To make yourself more at ease with figure drawing, here are a few tips for you. These will serve as a guide to figure drawing so that you won’t get distracted at the sight of a nude model.

· Avoid being caught up in the details of the human figure. That would slow down your work. A technique to make figure drawing a lot easier for you is to try to scribble lightly and loosely just to capture the outline of the figure. Soon, you will be able to figure out the best approach for you.

· Determine the empty spaces around the figure when you look at the model. You fill in those spaces by forming shapes. That way, you shift your focus on the subject because you teach yourself how to broaden your span of vision. Simply put, you see the whole picture rather than just the subject itself.

· Ask for help and opinion from fellow artists. Improving your figure drawing skills is easy when you have someone who can give constructive criticisms of your work.

· Read, read, read. As with other forms of art, you learn the basics from instructional books or lessons. Of course, you need all the information you can get to enhance your ability to draw human figures.

· Practice, practice, practice, that is the only way you are going to bet better and get over your fears.

The first step is to draw the exterior elevation in a perspective view using vanishing point lines. These are lines that gradually from two single points ray out until they connect to the perspective lines from an opposite side of the paper.

After the perspective elevation has been carefully drawn, and the shadows laid in outline, it is ready to be rendered. Shadows on the perspectives can be easily determined if they are cast first on the elevations, and then applied to the perspective. Then trees, shrubs, people, and whatever else can be added to the drawing.

Rendering in pencil is probably the most simple way to do it. Use a sharp #2 lead pencil, and then start with firm, short lines. If done properly, the pencil rendering will resemble the pen and ink. If you have a steady hand you can also add water color to the drawing.

On the other hand, with modern technology and the advent of automated CAD (Computer Aided Drafting) rendering can also be completed in the drafting program. This is by far the fastest way, but call me a purist if you will, there is nothing that looks better than a hand drawn rendering.

Don’t be fooled by paintings that are reproductions of an original. A lot of people who aren’t that knowledgeable in the world of oil paintings may be easily fooled into believing a reproduction is an original work and end up paying a high price. Some of these reproductions are merely prints that are touched up in places with paint.

You may want a reproduction when it comes to some of the more famous paintings that are way too expensive for the average person, but you want to make sure that what you are paying is worth what you are getting. Sometimes these paintings are priced much higher than what they are worth.

Oil paintings are some of the most beautiful and long lasting art there is and this kind of painting goes back centuries. If you have a certain scheme of colors in mind for the paintings that you re looking for, you may spend a little more time looking, If you already have a color scheme in mind that you want to hang in your den to match a certain decor, then you might want to hire a painter to help you get the exact painting.

A collection of oil paintings may mean that you want a collection from just one artist. If you have seen something from an artist that appeals to you, then why not see if you are going to be able to contact that artist and see about getting a deal on a bulk project of that artists painting. You nay end up getting some really great art for a great price.

Are you thinking of a certain object painted into oil paintings, like a certain kind of flower or a particular kind of landscape? Are you interested in obtaining a painting that has animal life or just a city scene? If you are thinking of a kind of painting that you see in your mind’s eye, then you should start looking for something will suit you in online galleries. You mat find the right painting and more.

If you happen to know someone who paints with oils, you might want to get their input about what to look for in a good quality oil painting. How will you know if the paint is going to crack a few years later? How will you know if the paint is going to fade later on? These are a few things you will want to know about before buying an expensive oil painting.

Collecting paintings is a great way to have some of the finest kind of art. There are many people who collect and you will meet many of them as you begin to visit galleries. You may find that many different kinds of art appeals to you and you never know what will start to grow on you in the way of paintings.

After spending time, and often a lot of money, for the right pieces of art, the works must be carefully placed or hung to best be seen and to complement the spaces they occupy. What is often overlooked is proper and effective lighting of the art. Imagine the difference in impact between an unlighted painting at the end of a hallway and the same painting artfully illuminated. In the first case, the painting will often fade into the background. A well lighted painting will become a focal point.

A picture can be illuminated either from a ceiling-mounted spotlight focused on the work, or from a tubular lamp mounted above it. A spotlight mounted at the right angle can provide excellent illuminating, but may have the drawback of attracting attention to itself as an element of the ceiling.

When considering a tubular light mounted above a painting, many of us think of the 8″ wide incandescent lights that have been prevalent for this type of lighting. These lights have been very warm in color, produce a fair amount of heat, and tend to illuminate just a small center area of a picture. Until recently, the only real alternative has been fluorescent lighting which, due to its color and potential flicker, has not really been an option.

Recent developments in LED lighting technology provide pleasing lighting colors in various widths of lighting strips, and allow the illumination to be focused on the artwork with minimal “spillage” onto the surrounding area. LEDs have the further benefit of producing virtually no heat, which can be destructive to artwork.

When choosing appropriate lighting for your paintings, here are some things to consider:

1. How much heat and infra-red radiation does a light source provide. In this case less is better.

2. Does the light source produce ultra-violet radiation which can be detrimental to artwork? Does the fixture provide ultra-violet filtering to eliminate the ultra-violet light?

3. What color is the light? The color should bring out the colors and mood of the piece being lighted. A painting with oranges and reds will be complemented by a warm-colored light. Conversely, a predominantly blue painting will look best with a cooler light.

4. Will the light provide even illumination over the width and height of a picture?