Meet Alex

Since 2018, Evolve artist and student Alex Vinciguerra has been developing his skills into fantastic works of art. Currently, Alex is finishing up Block 7, speed painting, and has worked through grayscale, direct painting, vacant shadows with great success. 

Before college, Alex had no intention of making art a large part of his life. Though interested in doodling and drawing, it was not until college that he began seriously pursuing art. 

Currently a senior graphic design major at college, Alex balances school and Evolve. He has some fantastic tips for students who may find themselves in the same busy phase of life, and how he capitalizes on the time he does have in order to keep growing as an artist. 

As an Evolve student, Alex is proving that even as a busy college senior, he can still succeed and reach his goals with art. His hard work and diligence have produced beautiful paintings that show careful planning and execution. 

Art Journey

Evolve Journey

How did you come to find Evolve?

I was subscribed to Mitch’s Pencil Kings newsletter because of some YouTube artists that I was watching...and one day I saw the email that talked about how there was some painter in NJ who could teach anybody how to paint. 

And at first, I was thinking “probably either exaggeration or scam,” but still checked it out because “what if?” And the results examples were so consistent and impressive that I started thinking “maybe?” 

Especially the charcoal from block 1, that was super convincing for me because on the one hand, I could see how it was simple, but also how it looked better than anything I had done, and it convinced me that at least this program could teach me that. Then I started hyping it up in my head, imagining myself in two years doing super cool paintings… I got in and started up in February of 2018.  

Tips for Artists

What do you see yourself doing with your art?

First, make great paintings that provide a stable source of income...I’d also love to do paintings for churches...Portraits of people I like/admire would be cool too, and nerdy stuff with knights and/or wizards, and/or dragons are definitely on the list. And recreating scenes from good books would be really fun. Oh, and historical events. Maybe some landscapes. A lot of stuff I guess!

Do you have a personal favorite piece you’ve completed recently?

The one I just completed...is probably my favorite recent one. It’s one of the chess pieces, probably because it almost fits that nerdy category I was talking about earlier (there’s a king and a knight, good enough for me).

What tips would you give to a beginning student?

To a beginning student...don’t stop…

I mean it’s not like I never stop. In fact, I bet if you look at the submission dates for my assignments you can tell exactly when my summer and winter breaks start and end because my output is pretty consistent at 1 per day during breaks, then drops drastically to 1 every 1-2 weeks during school. 

But even when I’m not doing a painting a day, if I have a minute I try to set up for when I have a longer stretch of time. 

I think of what objects I might use for direct observation...or do the transfer sketch for a photo. Even just taping up the canvas to the piece of wood makes it that much easier to start painting when I have time. So do that.

Conclusion

We hope you’ve enjoyed getting to know one of our Evolve students, and are encouraged to take the little steps to start painting more and begin to evolve as an artist! Even with the busiest of schedules, you can make time for your art.

Reclaim and Reutilize Time

The first step to making time for art is to find the time in the day that you can reclaim.

Start by doing just a little, several times a day. 

Maybe this means sketching at lunch or after dinner. It could be drawing or writing down notes of what you’d like to do while on hold on the phone. Perhaps there is a 15-minute time slot when you are waiting in the pick-up line that you can pull out your journal and sketch out ideas or practice new techniques. 

Bring a blank journal with you everywhere.

When pockets of time open up, you can bring out your sketchbook and draw or brainstorm ideas. Draw the world around you or little details. Practice finding light and shadow and differentiating between the two. Draw out ideas for paintings or still-lives and how you would light them. These quick, little sketches don’t need to be perfect, but they will get you into the habit of making art. 

Reduce your screen time.

Use the time you normally spend scrolling through social media or watching tv for making art instead. Calculate the time you spend watching tv or scrolling through social media and instead push yourself to fill that time with something that you enjoy doing and will help you to achieve your goals. Set timers on social media accounts to allow yourself to stay caught up with friends while also setting healthy boundaries on this time and reclaiming it for your art practice. 

