Pointillism

I have made the scene of an Indian Circus inspired from George Seurat's painting- The Circus. I changed the clothes of the audience and gave them a suitable Indian attire. Instead of a horse, an elephant has been shown. I went to a circus when I was very small so I tried to put all the elements that I remember in the painting like the acrobats, the man blowing fire, a man walking on stilts and a woman doing tricks with a hoop.

I also saw a movie- 'Dekho Indian Circus' and was highly inspired by it. After seeing the desperation and excitement in the eyes of the children to go to the circus, I could also feel the thrill and tried to bring that in the painting.

STUDYING THE STYLE OF THE ARTIST:

Before making a painting in the style of an artist, one should study it and do proper research. Therefore, I did some research on Pointillism and colour interaction with the use of dots.

If dots of different colours like red and blue are applied in the same area, then that patch looks purple if viewed from a distance.

Pointillism is a technique of painting in which small, distinct dots of pure color are applied in patterns to form images.Georges Seurat developed the technique in 1886, branching from impressionism and the movement was later known as Neo-impressionism.

INSPIRATION:

I took reference from other paintings of Seurat like A sunday on Le Grande Jette, Le Chahut and boats. For the gestures, I took external reference images of acrobats, an elephant etc. and after practicing it for some time, drew it out.

MATERIALS REQUIRED:

1. Round Brushes -6, 4, 2, 0, 00

2. Poster Colour or whatever other medium is suitable to you

3. Cartridge paper

4. Water Bowl

5. Palette

6. Rag

7. Pencil

HANDS ON!

1.Make the basic layout of your painting with reference to the painting of Seurat - The Circus.

2. For the base coat, apply dull colours in appropriate areas. In this painting, mostly earthy colours like yellows, oranges and brown are used.

3. Start pointillism. Take a small quantity of paint in your size 6 brush and put dots on areas which have less detailing. As you gradually move to smaller areas, switch to thinner brushes like 4 and 2. 0 and 00 should be kept aside for adding shading and the final touches.

4. Do not put shaded or highlighted areas in the first layer of pointillism. After your whole sheet has been covered with the basic colours start adding the shades. The shaded areas can also have many layers. Many tints and shades of a particular colour can be used for shading and highlights.

TIPS:

1. Before applying a dot, remove all excessive paint from the brush. The dot shouldn't be watery because after it dries, it isn't very visually pleasing.

2. Do not mix excessive water in the paint.

3. When you open a new bottle of poster paint, drain out the oil from the top and mix the contents of the bottle really well with the back of your brush to get good, thick, consistent paint.

4. Always take paint from a palette. It helps you to mix colour well plus removing excessive paint from the brush becomes very easy.

5. Start painting from the top of the sheet so that your hand doesn't dirty the lower portion of the sheet if it's already painted. For adding layers, ensure that the rest of the coats are dry and while painting, put a piece of OHP sheet on the drawing sheet to prevent it from getting dirty.

MOTIVATION:

Pointillism is very time consuming so don't lose your patience.

Because in the end, the result will amaze you.:D