An imaginative and a good artist uses oil paintings as a medium to enhance his piece of work which is created based on his imagination or out of the interpretations which he might have drawn from the objects viewed. A good artist along with his set of oil paintings can add a life to the objects he paints, especially painting on a canvas gives the paintings a three dimensional look. A good and an imaginative artist can make any paintings renowned by adding a pinch of emotion with just a stroke of a brush to the paintings which might be depicting victorious events or the scenic beauty of nature. Artists have this admirable ability to add life to the objects, thus the different interpretations which the artist draw makes us visualize the inanimate objects in a new way.

Now for instance let’s consider a ship which is fighting a terrible storm, an artist possesses the ability to portray the intensity of the nature and thus making us to imagine the fury of nature by viewing the painting. Oil paintings have provided extremely realistic appearances that have added a color to the imaginations of the artist. In 1500A.D the artists made the discovering of making colorful paints by mixing ground natural pigments by using vegetable oil took place. The drying oils which were utilized in the early days were walnut oil, poppy oil, hempseed oil, castor oil and linseed oil. These oils acted as varnishes for protecting the images and thus it helped in the protection of the paintings from damage caused by water. Thus oil paintings are considered as one of the best medium to put into light the frozen thoughts and provide a realistic view to the paintings.

An expert artist can very successfully reflect the personality of a person through his portrait. He captures everything perfectly into the portrait right from the muscle tone and skull structure to the perfect smile. To make the portrait paintings perfect, an artist first studies his/her subject very closely. He/she very deeply studies the character and personality of the person whose portrait is being made. He/she studies the emotions reflected by the eyes and smile of the subject. The artists very carefully study the structure of the features too.

After close study of the subject, the artists start working on the portrait paintings. They put in all their efforts to fill life into the portrait and make it look real. They try to reflect the different emotions, like happiness, anger, excitement etc., present in the subject, through the portrait. All the qualities which are required to make a portrait look beautiful are present in Leonardo Da Vinci’s ‘Mona Lisa’. That’s the reason why it is considered as one of the most beautiful portrait paintings painted till date.

http://www.stefano-campitelli-portrait-and-nude-painting.com/ is a website of Stefano Campitelli, an Italian artist from Rome shows his female and male nude drawings and paintings, male nude etching prints, lifelike oil portraits, nude male soft-ground etchings and aquatint prints. He also teaches his art techniques. He has been painting and drawing for more than 15 years. Also etching is one of his great passions. In this virtual art gallery you will also find nude drawings, etching prints and aquatints.

Do you need information about art techniques? Here you will find some tips especially about oil painting, drawing and etching. Generally, figure painting is mainly focused on the female figure, but here male nude painting has an important place. Naturally other subjects as flowers and landscapes are represented as well.

If you find the way he express myself different, don’t worry, he am just an Italian “tourist”. If you have any questions or you are searching for some tips about art techniques, feel free to contact him.

Step One: Know the Type of Rose

All of us would know what red roses look like but there are several who are not aware that this beautiful flower comes in many colors and varieties. The first step in learning how to draw a rose is to know exactly what kind or variant of rose that is going to be drawn and to get at least a picture of it. Roses can be drawn freehand and once we know what variant we are going to draw, it’s time to make the outline. The outline does not have to be detailed, in fact it can consist of 2 circles to represent the flower itself, semi-curved lines to represent the stem, and roughly sketched leaves.

Step Two: Sketch the Stem and the Petals

Once we’ve drawn the circles to represent the flower, it’s time to lightly draw inside these circles to show the petals as the second step in learning how to draw a rose. The petals are meant to overlap and curve around the other petals so there is no one perfect shape. From the petals, thicken the curved lines that represent the stem without making it too thick or too thin.

Step Three: Draw the Leaves

Jagged lines would need to be drawn on the outline of the leaves to be able to depict a realistic picture. Start with making the edges of the leaves jagged and don’t worry if the lines are not perfect because they’re not meant to be. When learning how to draw a rose, make sure the leaves are connected to each other by drawing a leaf stem that’s connected to the flower’s stem.

