrate this I want you to look again at the background in the painting I am working on now. I wanted to create a feeling of separation in terms of space and distance in the area that’s actually nearest to Alex. I didn’t want the section of the background to the left of him as you look at it on the screen, or in the bottom section to feel too close to him even though in terms of perspective it is quite close.  I therefore chose an indigo blue as the predominant colour. This helps to push this section further away in our minds. At the same time I also wanted to create the feeling of the binary code coming to us and him from the computerised head in the distance so chose to paint the much warmer compliment orange for a section of the stream of code further away from Alex to help create this effect. So although that part of the binary stream is much further away in perspective distance the change to the warmer orange in this area helps us feel as if it is much closer to us. To some more imaginative souls like me it might even create the feeling as if it’s rushing to us.

 I have taken the above photo and manipulated it in Photoshop so the colours are reversed. See now how close the background nearest to Alex feels to him and how far away that section that was orange and is now blue feels. 

Chromostereopsis is fun isn't it!

 Have a play with colours and explore the ‘psychology of Chromostereopsis’ this weekend. 

I'm going to be trying to finish this painting :)

Coded Thoughts WIP 3

What a difference a day can make...The preliminary washes take a long time to do - glaze upon glaze slowly building up the contours of the face and then with just a few final skin tone washes in one afternoon the portrait then comes to life. I still have the eye brows to darken slightly but this is easier to do once I have at least some of the hair painted in so I'm waiting to finish these for the moment.

Today I also adjusted the pupil on the left side as you look at the painting on the screen because it was looking a little higher than the eye on the right. Its only a millimetre or two down now but in portraiture every millimetre counts.

Ona

Coded Thoughts Wip 2

It's been a bit of a draining week but painting gives me something positive to focus on so I've been plodding along with this latest one in between hospital appointments and dealing with UPS blunders.

I'm still forming the facial features on the portrait section of the painting but the personality and likeness is beginning to take shape.  It really is worth taking your time on this stage and making sure you have the likeness when it is still relatively easy to alter. I now need to increase the shadow values on the face and form the neck. Then I'll be ready for the final skin tone washes. The shiny parts are where I have painted on masking fluid to preserve the strongest highlights.

 I'm really pleased with the tension that is being caused by the rush of the background  directly towards the viewer but at the same time the subject not looking at the viewer but off into the unknown. To me, this just accentuates that feeling of us being aware of but not understanding the thoughts. Hope you all feel that it works too.

Ona

'Coded thoughts' WIP 1

Backgrounds can do so much to add atmosphere to a painting not only with the use of colour and value but also subject matter. This has been a very complicated background to paint with lots of masking and many many layers of glazing needed to create the effect that I was after.

My subject for this painting will be my son Alex. I just couldn't resist the reference I am using because he looks focused and thoughtful but in a distant 'coded' way. I wanted to develop this idea further and use the background to help me do so, so I came up with the idea of using binary code.

Adolescence marks the beginning of the development of a more complex thinking processes. This shift rarely happens smoothly though... at times it is almost as if teenagers are thinking in an alien or 'coded' language... you wonder where thoughts are coming from and what they really mean... if indeed you understand them at all.  I'm sure I am not the only one that has experienced this.

So why binary code??? Alex  is really into computer sciences and there has been many a talk between him and his dad about binary code over the dinner table of an evening. I am fairly computer savvy on a basic level but often this more technical conversation is beyond me.  I thought this would be a great parallel to use... the rush of what seems to one person like a logical sequence of thoughts or events but to others who do not have the ability to fully understand the code  we are left wondering what they are thinking and why.

I am looking forward to bringing the portrait section of this painting to life over the next few weeks.

Ona

NWWS 73rd Annual International Open Exhibition Acceptance

I'm really happy to let you know that 'Baby on Board' has been accepted into the NWWS 73rd Annual International Open Exhibition. Thank you to Mark Mehaffey the Juror.

 
You can see a list of the other accepted artists here Congratulations to all that were accepted

Ona

Cavort-Ted!

Over the last few days  I've  been working on a couple ofTed series miniatures.

I made the mistake of telling one of my small Teds that if he let me paint him he might become famous and hang in somebodies home one day or maybe even a gallery. Well, as you can imagine Ted was very excited about this.  I think that maybe I should have explained that I meant the painting of him would be hung in a frame, not him. Don't you? 

 Each of the  small paintings is 4.25 by 4.5 inches in size.

 Just for fun...Can you think of a Ted name for each individual painting? Let me know your ideas because the best few will receive a Ted card in the mail :)

Good news!

Its been a good day full of great news which I just have to share :)

'Re Unite-Ted' has been accepted into the Louisianna Watercolor Society International Exhibition

 'Bookworm Breakfast' has been accepted into the Transparent Watercolor Society of America Exhibition. 

 Thank you to jurors Cindy Agan, Paul Jackson and Robin Berry. 

  I also sold 'Knit-Ted and Knot-Ted' yesterday

 and the painting now is on its way to its new home :) What a great 24 hours!

 Ona

Content-Ted

Being Content-Ted leads to such inner peace. Transparent watercolour 23.5 by 15 inches.

May your dreams tonight be filled with happy memories that leave you feeling contented too.

Ona

February's Tip of the Month!

 At some point  each month this spring I will share a useful tip and show you how I use this when painting. 

 A successful painting is really helped by careful planning of colour. Thought about warmth or coolness, complimentary versus analogous, and how to create the greys while keeping the palette consistent is very important. But even more important than colour is the planning and careful positioning of values in a painting. If you find this difficult to see just by looking at your painting you can take a photo of it and use the grey scale setting in a program such as photoshop. As a general rule you want the biggest contrasts in value to be at or next to your centre of interest (where you want the viewer to focus)You can use patterns in contrast in value to help lead the eye to your COI too.

Here is my work in progress today converted to grey scale. I still have a large section of the hair still to paint but I am pleased with how the values are working so far.

I promise to show you the colour version in a couple days once I have finished all the girls hair.

Ona

Content-Ted Wip 3

Softly does it is my motto in this painting.  I have only really suggested the girls pj's  building up the layers ever so gradually  and keeping mostly to the cool pinks and lilacs. Her face is much warmer in colour and I am also beginning to introduce warmer salmony pinks  as I paint Ted. This will hopefully help to link the two emotionally as well as physically.

I am keeping this painting fairly high key as I feel it adds to the dreamlike peaceful feel of the piece.

I am looking forward to painting Ted's sleepily contented face :)

Ona