Blogs 1-50
Blogs 51-100
Blog 51 - Using a Fan Brush to Paint Trees Effortlessly
"In the previous blog I showed you how to paint effortless trees using a Filbert Brush. Today I will be using largely the same techniques to paint yet another tree, but this time I will be using a Fan Brush. Using the Fan Brush will give a whole different effect that will open a range of new possibilities. Combining the two brushes widens the scope even more. While I'm at it, I will also show you quickly how to use the Fan Brush to paint waving grasses. The Fan Brush is a flat brush where the bristles spread out in the shape of a fan. It comes in a wide range of bristles and work well with all paint mediums."
"In the previous blog I showed you how to paint effortless trees using a Filbert Brush. Today I will be using largely the same techniques to paint yet another tree, but this time I will be using a Fan Brush. Using the Fan Brush will give a whole different effect that will open a range of new possibilities. Combining the two brushes widens the scope even more. While I'm at it, I will also show you quickly how to use the Fan Brush to paint waving grasses. The Fan Brush is a flat brush where the bristles spread out in the shape of a fan. It comes in a wide range of bristles and work well with all paint mediums."
Blog 52 - Developing Craft Designs
"In today's blog I will show you how to go about developing designs for craft projects. APrettyTalent.com will be carrying these and more designs in the shop as a new line of products, in answer to requests made by followers and clients. Buy the design at minimal cost from the section for Digital Downloads. A code will be sent to your inbox as soon as the transaction is complete. You can then download the design onto your computer from where it can be printed on paper. Alternatively, you can use a projector to project the image onto a surface of your choice, e.g. canvas, cloth, wall, etc. You can then trace the image onto the surface using the best medium for the surface. Today's blog is aimed at providing you with tips to developing your own range of designs."
Blog 53 - Drawing Santa and a Snowman Step by Step
"Christmas in the pipeline and I am having great fun gathering together everything that will contribute towards making it a fun and exciting time for friends and family alike. As I planned some designs with Christmas crafts in mind, I thought that there may be a number of you who might be equally interested in getting your hands on some designs. I will walk you through the steps for drawing these pictures of a Santa Clause and a Snowman step by step. I have also made the designs available for download in the shop at minimal cost if you are not interested in drawing the designs yourself. Buy, download, save, enlarge, print and craft! Download the designs here."
Blog 54 - Drawing a Nativity Scene, and Angel and a Christmas Tree Step by Step
"At Christmas time all of us crafters like to make all sorts of items as gifts and decorations to celebrate this great feast on the calendar. With this is mind, I have designed a set of five line drawings that can be used across a wide variety of crafts. I share step by step how to draw the designs, but if you do not want to draw the designs yourself, you can buy them very cheaply on APrettyTalent.com under Digital Downloads by clicking here. In today's blog I show you how to draw the Nativity Scene, an Angel and a Christmas Tree. In the previous blog I shared the steps for Santa Clause and a Snowman with you."
"In today's blog I will show you how to go about developing designs for craft projects. APrettyTalent.com will be carrying these and more designs in the shop as a new line of products, in answer to requests made by followers and clients. Buy the design at minimal cost from the section for Digital Downloads. A code will be sent to your inbox as soon as the transaction is complete. You can then download the design onto your computer from where it can be printed on paper. Alternatively, you can use a projector to project the image onto a surface of your choice, e.g. canvas, cloth, wall, etc. You can then trace the image onto the surface using the best medium for the surface. Today's blog is aimed at providing you with tips to developing your own range of designs."
Blog 53 - Drawing Santa and a Snowman Step by Step
"Christmas in the pipeline and I am having great fun gathering together everything that will contribute towards making it a fun and exciting time for friends and family alike. As I planned some designs with Christmas crafts in mind, I thought that there may be a number of you who might be equally interested in getting your hands on some designs. I will walk you through the steps for drawing these pictures of a Santa Clause and a Snowman step by step. I have also made the designs available for download in the shop at minimal cost if you are not interested in drawing the designs yourself. Buy, download, save, enlarge, print and craft! Download the designs here."
