www.rosco.com: Scenic Artist Tessa Broyles shared her version of the “Anything But A Paintbrush” challenge in one of her recent Behind The Scenics Videos. In this case, she chose to paint a landscape scene without her trusty paintbrush. Whether you are a scenic student or an experienced scenic painter, this project is a great way to practice using unique tools in order to develop creative techniques for painting scenery.
10 comments:
I know only the basics of scenic painting, which is why I wanted to read the article. I really like how it walked through the process of using different tools or techniques as a way to explore what else can be accomplished without using a brush. I think the takeaway is applicable to a lot of things in our personal and professional lives which I really appreciate. A lot of times I find myself tied to a routine involving the same things over and over again. If it’s not broken, don’t fix it. This reminds me however to step out of my comfort zone and play around with changing things to see if my routine could be improved. To the very least confirm if it really is as functional as it can be. By doing new things is the only way we can learn and grow, and thinking about the end goal – like a pretty painting – is nice.
I absolutely love this. I struggle using a paintbrush sometimes because I think that interesting mark-making is so important to give life, movement and texture to a piece. I have used rocks, pinecones, and sticks to do ink drawings before and it really creates interesting lines. I live the idea of not using a paintbrush because I often ditch mine and start finger painting a lot of the time. The art that she did with the sponges turned out amazing and so I followed the scenic artist on youtube to learn more techniques.
Though I do not consider myself much of a painter, I think this is an awesome way to really force yourself to discover new techniques and tricks that might come in handy even when you can use a paint brush. It was interesting that she noted even in moments when she was missing her brush in certain areas, that whatever tool she used as a replacement did have some positives that she could not have achieved with using a paint brush. Often when we are under the time crunch of having to deliver a project we are hesitant to experiment with new techniques because it can feel like we do not have the time to try something new and do not have the time to correct a mistake. By doing a challenge like this where you are learning about potentially helpful techniques but are not under a rush can be a great way to help you prepare in a new way for upcoming time-sensitive projects.
I’m pretty sure that I have stumbled upon this youtube account before on the Greenpage, and this content is stellar. I love this no paint brush challenge. The sort of MacGyvering of paints tools I think is a neat trick for adapting in a workspace with minimal tools available. I was surprised that this challenge did not inspire Broyles to use more random or household objects as painting tools - like the rag and the feather duster. I think quick tool substitutes like those are ingenious and can come in very handy in a pinch. My high school shop did not have any sponges, so when I needed to add a dirty texture overtop an apartment building facade, I used a torn, cruddy towel to dab brown and black paint over the surface to weather it. Now, a natural sponge and a preval sprayer are two of my favorite tools in the paint shop. It is very true that preval sprayers are a challenge to get used to using, and even once you get the technique down, they still can decide just not to work with you. I would be interested in seeing if Broyles has any cheap or DIY alternatives to get the textures and effects that sprayers or other sometimes expensive paint applicators and tools.
I find any sort of “anything but a [insert standard tool/whatever is used for a task]” challenge. I have seen some pretty ridiculous takes on some of these challenges, and this one was no different. Some of the tools used on this painting are used pretty frequently in painting, and some are outright painting tools. That being said, tools like the feather duster were a pretty fun addition to the tool set. In any case, brushes or not, I am always blown away by the talent of fellow theatre artists (especially when they're not using a brush, I guess). I really struggle with art, and it’s always so fun and interesting to watch other people work and see what techniques they use. In the case of this anything but a brush challenge, it was interesting to see how the process was similar as well as different to a more typical, brush-based painting project. My favorite part had to be the feather duster, as it was simply the most out of place tool that was used in this challenge, but it still created a very nice texture effect in the finished piece.
Big fan of unconventional ways of doing art. For other people. I stick mostly to what I know because I know it, but I love artistic innovation like this. The anything but a thing that it's supposed to be challenge is so fun to watch unfold. This reminded me of a video I recently saw about an "anything but a cup" party, wherein people brought their own vessels to hold their drinks, ranging from hollow brush handles to large hollow bangles. I love seeing the different ways different people think. When I was in high school, I went to an art studio weekly, and one of the challenges the studio director had me do was to use something that wasn't a pen or brush to do an ink drawing. I ended up using a stem or branch off of a bush outside and dipped it like a quill to do my painting. Might have also used the leaves for texturing but that is up for debate, as my memory is a bit foggy.
I think this is such a fun challenge that might be able to help when you hit a creative roadblock. Many times in classes like basic design I get stuck and am not sure what to make. When that happens I usually go to the store, whether that’s artists and craftsmen, target, or goodwill, to find materials that inspire me. Although, all of those projects were sculptures. There’s something so challenging about staring at a blank canvas not knowing what to paint. This challenge could force you to think outside the box and the items you use could inspire the thing you paint. I will say I agree with other people that some of the items she used weren’t very out of the ordinary, in fact they are used a lot in scenic painting. I think this is the chance to experiment and explore so why not try something unique?
I can not paint for the life of me. Despite my lack of skills I still find videos and articles about painting to be some of the most interesting in the world. I think this is definitely a challenge that broadens the skills of an artist and just requires them to experiment with different textures within their work. I am absolutely blown away by the finished product and would love to see others who did this challenge as well as it shows to the world just how talented artists are and it shows young artists that they do not need to buy hundreds of dollars of art supplies to start off. The duster being used was absolutely phenomenal and it blew me away with the amount of depth it brought to the piece. I wonder how these techniques would transfer over to the fine arts side of painting as it looks phenomenal in a scenic painting. I do not know too much about the fine arts world but I do think they would eat up a challenge like this. Ultimately paintbrush or no paintbrush scenic artist blow me away.
Now anyone who has seen me paint or try to paint especially “scenically” knows I know little to nothing in terms of actual techniques and styles and my “eye” for color is horrible. That all being said I absolutely loved this article and this idea. This sort of thing absolutely blows my mind and seeing the techniques never cease to amaze and bewilder me. The different ways in which an artists can use their basic tool of paint with the world as their brush is so so cool to me. It always just make me wonder looking at the theatrical world how many things in the “real” world could or maybe should be painted elements. Or how many pieces are painted rather than the real thing. I mean I don’t know how many times in meeting with Beth over my four years hear has she told me ohh we can do that or ohh that’ll make the paint footprint 3 times as long it always amazes me the complexities and shifts in painting.
This looks really fun! In my high school we used to do a project like this every year. My teacher would lock all the cabinets with the brushes and pencils and pens. Each student would have to bring in something to use as a utensil or just use their fingers. She would lay out all different kinds of mediums on the table and just tell us to go to work. Even though it was just one day a year everyone in her class got so much out of it. I feel like in art classes, skill is almost always the only thing that's taught. That might be because creativity is just exponentially harder to teach. But even by dedicating one day a year to this activity, my art teacher was able to impart so much wisdom! I will always remember this exercise as an almost surefire way of breaking through a creative drought.
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