Mini Bob. This cartoon character of Robert comes on screen here and there and prompts the artist/viewer to take a coffee break from the painting and walk back 4 steps from the easel and look at the painting.
The reason for the ‘Coffee Break’ prompt is to allow time for the painting to dry a little so another coat can be applied on top of the previous one. Without this the paint will not ‘sit on top’ of the previous layer and make the painting process more difficult. The hotter the conditions the faster the paint dries. If the previous application was very thin then it will dry quicker than a thicker coat. Robert generally allows 10-20 minutes for the coffee break.
The ‘Walk Back 4 steps and Look’ prompt is to remind the artist to take a look at what’s been achieved before proceeding. Robert advises this be done every 4 to 5 minutes. “Many artists work away up close and much is lost at the normal viewing distance of 10 feet”, he says. “By walking back the distance most people look at a painting you can see if what’s been done has any impact on the power or message of the painting” he continues. “Often its wasted time”.
This is element pops up whenever Robert is painting and carries within it the colors he is using.
Robert has limited his colors to just the 8 shown in the toolbar.
They are:
Ultramarine Blue UB
Cerulean Blue CB
Alizarin Red AR Light red LR
Burnt Sienna BS
Yellow Ochre YO
Cadmium Yellow CY
Cadmuin Red CR
Titanium White TW
These can be switched out for other colors within the same family eg Ultramarine Blue for Cobalt Blue but for purposes of simplicity in painting and for viewer friendliness Robert has kept to a limited palette. He uses artist quality but if caught out in the bush, ‘anything will do’, he says.
For abstracts he uses acrylic paint . “It dries fast and lets me be 100% spontaneous”, he says.
When a button lights up he is using that particular color either alone or with any other button that may be alight. This toll does not say what the value of the resultant color is just the mix but by watching the final color that Robert puts to the canvas one is able to identify the relative amounts of each that went into the making the value or tone.
There are 3 brushes in the toolbar. A pastry brush, a # 4 long handle flat bristle and the watercolor liner brush. Each performs a function in the painting but the most used is the pastry brush and the liner. The pastry brush is available in most department store kitchen sections at something around one dollar. Robert likes this brush because of its versatility and durability. “There are different types out there but the one with the more flexible hairs is the best. The hairs bend this way and that but return to almost to the original position.”, he say. The liner brush is a used for all the small work and with its long hairs holds a good big mix of paint. Says Robert,” It seems to last forever and is a must have in all my paintings.” The #4 flat is primarily used for laying on clips of highlight and is the less used of the 3. Robert uses the painting knife here and there to ‘grab some force’.
To clean his brushes and thin the paint Robert uses a mix of turpentine with a little linseed oil added to help the paint bind when it’s applied. “I paint ‘thick on thin’ he says but I carefully calibrate my mix to fit the amount of layers I expect a certain feature in my painting will take till its finished. There’s is no use applying thick paint then retreating to thin later. It’s unstable when it dries and difficult to paint on at the best of times”, he says.
The magnifier is one of Robert’s secret weapons. This magnifier is no longer in production sadly and there is nothing on the market anywhere that is as good for the artist who seeks excellence. ‘Lets Go Painting’ is considering manufacturing this all important artists’ aid. Says Robert, “ It’s beauty lies in the fact that you can see absolutely everything in a photo at just the right level of magnification and it can be held comfortably in one hand while the other hand wields the brush. This is an absolute must have for all artist no matter what level.” Whenever there is detail the magnifier is being used on a photo to check the nature and properties of that detail. Robert holds that if a seagull has legs then don’t guess them, check them. Use the magnifier.
Photographs. Robert takes all his own photographs and has an extensive library covering just about all subjects and fields that he has amassed over the last 30 years.. He currently uses the Canon DSLR 5D with the universally celebrated 75-200 2.8 zoom and a 1.4, 80 mm lens. At times he resorts to the 400mm, 2.8 for those long away shots of stampeding horses. Download Robert's Photos.