Blog 54 - Drawing a Nativity Scene, and Angel and a Christmas Tree Step by Step
"At Christmas time all of us crafters like to make all sorts of items as gifts and decorations to celebrate this great feast on the calendar. With this is mind, I have designed a set of five line drawings that can be used across a wide variety of crafts. I share step by step how to draw the designs, but if you do not want to draw the designs yourself, you can buy them very cheaply on APrettyTalent.com under Digital Downloads by clicking here. In today's blog I show you how to draw the Nativity Scene, an Angel and a Christmas Tree. In the previous blog I shared the steps for Santa Clause and a Snowman with you."
Blog 55 - Painting the Mama Africa Trio in Gouache step by step
"In today's blog I will be using Gouache paint to paint some African ladies. The designs used in this project are available from APrettyTalent.com. Go to Digital Downloads and select Mama Africa Trio. Add it your cart and proceed to checkout. The link to your downloads will appear in your inbox as soon as the transaction has cleared. Gouache is a water-soluble medium and is very similar to watercolors with the difference being that watercolors are transparent while gouache is opaque. This is why the two mediums work so well together. I walk you step by step through the painting process in today's blog so that you can try it yourself if you like it. This is fun and simple way to create decorative art for your home in no time."
"In today's blog I will be using Gouache paint to paint some African ladies. The designs used in this project are available from APrettyTalent.com. Go to Digital Downloads and select Mama Africa Trio. Add it your cart and proceed to checkout. The link to your downloads will appear in your inbox as soon as the transaction has cleared. Gouache is a water-soluble medium and is very similar to watercolors with the difference being that watercolors are transparent while gouache is opaque. This is why the two mediums work so well together. I walk you step by step through the painting process in today's blog so that you can try it yourself if you like it. This is fun and simple way to create decorative art for your home in no time."
Blog 56 - Mixed Media Impasto Work
"Do you love thick layers of paint with loads of texture and body? Normally this is associated with oil colours, but I will show you how to turn your acrylic paintings into thick impasto works of art as well. I make a quick art journaling page in today's blog to illustrate the technique, but the same thing can be done on canvas as well."
"Do you love thick layers of paint with loads of texture and body? Normally this is associated with oil colours, but I will show you how to turn your acrylic paintings into thick impasto works of art as well. I make a quick art journaling page in today's blog to illustrate the technique, but the same thing can be done on canvas as well."
"I have loved working in charcoal ever since I was a young child. This was something my mom and I did not see eye to eye on, and with her being my primary 'art teacher', this posed a problem. Years later, the love affair still persists and I will even lie awake at night wishing I could get up and draw something in charcoal. In today's blog, I show you step by step how to draw portraits in charcoal. I use two different approaches so you can see for yourself that there is always more than one way to enter a drawing."
Blog 58 - Drawing the Head and Facial Features - The Basics
"In today's blog I will be sharing some tips and tricks for drawing the head and facial features with you in a few quick and simple steps. In my humble opinion Jack Hamm has been brilliant in breaking down these features into easily manageable components and steps. I will therefore lean heavily upon what I myself have learned from him. This blog is very basic and by no means as exhaustive as the topic itself, but it will provide a solid foundation for those of you who are interested in learning to draw portraits."
"In today's blog I will be sharing some tips and tricks for drawing the head and facial features with you in a few quick and simple steps. In my humble opinion Jack Hamm has been brilliant in breaking down these features into easily manageable components and steps. I will therefore lean heavily upon what I myself have learned from him. This blog is very basic and by no means as exhaustive as the topic itself, but it will provide a solid foundation for those of you who are interested in learning to draw portraits."
Blog 59 - Telling a story in Charcoal
"For today's blog I use the simple and inexpensive medium of charcoal to draw a lone figure. I then show you how adding a few lines and shading to the background can build a whole story around the character, forcing the viewer to become involved in the picture."
