[wildone_106]

Im not a painter by any means and after seeing Craig Mullins amazing art its beyond belief how someone can paint with light the way he and others do, I noticed as well that his style of painting is becoming more popular, like from a distance it looks like a photo but when u look close up, its nothing but a jumble of lines and blocks of color.
I was wondering if theres a particular "method" for learning how to "see" in this way, and to actually doing it. Is it completely down to talent 100% or can someone who has some art background at least learn to paint in the way he does? If its just talent I may as well given up years ago with art, not just Craig's work theres so many other amazing artists in the world.

Anyway Im just looking for some feedback on this..what is Craigs particular style called? Impressionism? Where can I begin to learn at least the process that leads me to that, I dont wanna paint like that necessarily I just want to learn how to "SEE" that way and translate it to art that I wanna create:)

[balistic]

It's impressionism to an extent. He's painting fantastic subjects, but he's doing so as if he were observing them directly. This takes a fairly thorough understanding of how light behaves when interacting with different surfaces and volumes. One can acquire this knowledge of "illuminative mechanics" by doing a lot of painting from life and from photographs . . . in Craig's case, he's also studied industrial design.

Can it be learned? Sure, but not just casually. The first step is to learn to separate what your eyes see from what your mind sees. Once you get access to that non-iconic stream of sight, you can start putting it on paper (or canvas, or energized phosphors), and figuring out what the world really looks like.





Oh, who am I kidding. Craig's real secret is his magical handlebar moutsache. He airbrushes it out of photos of himself, but I know for a fact that it's THERE and it's MAGICAL.
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[Mikko K]

I don't think his techniques are based on talent, but a lot of hard work and studying. Not that everyone could do it, but you'll never know how far you can get just by practising if you don't really put your mind into it.

I started practising seriously last year and think I improved more than in the five years before that. Now I'm also able to paint for a living so that's probably a good thing considering improvement as well. All I'm trying to say is, whatever the style, you should definitely work as much as possible. No shortcuts I'm afraid.

[wildone_106]

Thanks very much for your replys, I definatly agree with what you said with "the way of seeing" being the most important and I think thats what I would like to learn, and what I have most trouble doing, I've never been any good at all at say drawing portraits or getting a likeness so there must be something wrong with my synapses there lol Hmm I just wanna be able to see things as they are, not thru my own mind filter so I guess thats the task at hand! Very interesting comments thanks again

[eyewoo]

Check out the book, "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards if you want to see things the way they are rather than through your mind's filter. That is pretty much what the book is about, stripping away preconceived notions of visual reality. Interesting read.
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[blehblehbleh]

[bagelguillotine]

[eyewoo]

[balistic]

[DJorgensen]

[jfrancis]

Wait. Let's get back on topic. tell me more about this magical handlebar moustache.

[Jimmyjimjim]

[balistic]

[dr . bang]

I think craig mullin is a man with incredible skill, and some might mistaken good good good skill for style.
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[xray360]

[jfrancis]

"From the age of six I had a mania for drawing the shapes of things. When I was fifty I had published a universe of designs. but all I have done before the the age of seventy is not worth bothering with. At seventy five I'll have learned something of the pattern of nature, of animals, of plants, of trees, birds, fish and insects. When I am eighty you will see real progress. At ninety I shall have cut my way deeply into the mystery of life itself. At a hundred I shall be a marvelous artist. At a hundred and ten everything I create; a dot, a line, will jump to life as never before. To all of you who are going to live as long as I do, I promise to keep my word. I am writing this in my old age. I used to call myself Hokosai, but today I sign my self 'The Old Man Mad About Drawing." -- Hokusai

and

"If only people knew how hard I work to gain my mastery, my work would not seem so wonderful after all. I achieve the impossible only by working as none else ever did." -- attributed to Michaelangelo

[LePensky]

I would say the thing that I found so impressive about Craig Mullins and his work, is the fact that the end result is the main focus. I remember browsing his website ages ago, after I first saw his stuff in the speed painting thread, and it was interesting to see that he uses all kind of techniques to aid him in his art. For example, he uses 3d software to help him in executing his ideas (like getting perspective gorrect for example).

However, the end result, however it comes about, is always, in my opinion, unmistakeably Craig Mullins....unmistakeably great.


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[cheney]

Craig seems to focus on great sketches, but quick brush strokes with hard lighting. Its somewhat like impressionism. His sketching styles are most execellent, and his brush stroke style is very nice, but its not my 'cup of tea'. If you notice from his art that his lighting is hard and purposeful. He does not bother much with the extensive time necessary for atmospherics or complex reflections, but merely what is most necessary to maximize the full artistic potential from his sketches. His painting, as a result, seems as though it is a highly trained speed painting based upon acedemic approaches from anatomy, composition, and other reformed sketch elements. I am sure he most likely puts forth a deal of planning to his works so that his lighting can be utilized best in his image to highlight the objects of focus with the least elaboration outside the focal aspects directly. In addition to planning he would also most likely focus a bit on post processing for the purpose of making quick fixes to color issues or altering the light and reflections in the image to shift the composition indirectly for more interesting results.

But, clearly it seems he works off an interesting sketch idea, adds nice colors to fill in his idea. Then he lets quick lighting capture the rest to set up objects for focus and depth.

Mullin's art may not be my cup of tea, but it does provide a good work up of interesting concepts due to having simple goals of conveying a colored sketch finished with lighting. The issues put forth are fundamental concepts that often establish the foundation of academic painting; but without all the fuss of realism, minor detailing, or texturing that I enjoy most.
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