Step Four: Shade the Leaves and the Flowers

Now it’s time to look into the final details of learning how to draw a rose. Shading starts from the inner part of the leaf’s stem and it gets lighter as we move out towards the jagged edges. Consider lighting also in that if one has drawn a leaf that is tucked away, this should be shaded darker than a leaf that is right in front.

Turpentine is the traditional solvent used in the oil painting. It’s actually based on tree resin and has a very fast evaporation rate, releasing harmful vapors. It could also be absorbed through healthy skin. Try using only artist quality turpentine as the industrial variety you will find in hardware stores probably contains impurities; it needs to be colorless, like water. It is also known as spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, genuine turpentine, English turpentine, distilled turpentine; double rectified turpentine, or even simply turps.

Mineral spirits is based on pure petroleum and has a moderate evaporation rate, releasing harmful vapors. It is not absorbed through healthy skin like turpentine. Mineral spirits is less expensive than turpentine. Mineral spirits is a stronger solvent than odorless mineral spirits, also called as white spirits.

Odorless mineral spirits is based on petroleum and has a reasonable evaporation rate. It is again not absorbed through healthy skin. It’s quite expensive than normal mineral spirits as it has had some of the harmful perfumed solvents removed. Good brands include Turpenoid, Thin-ex, and Gamsol.

Tip: Test the quality of a solvent by putting a little on a drop of paper and to let it evaporate. If it doesn’t leave any resident, stain, or smell, it needs to be good enough for oil painting.

Resins are used to increase the shine of oil paint, reduce the color, reduce drying time of a medium, and add body to drying oils. The most used one is a natural resin known as Damar that should be mixed with turpentine as it would not thoroughly dissolve when mixed with mineral spirits. Damar could also be used as a varnish.

Ideally, you must have a picture lighting system that can be easily reconfigured to light up relocated or new art pieces displayed in the art gallery. For several decades now, monorail lighting and track lighting are being used for lighting art galleries. Check the CRI (Color Rendering Index) A lamp’s CRI is nothing but its ability to display the colors of illuminated objects and falls in the range of 1 (monochromatic light) and 100 (the sun). Fluorescent bulbs that we commonly use have a very low CRI while incandescent lamps come with a high CRI. However, incandescent lamps are not really suitable for art galleries since they do not have the exact directional characteristics required for illuminating art galleries.

Low-voltage track and cable systems are commonly used for this purpose, as they use halogen lamps that are known for their almost perfect color rendering abilities with precise beam control. Another important factor that needs to be considered is the color temperature since it decides how colors would appear to the eye under a specific lamp. It is believed that warm colors would look more vibrant under ‘warm’ light sources while cool colors would look more pleasing under ‘cool’ lamps.

Pay attention to the beam spread abilities of a lamp. The size of the lighted area is one of the major lighting problems when illuminating an art gallery. For instance, a large cone used to illuminate a small art piece may not only look odd but also distract your attention from the artwork to the illuminated wall. It may not be always possible to change fixtures but you can certainly resolve this problem by choosing a lamp of the right beam spread. Simply put, beam spread refers to the width of the cone of light a lamp produces as you move away from the light source.

Beam spreads of lamps are specified in terms of spots and floods. While the term ‘spot’ refers to a beam spread of less than 15 degrees, ‘flood’ describes a beam spread in the range of 15 to 30 degrees. You must avoid directional cans as far as possible, since such recessed fixtures may not give enough light to illuminate an especially large piece despite their ability to rotate.

1. The World Body Painting Festival

This festival includes some of the most stunning professional body painting to be seen in the world today. A 3 day program includes dance, music and fireworks displays, as well as many competitions. Many of the body paintings here should fall under the category of ‘fine art’ with some of the dancers body paintings simply defying belief. A very large event and certainly worth traveling for.

Where: Seeboden, Austria
Duration: Three days
Events Include: World Championships in 3 categories; night contest for UV effects, Special Effects awards; classes and workshops; BodyCircus (fantasy ball); music and dance performances; an international photo contest; and a huge fireworks show.
Artistic Range: One of the very best, with stunning range of styles and surprising themes.
Family Friendliness: Not clear, but it is in Europe, so not likely to ban under 18. However this body painting festival does not advertise itself as family friendly, as some others do.

