Vladislav Yeliseyev shares insights on painting two different landscape subjects, and the brushes he uses for them, in this artist profile from Plein Air Today.
By Vladislav Yeliseyev, AIS, NWS
When it comes to painting my favorite subjects – boats and buildings – I use the same methods and brushes. Universal principles for painting anything is basically paint the light distribution on the surface and not the object per se. For instance when I paint or draw a portrait, I don’t think in terms of ears, eyes, and nose, but rather the form, which happens to be the thing I’m looking at, at that moment. If I take care of proportions correctly, the drawing will remarkably resemble the person of depiction.
Being said that I find some differences in painting boats and buildings. The difference is rather atmospheric, idealistic, or a poetic aspect of the object. The buildings are heavy and stable, the boats are not. The boat painting shall carry dynamic quality as well as softer and graded textural differences, abstractly, of course.
The sailboat, for instance, has a distinctive linear aspect to its structure, which will lead to a different approach to composition and, as a matter of fact, a different brush choice. A Dragger or sword brush will play a more significant role in the process of painting in this case. Although the brushwork will be more distinctive “by form,” and a pattern to enhance curvature of the hull, for instance. I try to use a limited number of paints and brushes in my creative process. I was trying to fall in love with many brushes during my art career and always find that love short lived for some reason. Now I use one Kolinsky for large washes, a couple of synthetics, and a sword brush.
See more of Vladislav Yeliseyev’s work at:
www.YeliseyevFineArt.com – Fine Art
www.Yeliseyev.com – Architectural Illustration
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