Welcome to the Palette Scrapings page. Here you will find tips and tricks, tutorials, links to artist's
pages that are interesting and any other thing that comes to mind.
The tutorials will be password protected and are only for NCAA members. This is to keep our
bandwidth usage under control.
NCAA Members: the password is the same as you use to access the online directory.
If you have a tip, trick, interesting link, or want to request a tutorial on something specific,
please email me at webmaster@newcaa.com
Amazing Artists
Cindy House creates some astonishingly beautiful pastel landscapes. Be sure to check out her works.
www.cindyhouse.com
Besides being an amazing person and friend, Carol Baxter Kirby is a wonderfully talented portrait artist. She had the privilege of being selected to paint former Governor Roy Barnes' official portrait for the Georgia State Capitol.
Art Tips
Pencil Grades?
Lead art pencils range from hard to soft. Some are better for precise line work, while others are better for making thick, soft lines, giving a result almost like charcoal pencils. You should try out the different grades of pencils so you can find one that you feel comfortable using.
For hard pencils, the lead will vary from 9H, which is the hardest, to HB. These pencils make fine lines and precise, hard marks and they are used mainly for technical work. The highest grade of lead for soft pencils is 8B. For general use, B or 2B is a good choice. B pencils allow you to create more varied lines and tones, particularly on textured paper.
- John Cleary
Overcoming Artist's Block
Here are a few great ideas to overcome artist's block. Take a sketchbook out to a park and take a look around you. Notice the birds in the trees, the children playing on the swing set, the ducks swimming in the pond. Take in the whole environment and then start sketching. The drawings don't have to be overly detailed, just sketch what you see around you. You can also take a hike up a mountain trail, gaze at the trees, mountains, and other scenery. Once you start taking some time off and doing some loose sketching in a place other than your studio, you will find that your artist's block has gone away.
- John Cleary