Set Boundaries for Your Art

Get Involved and Get Organized

Being engaged and organized is important for artists. Isolation can lead to discouragement and a disorganized artists rarely completes tasks.  

Find an art accountability partner. 

Having an accountability buddy for your artistic practice will also help you to meet your goals. While ultimately the responsibility is on your shoulders, having someone to encourage and motivate you can be incredibly helpful. Meeting with another artist in person or online once a week can help you build momentum, have a sense of responsibility and accountability, and turn isolating art practices into an encouraging environment. 

Get organized!

Establishing deadlines, goals, and accountability often sounds too restrictive for creatives, but getting yourself organized is the key to sustainably making time for art. While flexibility is important as an artist, establishing boundaries and goals will help you avoid putting off tasks and projects that are less fun. Organized artists can stay focused and move forward, making the most of the time they have. 

Conclusion

Ultimately, making time for art is on your shoulders. If you find yourself saying "I wish I had time to make art", know that you will never have the time; you have to make the time. 

With responsibility, jobs, and family, things will come up that distract us from our art. But by starting small, reprioritizing, and focusing on the things you can control, you will make so much more time for your art. 

This week, try scheduling your art and setting some achievable goals. What time can you reclaim?

Oil Painting is Toxic

This oil painting myth is fairly common. However, the majority of oil paint is not toxic. In fact, unless you eat your oil paint, which is never recommended, there are no adverse effects to most oil paints. Oil paint is made up of natural oil and pigment, and the majority of pigments are completely safe and non-toxic. There are a few toxic ones, like lead-white, cadmium, and cobalt, but they are only toxic if you eat or breath in the dry pigment before the oil is mixed. These slightly toxic colors can also be substituted out for synthetic alternatives. 

​Oil paint itself has no smell. The unpleasant, toxic smell many people talk about comes from the solvent (turpentine or white spirits) many artists use to help the fluidity of paint, cleaning, or drying time. Leaving open turpentine lying around will indeed fill a room with a toxic fume. However, there are safer alternatives to use, like linseed oil, which is a fairly scentless, safe alternative to turpentine. Brushes can also be cleaned with a bar of simple ivory soap, rather than turpentine to keep children, pets, and yourself away from the smell and touch of turps. 

In addition, if you are using a high-quality paint, you can get away without using medium, using the paint straight from the tube. Medium is only necessary to change the characteristics of the paint. It can speed or slow drying, increase transparency, or increase fluidity, but can also be left out of your painting process entirely. 

So the myth that oil painting is toxic really has little to do with oil painting, and more to do with unsafe practices and unnecessary mediums. 

Oil Painting is Too Expensive

Oil Painting Takes Too Long to Dry

This common oil painting myth can be avoided. Oil paint only takes a long time to dry in very certain circumstances. Depending on the color, some oil paints will dry a bit slower than others, but if you are working with a smooth, thin, opaque layer of paint, your painting will most likely be dry within 24 hours. 

However, certain colors like white may take a bit longer to dry depending on the application thickness. Painters who use the impasto technique, or puddling, will often have to wait a week or two for their paint to dry. Very, very thick impasto can take several months. But if you choose to work in a thinner manner, your paint will dry very quickly. 

A medium can also change the drying time of the paint. Linseed oil helps paint to tack up and dry within six hours and be fully dry in about 24. Using just an alkyd, your paint will start to dry within four hours. But if you choose a medium like a clove oil, your paint may stay wet for several days to weeks. 

These mediums can be helpful if an artist likes to work into wet paint, but certain mediums can also help to speed up the drying time. 

The myth that oil painting takes too long to dry really depends on how you are painting, and in general, oil paint dries quite quickly. 

Conclusion

There are many oil painting myths, but by looking a bit deeper, we can see that they can easily be disproved. Oil painting is a simple, safe way to create art and paintings and is suitable for students and professionals alike. 

