How to paint a black&white frog in less than an hour
Painting amphibians is not an easy task. Their uneven skin and odd shape make it a challenge for any beginner. It takes less than an hour to make a frog with oil painting. I would recommend a pre-painting-practice with ink so you can see all the details and make confident traces in the real painting.
I divided this task in seven easy steps which will help you to paint a nice frog(or any other black and white subject).
- Print a photo in black and white of the frog you would like to paint
- Stare at the photo for a minute, focus on the black spots, grey and white areas.(define them in your mind in terms of position)
- prepare the oil painting, water color, Chinese ink or any medium you would like to use. In case of the oil painting make it liquid,almost transparent with turpentine.
- Instead of making the outlines of the frog and background paint the grey areas as they are. Think of the image as a whole.
- Make another mix and make it darker, pure with less turpentine's on it and proceed to paint the darker areas of the image. It's better to try to paint in terms of grey, dark and black at this stage. Use pure black to paint the darkest areas.
- When you finish making the black, dark and grey areas mix a bit of white with turpentine and paint the light on the frog and background.
- Leave to dry (remember to open a window and close the turpentine jars)
I believe painting is the joy of creating something unique, something no one else can replicate because it's part of the painter's ideas and perception. I hope you find this article helpful to bring out the artist we all have inside.