2. The Canadian Body Painting Festival

This is another body painting festival that showcases simply stunning artists and finished work. The quality of the art here is similar to that seen at the World Body Painting Festival. The Festival is themed from year to year, with the recent theme being “It’s A Jungle Out There.” Also includes the Canadian Body Painting Championships.

Where: Nanaimo, British Columbia
Duration: Two days
Events Include: Competitions in overall body painting, brush and sponge, and airbrush; includes the Canadian body painting Championships
Artistic Range: Most stunning, and one of the best overall. Very life-like and fantastic double-take images.
Family Friendliness: Not stated – would be worth making a call first.

3. The International Body Painting Festival

This festival takes place in Mainz, a city with over two thousand years of history. It is located on the river Rhine, has strong Celtic roots and may have been founded by the Romans as early as 13 BC. One can imagine that body painting has a long history here, if you remember the Celtic tradition of painting their bodies before going into battle. Once again, the artistic ability and range is stunning at this International festival.

Where: Mainz, Germany
Duration: Weekend festival
Events Include: Competitions include special effects and face painting
Artistic Range: Very stunning; high artistic skill.
Family Friendliness: Not known but again, it’s in Europe. I would call ahead.

4. Welsh International Body Painting Festival
This festival is a bit younger and less established than the top 3, although it has some impressive artwork considering that they are just getting started. Also the atmosphere is more ‘fun’ orinted, less ‘high art’ and family participation is strongly encouraged. A good festival to consider if you want to make it a family outing and see some amazing work in the process.
Where: Wales (of course)
Duration: Two days
Events Include: Hands on demonstrations; horror specialists and flower specialists
Artistic Range: High, and impressive for a smaller sized event; not as subtle or creative as some of the others
Family Friendliness: Very good; in fact they encourage families and camping, with an ‘all ages’ atmosphere and events designed for younger participants

5. The UK Body Painting Festival

This festival showcases some of the least impressive – although most amusing – body painting, although it should be said that it is not presented as a stuffy ‘high art’ affair, but more a circus or county fair type outing for the entire family. Fun, relaxed and un-selfconscious atmosphere allows for some of the more surprising and purely ‘fun’ body art to be seen. If you’re not a supermodel and would like to get your body painted without worrying about snide comments, this might be a good option for you.

Where: Ashford, UK
Duration: Two days
Events Include: Family-oriented face painting, body painting competitions for professional and amateur categories, craft fair, children’s activities, workshops, and a ‘bouncy castle.’
Artistic Range: Fair; more of a family outing with a lots to do than a showcase of spectacular art.
Family Friendliness: Very high; advertised as family event. Lowest cost of all the body painting festivals – comparable to a movie ticket.

6. The US Bodypainting Festival (or New Mexico Body Painting Festival/US Bodypainting Competition)

There is definitely some impressive body painting to be seen at this festival, and a lot of creative innovation with hair and unusual designs that you won’t see anywhere else. One example that springs to mind is a model dressed in racecar theme with red, white and blue hair sprayed out behind her as though flying in the wind. Also, if you’re in the US this festival obviously doesn’t require a plane ticket. However this is not a family outing, as it explicitly bans anyone under 18.

Where: Alberquerque, New Mexico
Duration: Three days
Events Include: Demonstrations, workshops, competitions in body painting
Artistic Range: Good to poor – there is a mix of very impressive artistic works and things better left unpainted here; although it’s all ‘interesting.’
Family Friendliness: Not at all. We are in the US remember; no one under 18 allowed.

Abstract paintings are unique and the most creative style of the paintings. Abstract Oil paintings have been the privilege of the people with high artistic sense. Abstract art paintings can be defined as an art that uses color and form in a non-representational way and it does not depict objects in the natural world. Abstract paintings were often claimed to capture something of the depicted objects’ immutable intrinsic qualities rather than its external appearance.

Abstract painters have the highest artistic sense.There have been many famous abstract painters. Their abstract art work has been greatly appreciated. Most of these abstract painters have produced their Abstract oil paintings on canvas. Picass is one of the most famous abstract painter. His abstract paintings are amongst the most popular abstract art paintings.Picass abstract paintings have earned him worldwide recognition.

