How to Make a Paint Brush Cleaner

February 07, 2020 in Oil Paintings, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos, Tutorials

I've got a super simple artist hack to help you make a cleaner for your paint brushes out of an old wire clothes hanger and a glass jar. I use mine in my transportable oil painting kit, so I have solvent in mine, but you can use them for really any kind of paint.

The art store wants to charge you $15-22 for a piece of war in a jar, but we're not going to play that game ;)

Happy twisting!

Materials

wire clothes hanger

glass jar
pliers
wire snips
eye protection

PS. If you need to grab some oil painting thinner and you want to support lil Birdie's artistic journey, any purchase thru my special links helps my YouTube channel thrive. Thank you!

Gamsol: https://bit.ly/2H4VUTg

Odorless Mineral Spirits: https://bit.ly/2vhDrA1

2.7.2020

How to Draw Ears

January 31, 2020 in Pencil Portraits, Tutorials, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos

Woo hoo we are doing this people!

Welcome to Part 4 of my Drawing Portraits Realistically series, How to Draw Ears. And as with all the features in this series, I'm showing you from the front, the side, and three quarter view.

If you didn't catch How to Draw a Nose or How to Draw Lips or How to Draw Eyes check those out and make sure you pop that Subscribe button because I still have how to place things properly on the head coming in the next two weeks, which you definitely do not want to miss.

Enjoy and tag me on Insta if you're practicing! @caleighbirdart

1.31.2020

How to Handle Art Sales

January 03, 2020 in Art Biz Advice, Tutorials, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos

You've sold a piece of artwork - Hoorayyy!! ....now what?

Today we'll talk about what to do for your new collector as well as how to document the sale of your original or high quality reproduction. These tips are super simple and not only will following them help you stay organized, but they may even turn those one-time buyers into repeat clients!

The Steps:

Celebrate!! Woo hoo! Congrats on your art sale!
Give your collector a Bill of Sale or Certificate of Authenticity
Get the collector’s email and sign them up for your newsletter (if you don’t have a monthly newsletter yet you absolutely need to check this out)
Get the collector’s address and contact info to write them a Thank You note
Organize all the sale info into a spreadsheet
Lowkey contact collectors about once a year

You can find and download a copy of my Sales Log here:

Sales Log

1.3.2020

How to Draw Lips

December 27, 2019 in Tutorials, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos, Studio, Pencil Portraits

Hey folks, let's draw some luscious realistic lips! I'll walk you through a simple outline demo for three different, and then we'll shade 'em up real good. You're gonna want to kiss your own drawing by the time we're done!

Today is Part 2 of my 'Drawing Portraits Realistically' series. Last time I did noses, then we'll have eyes, ears, and finally placement on the head.

Here is Part 1 :: Drawing Noses

12.27.2019

Make sure you are subscribed to the Birdie Blog so you’ll get a weekly roundup of my blog posts and YouTube vids so you won’t miss any of this series:

How to Draw a Nose

December 13, 2019 in Pencil Portraits, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos, Tutorials

Hi friends, are you ready to level up your portrait game?

Well that is super duper because I’ve got a 5 Part series coming atcha that is sure to help you out:)

Today I’ll be going over how to draw the nose from three angles, then every other week I’ll have a video on drawing eyes, lips, ears, and finally how and where to place them all on the head.

Make sure you are subscribed to the Birdie Blog so you’ll get a weekly roundup of my blog posts and YouTube vids so you won’t miss any of this series:

12.13.2019

What To Do With Used Oil Paint

October 11, 2019 in Studio, Tutorials, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos

Aloha folks, I hope you find today’s video especially useful around the studio because I’ve had a surprising amount of questions regarding what to do with used paint, either as a way to extend its life and keep using it, or as how to properly dispose of it.

Lucky you because today I’m gonna cover both!

Shout out to Mike Cleland, amongst a few more, for this video idea :)

As a side note, let me please emphasize again that it is very important to dispose of oil rags + old paint properly and not in your household trash. Unfortunately, that stuff is not good to seep in the soil no matter how ‘odorless’ or inoffensive it may seem. Let’s all do our part to clean up after ourselves and love our Mother Earth while we create amazing works of art, ok?

10.11.2019

Own Your Instagram :: Part 1 :: How to Choose Great Hashtags

August 17, 2019 in YouTube Videos, YouTube Tutorials, Tutorials, Art Biz Advice

Welcome to Part 1 of my four part series on 'Owning Your Instagram for Artists.' I know we have all been seeing our engagement drop so while I'm trying to show my own page a lil extra love I figured I'd share some tips with my lovely YouTube fam.