"For today's blog I use the simple and inexpensive medium of charcoal to draw a lone figure. I then show you how adding a few lines and shading to the background can build a whole story around the character, forcing the viewer to become involved in the picture."
Blog 60 - Create a Steampunk Triptych Part 1
"I have been wanting to create something in the steampunk theme for a very long time and today I finally get to do just that when I create this set of three mixed media paintings. As always in this blog, I show you step by step how to go about making your own, using photos to illustrate the explanations. This first installment of the process has us doing all the prep work, which is quite substantial and requires a lot of time."
"This blog is a follow-up of the previous blog where we started preparations for creating a set of three mixed media steampunk paintings. In the first blog we did most of the preparations, preparing our surfaces, etc. In this blog the magic happens when we start putting everything together."
Blog 62 - Create a Steampunk Triptych Part 3
"In this third installment of the series we continue using the techniques we learned in part 2 to create two more paintings for our triptych. We also use the embellishments we've prepared in the first part of the series. In the end we have some fun ladies that are larger than life, dwarfing their surroundings apologetically and unashamedly, living life to the full. In other words, a set of paintings that makes a social statement about womanhood!"
"Do you love chickens as much as I do? Everything about them is cute. I love how a hen will gather her chicks under her, or the cute fluffiness of the chicks themselves. But I especially love the grandeur of a strutting cock with those colorful feathers shining in the sun. In today's blog I show you how easy it is to draw and paint chickens step by step, using water-soluble pencils."
Blog 64 - Getting Perspective Right in Art
Blog 65 - Painting Fishermen in Mixed Media
Blog 66 - Sheet Music Art
"I recently was privileged enough to spend some time at the South Coast of Kwa-Zulu Natal. I walked the Golden Mile every morning and evening for a week, accompanied by a dear friend of mine. In the process I managed to snap a number of fabulous photos of the Margate Beach Front and promptly decided to paint one of these in watercolors, using the watercolor pencils I brought along on holiday. As has become my habit, I snapped photos of the process and share these with you in today's blog."
"We move into a more modern genre with today's take on the musical scene. I show you step by step how to plan your layout for three round canvasses. We then draw the layouts step by step before I show you how to paint the canvasses ala prima (wet on wet) in oil colours."
Blog 69 - Paint a Fashionista in Acrylics - Step by Step
"It must be my fashion design background, but I love a pretty silhouette and today's fashionista steps straight from the yesteryear's fashion pages onto our canvas. I show you step by step how to prepare your background, do a quick drawing in ink, and paint our lady in acrylic colours. This decorative statement piece can easily be done in an afternoon."
Blog 70 - Miekie's Designs for Art & Craft Projects Published In a Book
"I have shared a number of blogs in the past where I have made use of designs that I have made available for purchase so that my readers could use them in their own projects as well. Today I am thrilled to announce that these designs have now been compiled into one convenient book that can be purchased online through Amazon at a fraction of the cost of buying the designs individually. In today's blog I refer you back to previous blogs where I have used these designs and introduce a couple of new ones that you have not seen yet. You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here."
Blog 71 - Knowing About Gesso
"I have had lots of people asking me about Gesso. When to use it. Why do I use it. How many coats are necessary, etc. Then Dala sent me a bottle of their own Gesso and naturally I set out to test it. I decided it would also be the ideal time to answer all of those privately asked question in a blog so everyone could be privy to the answers. Today's blog gives you the lowdown on Gesso."
Blog 72 - Draw & Paint A Cafe Scene Step By Step
"After yesterday's Art Therapy Blog, my hands literally itched to paint a cafe scene. So, first thing this morning I got up and organized my ideas. I show you how to draw and paint your own cafe scene step by step along with me in today's blog. Have fun!"