Abstract art has deep roots in history. Non-objective art is not an invention of the twentieth century. As the depiction of human beings is not allowed in the Islamic religion, consequently the Islamic culture developed a high standard of decorative arts. Calligraphy is also a form of non-figurative art. Abstract designs have also existed in western culture in many contexts. However, Abstract art is distinct from pattern-making in design, since it draws on the distinction between decorative art and fine art, in which a painting is an object of thoughtful contemplation in its own right. There are also many large abstract paintings.

Contemporary abstract paintings also represent true form of the abstract art. Modern abstract paintings have successfully attracted the art lovers. Modern abstract oil Paintings are of various wonderful styles. These include abstract expressionist paintings, abstract landscape paintings, abstract still life painting and abstract flower paintings etc. The abstract acrylic art is also getting very popular. The abstract art artists are also reproducing colourful abstract art. Mario Zampedroni is among the contemporary abstract painters who works can be seen today.

The abstract art lovers decorate their homes and offices with these wonderful abstract oil paintings. Cheap abstract art is also available from the abstract art galleries. People can buy the cheap abstract paintings from the abstract art galleries. They can also buy the reproductions of the famous abstract paintings from these abstract art galleries.

And now, a good news for the abstract paintings lovers. Get abstract paintings of your choice just by selecting the Model number of the Abstract Oil Painting on website or by choosing the Photo of your required image on website. Mario Zampedroni will make you pleasure with paintings.

• When you make up your mind that you are going to choose graphic designing as your career, you need to do a little research and find the university that is perfect for you. There would be a lot of universities that you will come across but you need to make sure that your selected university is providing accredited online graphic design degree. Moreover, you can also request for the details of courses by emailing some universities that you find affordable and attractive. Apply to the university that provides accredited online graphic design with affordable rates and other reasonable facilities.

• Once you get admitted in a university, you need to start working very practically by spending more time in educational activities that bring more knowledge and experience. Besides, you should also look for all those companies that hire graphic designer for interns.

• Try to get a job on internship. This will be an add-on for your skills and you would be able to get a good job right after completing your online graphic design degree.

• After acquiring an online graphic design degree, apply for all the available jobs that fit with your caliber. Here, you can take advantage of your internship experience and most of the companies would be happy to have an employee with some work experience. You can make progress by expressing your ideas and bringing innovation in your work.

• Practically working in a company is a little different than practicing graphic designs during your education. You need to constantly groom yourself throughout. Enhancing your skills will be beneficial for you as you would be able to meet the deadlines by being more productive and creative. This is the most important step that promotes a graphic designer after getting an online graphic design degree.

All music schools and music departments furnish a number of theory classes for students, as well as ear training. Perfect pitch is a rare gift for most musicians, but even those individuals who have perfect pitch still have to study theory so that it helps them with relative pitch and learn how melodies and harmony are constructed in works of music. Also, even if you can identify and read notes easily doesn’t mean that you can compose great works of music or that you can easily understand a great piece of music.

Imagine listening to someone reading out loud using no expression or emotion, with a lot of hesitation. Still, they are able to read and speak the words. The problem is that they do not sound good because there is no understanding of the words they are articulating.

So even if a person reads without expression they may understand what the words mean, but they still do not grasp the true meaning of the words. If they really understood what they were
reading, the reading would be more impressive. This holds true for musicians: if they can read the notes, they would be much better musicians by infusing the notes with expression.
No matter if you have perfect pitch and are naturally gifted with dexterity, the confidence you will gain from knowing why certain notes should fit together will affect other people who hear them. Most music students are required to study music theory as it is a basic fundatmental skill they must learn. They must learn why music sounds the way it does and how it is put together.

Instead you could use your creativity and imagination to create a beautiful doll house or a box guitar out of it. It is a better idea to make a few artistic items like kaleidoscope, a clay model or an airplane from the junk other than wasting the time playing some stupid computer games that produces aggression in the child`s young mind. The time spent in making handicrafts will further improve the creativity and bring innovative ideas in the child.

This one promotes team spirit and a sense of sharing in children of different age groups. While involved in arts and crafts one evolves the habit of expressing himself frankly. Not all the children are brilliant at studies; the arts and crafts give the average students to gain self confidence among them. Creativity is something that comes out even after so much oppression. It can`t be hidden anywhere. The arts and crafts help in bringing the hidden talent among young minds.