Now that you know some of the truths behind common oil painting myths, you’re ready to tackle the medium and discover the benefits of oil painting. 

What Does Varnish Do?

Applying varnish to an oil painting helps to combat the uneven drying of paint layers. Because some oil paint pigments contain more oil than others, they may dry more glossy than others. Others contain less oil and dry with a matte finish. Darker color especially tend to dry and lose their original luster. Varnish helps to even out the final painting at the very end to unify the layers and different colors of paint. 

In addition to aesthetic uses, this protective coat offers a dust-resistance and protective final coat for the painting. Many varnishes have UV light resistors to protect the paintings from fading when exposed to light. Most are acrylic, some removable and mineral spirit based rather than water-based. For this reason, varnish should always be used in a well ventilated or preferably outdoor area. 

Varnish in History and Restoration

Which Varnish Should I Use and How?

Varnishes used for oil painting are typically acrylic and can be applied by either a spray or brush. Using a brush can often produce unexpected results, ranging from uneven coverage to bubbles on the surface of the painting. Here at Evolve, we urge our students to use a spray varnish, which evenly and lightly coats the surface of the painting. 

Aside from the application process, varnish can be roughly broken down into permanent and temporary. Permanent varnish, also called picture varnish, is just as it sounds: permanent. It can only be applied after the painting thoroughly dries, anywhere from 2 months to two years. Though conservationists can carefully removed it, the permanent version usually protects paintings that will not be retouched or cleaned for many years. 

Temporary varnish, also known as re-workable, temporarily restores colors and can be reworked upon. It is thin and can be applied to the painting as soon as it is dry to the touch. Because if it's thin nature, it allows the paint to continue to deeply dry without cracking. 

Choosing a varnish depends on your painting style, but re-workable options prove a good choice for beginner painters. 

Conclusion

Parts of an Oil Paintbrush

Each paintbrush has the same anatomy, and it is made up of three parts. These three sections of the paintbrush are the bristles, the ferrule, and the handle. The bristles of the paintbrush are simply the hair that carries the paint. They can be stiff or pliable, each one leaving a unique mark. Stiffer brushes are often made of hogs hair or a synthetic bristle that can be used for scrubbing paint onto the canvas or leaving behind texture. A softer bristle, often made up of  soft hair, will yield a smoother result and more control. 

Bristles can be made of natural animal hair or synthetic hair. Natural hair brushes are often the most sought after, as they tend to be very soft and fine. However, synthetic brushes are a fantastic choice and can come in a range of very soft to very firm. Here at Evolve, our students use a range of synthetic brushes for their paintings.

The ferrule is the metal band that attaches the bristles to the handle. It holds them in place and keeps them together. It is important never to allow the paint to reach up to the ferrule. If this happens, the paint can dry close to the metal and become hard to clean. Once it dries near the ferrule, the bristles often spread, making it difficult to gain control with the brush. 

The handle of the paintbrush can be long or short  and made up of wood or plastic. If you choose a longer handled paintbrush, you can get some distance from your painting, but a shorter brush can enable you to render details with greater control. 

Different Types of Paintbrushes

Which Brush Should I Use?

Finding the paintbrush that works best for your particular situation may take some time and trials. Start with a simple filbert, maybe in a 2, 6, and 12, and see where that gets you. You may want to explore a wider brush, or perhaps a round. 

Evolve students start their painting journey with mostly filberts, and as they grow in their techniques are able to experiment with different styles and sizes. 

Consider investing in a few, quality, medium to large stiff brushes, and a few smaller soft brushes. Explore which ones fit you best in your painting style. Don’t give up on a brush if it feels uncomfortable at first, instead, hold on to it as it may come in handy later. 

Conclusion

Finding the brushes that suit you best takes time. Just remember that in order to find out what you like, you must paint and practice! 

Take your time and experiment with different brush styles until you find what works best for your painting technique. 

Remember to take good care of your brushes!