Blog 73 - Discovering Derwent Natural Graphite Bars
"What if your favourite pencils could come in the form of a solid graphite bar? Ever thought about it? What new possibilities would open up to you! Derwent has thought about this and they brought out three splendid graphite bars in soft, medium and hard, in answer to this yearning. If you are not sure whether this is something you need to your stash of art products, then today's blog is for you. I put these bars to the test to see what they are capable of, and at the end, I do a quick sketch using only these three bars."
Blog 74 - Landscape In Oil Colours
"I use every opportunity to travel as an equal opportunity to take photos of the myriads of interesting and beautiful places in the world. When I recently got to travel the Northern and Western Capes, it was no different. Finding subject matter to paint, was not difficult. What was difficult, was deciding where to start. In today's blog I show you how to convert your stunning photos into interesting paintings."
Blog 75 - Painting Tatty Teddies In Oil Colours Part 1 of 2
"My friends twins are having their very first birthday. I wanted to give them something special and decided that it would be a great idea to paint each of them a picture of the ever popular Tatty Teddies to decorate their room. I went online to search for images with two teddies and found quite a few that I liked. Let me show you how easy it is to do an oil painting for decorative purposes over the following two blogs."
Blog 76 - Painting Tatty Teddies In Oil Colours Part 2 of 2
"I started with a blog in two parts yesterday in which I show you how to paint oil paintings for decorative purposes. We are using the ever popular Tatty Teddies as subject matter and in today's blog I allow the background to be a little bit more prominent than was the case with the first blog."
"I started with a blog in two parts yesterday in which I show you how to paint oil paintings for decorative purposes. We are using the ever popular Tatty Teddies as subject matter and in today's blog I allow the background to be a little bit more prominent than was the case with the first blog."
Blog 77 - Painting A Modern Bunny in Oils and Acrylics
"Yesterday I told you about the special little girl that was born to friends of mine. This little girl's mommy is a modern lady who loves doing things a little differently. She is also fascinated by an enchanted forest. This inspired me to paint a bunny for the baby room, but with a bit of a twist on the background. I show you step by step how to do the background and the textures on this painting in today's blog."
Blog 78 - Painting Miniature Figures in Acrylics
"Miniature paintings are all the rage these days and you see them making an appearance in more and more houses on all those small walls that every house seem to have. Miniature paintings make it possible to own an original art work (or possibly even more!) by your favorite artist, without breaking the bank. Another fun concept in decorating, is to collect a number of small paintings by a variety of artists and to hang them on one wall. This makes for a very interesting conversations when visitors come over. We paint a set of two miniature paintings in today's blog. I used acrylics and ink, leaving a lot of the detail out of the painting, 'forcing' the viewers to involve themselves in the paintings and to complete the illusion of figures."
Blog 79 - Painting Naive Flowers On A Background Using Primary Colours
"Spring is in the air and the days are turning wonderfully warm. It is time to reflect this joyous time of the year on canvas as well. I paint a pot of lovely spring flowers in a naive style in today's blog, starting with primary colours for my background. The painting is a mixed media work of acrylic and pen."
Blog 80 - Painting Naive Flowers On A Background Using Secondary Colours
"For the previous blog, we painted a lovely pot of flowers in acrylics and pen. We paint a matching canvas in today's blog, but this time we start the background with secondary colours. By the time we are done, you will have a lovely set of two bright and vibrant paintings to liven up any room in the house."
Blog 81 - Colouring In - Using Shading & Blending Techniques
"Colouring in has taken the world by storm and old and young are discovering new-found pleasure in their colouring pencils. Somehow, it seems that most publishers have resorted to printing adult colouring books that are filled with minute spaces that have to be coloured. This is nice, but it does not allow for practicing your colouring techniques and honing your skills. I share some ideas on blending and shading in today's blog when I show you my idea of what adult colouring ought to be."
