# New to the forum - I don't know what to do with this painting



## Taboose (Dec 19, 2015)

Hello everyone, I have been painting off and on for a while now and sold some stuff in the past - like 15 years ago... And have an art show in my hometown coming up in May - but I've never really had proper training. I took some classes a couple years ago - one was to discover what to do art about and what medium you want to use so there was a lot of experimentation and an intermediate painting class when I really probably needed a beginning painting class? I think I've always thought I knew more than I really did. I Think I've gotten a lot of advanced information and have missed a lot of beginning information. Not sure if im making any sense ? words are not my strong point - let's just say that I want this painting to look more professional than it does right now. I don't even know what to do next. One thing I may need to do is make the background recede more. I would appreciate any tips or advice greatly! I'm seeing a lot of nice work on here!


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

Welcome to the forum Taboose. Is this a watercolor? I don't know anything about doing abstract paintings but there are some artists here that can help you. It is an interesting painting, but it does look like it is unfinished.


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## Taboose (Dec 19, 2015)

Thanks Terry, 

It is not watercolor - it's acrylic on black canvas - I may go over it in oil later but am trying to get most of it done with acrylics first. I'm doing a series on relationships. The figures are meant to be pretty generic but I think they need shading or cast shadows or something which is not something I'm very good at. I'm scared to paint anymore on it so I just stand and stare at it and worry about screwing it up which is so dumb!!!


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

I sure know that feeling...fear of screwing it up. But that is part of the fun too. Some of my very best paintings have been oil done over acrylic. The Acrylic gives it a perfect base.


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## Susan Mulno (Apr 13, 2015)

You can print copies of this to practice the affects you want. It is not the same as painting but will give you an idea of what will work or not.

As it is I think it is wonderful. It has a nice feel to it. I agree your characters should remain generic but have some depth to give them more importance to the piece.

Welcome to the forum btw!


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## FanKi (Apr 23, 2015)

Hmmm I think screwing up a painting or drawing it's not dumb, it's maybe the thing we'll be doing lot of times so we should have fun with it. Any way we all know it's not the best feeling when something likes you very much and you ruin it, soooo you also must know when to stop >.<

By the way, I really really like this one. Looks finished to me. Maybe you can add some shadow or depth to the figures, so they combine with the painting a bit more. (I think you could find something on youtube)

Good work ^^


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## Taboose (Dec 19, 2015)

Thanks! It's also my first time painting on black canvas so I don't want to completely cover the thing in paint - otherwise what would be the point of black canvass?!

I think i'm going to let this sit awhile and start some new ones....


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## MindGem (Oct 28, 2015)

If you want the background to recide more than make it more dim, use a soft brush and don't have too much variation in color. That will bring the cliffs closer.


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## jules hilliard (Aug 13, 2015)

You have a good start. Another thing you might consider doing is painting over some of the brown in the background with a cool color. The brown being a warm color tends to come forward. And don't worry about screwing things up. You can always paint over. After all, the old masters did it. More sharp edges and contrast will bring the foreground forward.


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## Taboose (Dec 19, 2015)

Thanks for the tips - I wish i could just Photoshop it and press undo when I don't like what I've done!!
I'm going to work on it again this week - I'll probably test out some of your tips....


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## Taboose (Dec 19, 2015)

Well here's what I did to the background - I guess I'll have to paint over the foreground stuff again - it's hard to use a brush of a certain size when you get close to an object - I felt like I should switch to a smaller brush or go vertically but that would look weird ...guess I could tape it off in the future?


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## TerryCurley (Jan 4, 2015)

I definitely prefer this background.


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## dickhutchings (Oct 6, 2015)

If you use the masking method, I've heard on forums and found this to be true. Mask a little inside the part your trying to cover. Remove the mask and repaint the edge over the background. You get a better effect.


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## Taboose (Dec 19, 2015)

Do u mean to use masking fluid?


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