The key to using successful hashtags that will actually get you noticed in a veritable sea of other extremely talented artists is doing your research and getting specific. Trust me, tags that have 5 million posts are going to get you nowhere... but with just a little patience you can find your best possible, and totally personalized, hashtags.

Tune in for tips on how to lock into your specific type of niche art subject and style to attract genuine fans:)

Tips:

Research related hashtags (smaller is better!)
Research a variety of themes related to your artwork specifically
See how other similar artists are tagging
Save multiple hashtag sets in your phone for ease of use

Here's a vid by Girl vs. Globe I found especially helpful for my own IG page:

https://youtu.be/mC7_Rr45YXs

8.17.2019

How to Write a Newsletter

August 09, 2019 in YouTube Videos, YouTube Tutorials, Tutorials, Studio

Today we are going to tackle a task that every serious artist should be doing on a regular basis: writing a newsletter. I know it’s easy to think that social media posting is enough and is the best way to connect with your online audience, but it’s only half the battle.

Tune in to see why it is soooo essential for any pro artist to put out a regular newsletter, and then learn a super simple formula for engaging your readers every time. A good newsletter is like a fun lil present in your audience’s inbox so don’t look at this as bullet points of your finished ‘to do’ list, try to figure out how to make it an exciting lil story of your recent artsy adventures.

Check out this newsletter here and sign up to receive mine every month here!

Choose 2-3 Exciting/Interesting Topics

New piece of art or product
New venture in your art biz (ie, teaching, new social media platform, new service offered, upcoming exhibition or collaboration)
Recent achievements
Recent difficulties
Recent adventures (that fit in with your audience)

The Details…

Expand each topic into 1-3 concise paragraphs and include photos and links as needed
Break things up into bite-sized chinks to make it easy for your audience to read and digest
Don’t make too long/ too long winded or they won’t read next time
Include a CTA (call to action)
Include a PS

Tips

Be real! Be yourself and upbeat
Use a friendly conversational tone in 1st person
Turn any shared difficulties into a positive learning/teaching moment
Offer exclusive content
Occasionally offer an exclusive deal or sale
Include clear pics of you in action or at work on a project
Use consistent branding throughout (more branding info here)
Have website and other pertinent info in your footer
If you can, gather locations of subscribers so you can tailor email blasts to them about upcoming local shows or events

I use Mailchimp for my email service, but Mad Mimi and Squarespace also offer newsletter platforms as well.

It’s as easy as that folks! And if you ever need help with your own small art biz, just fill out this quick application to see if we’d be a goof fit for a little one-on-one art mentoring via webcam.

And here’s last week’s vid all about branding and looking like a pro.

8.9.2019

How to Paint Anything Realistically

July 18, 2019 in Oil Paintings, Tutorials, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos

Ok friends, I hope you came here ready to learn today because this video is chock full of tons of info that you can apply to basically any painting you’re working on that will help you depict a wide range of subjects more realistically. Yay!

I am thrilled to share with you a list of tips that are general enough to work across a large variety of subjects, but yet specific enough that if you take a little time to hone these skills you will absolutely become a better realist painter:)

I am an oil painter but these tips work with acrylic as well. Enjoy the vid and scroll down for your handy dandy realism checklist

It’s as easy as….

Start with a clear reference image
Create a strong drawing
Take time to mix proper colors and plenty of them
Go slowly - use small direct strokes with the correct sized brush
Pay attention to the surface of the material/subject you are depicting
Utilize multiple layers as needed
Continue correcting until desired look is achieved - be patient!
Feel free to give yourself/the painting/a part of the painting a break if things go awry and get frustrating; A day/week/month break can do wonders for a technical snafu

Here are some great reference vids for more detailed information:

How to Improve Your Drawing for Painting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1N2fZphjt1I&t=16s

How to Make a Painting Surface + Transfer Your Drawing to Canvas:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XozulwC3fM&t=5s

How Much Oil Paint to Use:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1noq6pwHsAk&t=16s

Mixing a Light Skin Tone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfVn2X2NpN8

Mixing a Melanin Rich Skin Tone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVQIncWs6eY&t=217s

How to Paint Sheer Lace Fabric:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2CYXlKWXXEE

How to Paint Gold Jewelry that Really Shines:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44zBEQN5MiU&t=30s

Good luck and happy painting! Remember I’m always here for some one-on-one mentoring as well.

7.19.2019

How to Paint Sheer Fabric + Lace in Oil

June 21, 2019 in Oil Paintings, YouTube Tutorials, YouTube Videos, Tutorials

Painting sheer fabric and lace in oil (or acrylic) takes a tender touch for sure, but with a little patience, love, and understanding of the fabric, getting a bright rendition should not be too difficult.