Blog 82 - Painting A Flip-Flop Mini Triptych In Acrylics
"The weather has turned hot and some friends and I had been making plans for a trip down to the coast. This has set me in the mood for painting holiday scenes. What better way to capture the spirit of a vacation than to paint those relaxed flip-flops that we changed into from our normal footwear. Today's blog show you how to paint this scene over three mini canvasses using acrylic paint."
Blog 83 - Painting An Intercessor In Acrylics & Ink
"The act of intercession in prayer is to pray on someone else's behalf. I love the idea of this and have often benefited from it. Prayer warriors are not soldiers, but anyone with a humble heart who can bow before the King of kings and pray. I wanted to capture the essence of that humble and peaceful spirit in this painting. The image may be meek and innocent, but the Power behind such an intercessor is not! I show you step by step how to paint this darling in today's blog."
Blog 84 - Teabag decoupage
"Today's blog is a fun mix of art with crafts. I use some used teabags that have been emptied and dried to decoupage onto a canvas as a background for my coffee and tea themed painting, which follows in acrylic and ink. I show you step by step how to make this delightful painting yourself."
Blog 85 - Painting An Acrylic Trio Using Black & White Contrast
"We paint a set of three flower pots in today's blog, using acrylic paint and ink. What makes this an interesting project is that we use the sharply contrasting colours of black and white in all three vases. We need to be very careful when creating shadows and highlights that will help create the illusion of rounded vases. I show you how to do this in today's blog."
Blog 86 - Painting A Tower of Giraffes In Acrylics & Ink
"I had to look up the word used to describe a group of giraffes. It is called a tower. Cute, isn't it? Today I show you how to paint this tower of giraffes in acrylics and ink. I venture off the normal road and have a bit of fun with these adorable creatures, showing you how to interpret a picture to put your own stamp of peculiarity on it."
Blog 87 - Painting A Darling Sun Catcher In Acrylic & Ink On A Crackle Medium Base
"There was a time when it was high fashion to use crackle medium on just about everything. Today, there is still room for it, but we use it much more sparingly. I show you how to use crackle medium in today's blog, using the cracked surface as a backdrop for yet another painting. I choose my colours carefully to reflect the warmth of the sun. Then I use acrylics and ink to paint a darling little girl who has caught the sun. This painting attempts to capture the delight of a child's warm embraces and unconditional love, that enters your life like the warmth of the sun."
Blog 88 - Alpaca Impressions in Acrylic & Pen
"Visiting the gorgeous town of Hondeklip Bay in the Northern Cape a little while ago, I made some brand new friends who had a host of interesting animals sharing their house and yard with them. Among these were two very cute Alpacas. I took a couple of really cute snapshots of these two and decided to turn these photos into my own impressions of these sweet animals. I use acrylics and pens on small canvasses for today's blog."
Blog 89 - Using Palette Knives To Paint An Impressionist Seascape
"I think it must have become clear by now that I love impressionist art. I was asked by one of the blog's followers to do a couple of demonstrations on how to use palette knives. Today's blog is in answer to that request. I paint a lovely seascape in impressionist style using my palette knives. I start the discussion with an overview of the knives and show you step by step how I converted my holiday photo into this painting."
Blog 90 - Using Palette Knives To Paint Marigolds
"Today's blog is still in response to the request for tips on using the palette knife. I use a different technique from those used in the previous blog when I paint a couple of marigolds, in an attempt to show you some of the versatility of palette knives."
Blog 91 - Using Palette Knives to Paint An Abstract Tree
"Abstract art is not to everyone's taste and it certainly isn't my regular style, yet I love to dabble in it from time to time. Today's blog is really a further lesson in the use of palette knives, but I share some ideas for abstract art in the blog."
Blog 92 - Using Palette Knives To Paint A Smooth Painting
"It is a common misconception that palette knives have to be used with thickly pasted paint and impasto work. The truth is that a palette knife is able to apply paint more smoothly than most brushes can. I show you how to do this in today's blog when I use palette knives and oil colours to paint a dragonfly on paper. I then turn this little demonstration into a practical card."
