绘画基础

The core task of this step is to conduct conception and material preparation for painting creation, laying the ideological and material foundation for creation. Painting creation begins with ideas; a good concept is the key to a successful work. Through in-depth thematic thinking and thorough material preparation, transform creative intentions into clear visual concepts, while preparing materials and tools needed for creation.

• Determine creation theme and conception, conduct creative development and theme exploration, clarify expressive intention and emotional tone of the work, write creative conception statement and creation plan
• Collect creation materials, collect reference materials through sketching, photography, copying, etc., study master works, practice color small sketches and composition small sketches, determine creation direction
• Prepare painting materials and tools, including canvas (linen, cotton), stretcher bars, oil paints (various colors), brushes (different sizes of round, flat, fan brushes), palette, mediums (turpentine, linseed oil), etc.

This step is the official beginning phase of painting creation, conducting canvas block-in and overall tone laying. Composition is the skeleton of the picture, and underpainting is the keynote of the picture—together they determine the basic appearance of the work. Solid block-in and unified underpainting can lay a good foundation for subsequent deep modeling.

• Design composition and block in, determine picture composition according to creative intent, lightly block in on canvas using sketch method, outline basic contours and positional relationships of objects, check accuracy of proportion, perspective and composition
• Make canvas toning, choose a unified tone (such as brown, gray, ochre) for underpainting, can be monochrome or colored ground, lay a unified tonal foundation for the picture, while filling canvas texture
• Lay large color blocks and basic relationships, use large brushes to quickly lay out major color blocks, establish basic color relationship and light-dark relationship of the picture, distinguish foreground, middle ground, background,establish spatial hierarchy, grasp overall tone

This step is the core phase of painting creation, conducting form modeling and color expression on the basis of big relationships. Painting not only needs to draw the outer shape of objects but also express their volume, space, texture and color. Through rich color layers and modeling techniques, make the picture realistic and artistically appealing.

• Deeply model forms, starting from main objects, gradually deepen depiction, through color changes in cold/warm, light/dark, pure/gray to sculpt volume sense and spatial sense of objects, pay attention to form transitions and gradients
• Express material texture, adopt different expression techniques for different material characteristics of objects (skin, silk, metal, glass, ceramics, fruits, etc.), use brushstrokes, paint thickness, color changes to express texture
• Depict detail highlights, selectively depict wonderful details of the picture, such as highlights, reflections, textures, features, etc., use small brushes for fine depiction, note that details mustobey the whole and cannotdestroy the overall relationship

This step is the concluding phase of painting creation, conducting final overall adjustment and work completion, making the picture reach a complete and harmonious state. Final overall adjustment requires starting from the overall situation, daring to make choices and adjustments, making the picture more complete and artistically appealing. After oil painting is completed, it needs varnish protection, which is the final process of oil painting.

• Overall observation and adjustment, view the work from a distance, check overall color relationship, light-dark relationship, virtual-real relationship, primary-secondary relationship, make final adjustments including strengthening contrast, unifying tone, highlighting subject, weakening details, etc.
• Perfect picture details, perform final polishing and improvement of the picture, handle edge lines, adjust subtle color changes, add necessary brushstrokes and textures, make the picture more vivid and expressive
• Work completion and varnishing, sign name and date, after the picture is completely dry (usually takes several months), apply varnish protection, use varnish (damar varnish or mastic varnish) and apply evenly, protect the picture and increase gloss