Artist’s Hints AND tips

• When photographing an object, try to capture it as close as possible for the detail, hence a telescopic lens is useful.

• If the painting on a MDF board is larger than 50 x 50cm, I would glue a cross-bracing on the back to stop possible warping.

• A wide sponge brush is good to use to reduce texture when undercoating a large MDF Board. Also, when still wet, very lightly run the brush in the same direction to smooth out any ridges of paint.

• A good quality ‘Primer-sealerundercoat’ house paint will do for undercoating the MDF board. The dearer the cost, the more pigment it has, so the less coats needed to cover the board.

• To paint straight edges, it is important to have a smooth surface texture, as your paintbrush bristles will otherwise bounce up and down. Besides airbrushing to have a smooth background, other painting techniques could be used.

• When airbrushing large areas side to side, keep the airbrush distance parallel to the board. For the airbrush to keep working well, regularly cleaning is recommended. For better tonal control, spray the darker tones first.

• A hairdryer is useful to speed up the drying time between each coat of acrylic paint.

• To keep the oil paint useable for many days, which you premixed on your palette, store it in your deep freezer. So as the paint will not be disturbed, place the palette in a small sturdy old cardboard box, or similar. It only takes about half an hour to thaw out.

• To reduce paint bleeding under masking tape, cover the tape with a sheet of paper, and with some pressure, run your fingernail along its edge.