Blog 93 - Using Palette Knives With Acrylic Paint & Impasto Medium
"Having crafted a frame in the previous blog, I was itching to paint something to fit into the frame. I have been wanting to get back to the lessons on using palette knives and this was the ideal opportunity. Many people believe that palette knives can only be used with oil colours. This is not true. Today I will show you how to use oil colour techniques when painting with acrylics. The result is that your acrylics will take on the appearance of oil colours. Nifty, indeed!"
Blog 94 - Blending Coloured Pencils With Rubbing Alcohol
"When considering the properties of colouring pencils, in an effort to come up with easier ways of blending, it occurred to me that I may be able to use Rubbing Alcohol to achieve the desired results. Once this ideas was born, I simply had to put it to the test. I was tremendously impressed with the results and could barely wait to share it with all of you. As always, I tried the technique with a range of pencils and then coloured a whole picture, with proper shading, to see the final results. If you love colouring, I guarantee you will enjoy this! I took the picture from my book Designs By Miekie 1."
Blog 95 - Painting A Cubist Abstract Landscape In Oils
"When visiting the small town of Pitsane in Botswana, my friends made sure to take me round to see the Makgoro pans. After the recent rains, the pans were brimming with life and the water levels had increased tremendously. The vegetation were lush and green. I could not take enough photos. When left to my own devices, a couple of days later, I made use of the opportunity to paint these pans slightly different to how I had seen them. In today's blog I show you how to interpret a landscape differently from the reality and to then paint it the way you interpreted it. My choice for this version fell on an almost cubist (more geometric) abstract interpretation of the scene."
Blog 96 - Paint A Simplified Landscape In Inktense & Oils
"Today's painting is a very simple interpretation of an agricultural landscape, yet it is visually very appealing as the simplicity of the painting forces you to linger longer in the scene, in an attempt to make sense of it. The underpainting is done with Derwent Inktense and this is then followed up with oil colours. Some scgraffitto in the wet paint puts the finishing touches on the painting. This is a good place to start if you are new to painting and/or landscapes."
Blog 97 - Painting A Two-Toned Portrait In Oils
"When painting a portrait, I find it important to find a quality that sets it apart from the norm and makes it universally appealing, instead of being only appealing to the people familiar with the subject. When painting today's portrait, I managed to achieve this by creating tension between the subject and its surroundings. I also made sure to focus all of the attention on the single eye. Let me walk you through the steps of creating such a dramatic picture."
Blog 98 - Painting A Cat In Oils
"When entertaining small children, we often find ourselves painting the most unlikely of subjects. For me, cats fall neatly into that category, although I am led to believe that it is the most commonly painted subject by artists. Perhaps because they remain stagnant for such long periods on end? However it may be, I found myself painting a cat to amuse a little girl and recorded the steps. This one is for all the cat-lovers out there!"
Blog 99 - Painting A Deconstructed Buffalo In Oils
"There are times in art when painting an actual subject simply does not satisfy. This is a great time to consider abstract art. In today's blog, I use a photo of a buffalo as reference. I then decide which aspects of the animal appeals to me on this particular day. Then I use only these aspects of the buffalo in the painting before painting it in the playful colours of my mood. Let me show you how to deconstruct a buffalo in order to render it in a completely unique manner."
Blog 100 - Painting A Graded background In Oils
"There is more than one way of creating a graded background when using oil colours, but the method I share with you in today's blog, must certainly be one of the easiest. In a graded background, you want to achieve a gradual change of colour with no visible line where darker and lighter tones meet each other. I do this in both the ground as well as the sky in this small painting."
Marietjie Uys (Miekie) is a published author. You can buy the books here:
You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Teken en Verf Tuinstories hier koop.You can purchase Designs By Miekie 1 here.
Jy kan Kom Ons Kleur Tuinstories In hier koop.
Jy kan Tuinstories hier koop.
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