Shaking Bird
Bio
I'm an artist, an Aspie, a square peg in a world of round holes. Tring to be kind and kind of strange, sometimes making progress, sometimes making a mess, but always trying to improve. I write advice and how-tos for beginning artists.
Stories (6/0)
Overcoming Long-Term Artists' Block
Does this sound like you? You've tried everything. Daily prompts, new paints, bigger canvas, video tutorials, a different style, maybe even an Inktober. And all of this effort feels about as motivating and inspiring as forcing a cat into a pillowcase. Nothing feeds your creativity anymore, nothing gives you that sense of challenge or excitement you used to enjoy. It's like your mojo has been struck dead. Nothing you've tried can bring it back, either. This may have been the case for months or even years, but one thing is indesputable: you've lost your zeal for creating. You are suffering from artists' block.
By Shaking Bird9 months ago in Motivation
How to Charge for Art Commissions
Hooray! You're getting commissions! Congratulations, you now get to experience both the thrill of having your skills appreciated, and the paralyzing anxiety of new territory. It's not just about producing a pretty picture anymore. How much do you charge? What about contracts? How to package work for shipping? The list goes on.
By Shaking Bird9 months ago in Lifehack
Oil Painting: The Absolute Beginner's Supply List
So you're beginning to paint in oils. Yay! You're embarking on a marvelous adventure with one of the most forgiving, versatile, and historic mediums available. So far so good. But you're probably reading a bunch of those how-to books by now, which all give different advice on the supply page, and use different terms for them, and different brands, and different price points...
By Shaking Bird3 years ago in Lifehack
Absolute Beginners: How to Clean Up After Painting in Oils
As a teenager, I struggled to teach myself how to paint with oils. Its various quirks and complexities outwitted my stubbornness and eventually overwhelmed me to the point where I swore them off completely, and I did not return the the medium for several years.
By Shaking Bird3 years ago in Lifehack
5 Thrifty Artist Tools to Make Life Awesome
Wouldn't it be bliss if creating a masterpiece was as easy as picking up a brush and laying down paint? No cleanup, no mismatched eyes, no losing bristles, no losing patience. There was a time when I thought oil painting in particular was too much trouble to bother with. I didn't realize that having the right tools was half the battle!
By Shaking Bird3 years ago in Lifehack
Direct Painting: A How-To for Oils
So you want to learn about painting with oils. That ancient, noble craft passed down from the Rembrabdts and the Caravaggios of bygone days, and the Monets and Picassos, a medium so adept at capturing the ideas of, well, anything! If you can imagine it, you can realize it in oils.
By Shaking Bird3 years ago in Lifehack
