The Art of Starting a Campfire - For Cooking, Heat Or Telling Stories

One would think that starting a campfire is something that everyone knows how to do, this is not the case. Countless times in the past 4 years, I have seen everything from lighter fluid to kerosene used in vary dangerous ways. I even heard a man call to his wife "Honey, bring a cup of gasoline". I wish I were kidding, I got a blanket ready, just in case.

A common misconception is the need for lighter fluid or kerosene when starting a campfire. The method I was taught by a homeless man in Alaska is a very simple process, and one that rarely fails.

A helpful hint: It is always a good idea to carry dry wood in your vehicle, in case of rain or wet conditions. Kindling (small sticks, dried out grass) along with varying sizes of wood, bigger sticks to different sized pieces of split firewood. You will learn quickly that the small stuff is what matters the most, I did.

Know, building your fire

1. Start with a piece of either paper towel, sheet of paper or hand full of dried grass, I refer to these 3 items as "kindling". Form into a ball, lightly, and place in middle of fire pit.

2. Place the smallest twigs and sticks over and around the kindling, leaving an open area where it's easy to get a match to the inside.

3. Place slightly larger sticks over the smaller ones, making sure to leave space for air to reach the smallest twigs and kindling. Air flow is a big component of starting a fire, you want air to be able to move through the fire freely.

4. Now is the time to start your fire. Make sure you have more kindling and smaller pieces of wood near by, you will need them. With a match, lighter or starting device, start the kindling. You may have to blow on our use another match to insure kindling ignites.

5. Once the kindling ignites and the sticks begin to burn, you are in business. Keep adding small pieces of wood, making sure not to smother the fire until you get a decent flame. From there, start adding larger pieces, you will start to see a nice bed of red and orange coals.

6. With a nice bed of glowing coals and a decent flame, you can start adding the split firewood. With the split firewood giving off a nice flame, you can add an un-split log, make sure to keep throwing medium sized pieces (around and under the log) to keep the log burning.

And finally: I have what I call, "a stick of many uses" that I use to move things around in the fire pit. If the fire begins to die down, just start mixing things up. Turn the wood over, readjust, it's as simple as that, just be sure to use Your stick of many uses.

For the past 5 years my wife and I have been camping during the summer months and have learned a great deal on how to do it safely. Our biggest fear while camping isn't the Bear or Mountain Lions, It's some of the unique ways we have seen other campers starting fires. It is no joke when I tell you that I sometimes wait in the wing with a blanket if things go wrong. The phrase that sticks in my mind is "Honey, get me a cup of gas". We heard that one while camping outside of Rifle, Colorado.

I thought it would be a good idea to give people a sure fire method of building a fire. If you follow the instruction, you will always get a fire going.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joel_Tribal_Martens

Painterwork - A Ubiquitous Art

Painterwork refers to covering a 'work' with a thin layer of paint to preserve and color the surface it is applied to. Aimed at getting a hard dried and opaque surface, the commonest compounds used are oil paint, distemper, whitewash, and tar. The word 'paint' however, often refers to a blend of oil & pigment. The support tools a painter requires at work are strainers, mixing pots, paint kettles, palette knife, scrapping knife, stopping & chisel knives, hammer, sponge, pumice, comb, and a variety of brushes.

The Details. Oil paints are made of the following parts:

• Base - The most commonly used bases are white lead, red lead, zinc white, and iron oxide. White lead is suited for covering exteriors, zinc white for interiors, red lead (lead oxide) as primer, and iron oxide for ironwork.

• Vehicle - It is a liquid used to suspend the particles of base to form a thin layer, uniform in color and consistency, on the surface. Linseed, poppy seed, & nut oils, and varnishes are the commonly used vehicles for oil paints.

• Driers - They accelerate the oxidation process, ensuring the fast drying of the paint. Litharge or red lead, sugar of lead, sulfate of zinc, terebene, and magnesium dioxide are some common driers.

• Driver - Drivers such as turpentine serve as solvents, diluents, and thinners to uniform the consistency of paint.

• Pigments - A pigment is added to obtain the desired color. They can have a metallic, earthly, or an animal origin. The common pigments are umbers, ochres, chromes, lampblack, bone black, Prussian blue, vermilion, and ultra marine to name some.

The proportion of components is varied to accomplish a thin, hard, and opaque coat on the surface of the building work being painted. When applying multiple layers, using excess oil in the under coats can result in the cracking of the topmost layer. In addition, an application of another layer on a wet coat can cause the blistering of paint.

The Types

• Painting on Woodwork - Woodwork requires knotting, priming, and stopping before applying multiple layers of oil color on it. A thin, transparent, colored coat is required that changes the color of the work without hiding the grains of wood. Varnish, made by dissolving certain gums in oil, spirit, or water is most widely used for this purpose. For inside work, the varnish is made of resins mixed in linseed and turpentine oils for a lustrous, but somewhat less durable surface. Painting upon wet or unseasoned wood surface results in the early blistering of paint. An excess of drier in varnish can cause an early cracking of paint.

• Painting on Iron - Iron and steel works are most often covered with the oxides of iron and red lead mixed with linseed oil. The surface should be made rust free with paraffin or turpentine, before applying color. The particles of rust left on the surface can cause the blistering of paint.

• Painting on Plasterwork - Thoroughly dried plasterwork is covered with distemper after filling all the irregularities on the surface with the plaster of Paris. Before applying distemper, the surface is further smoothened with a glass paper, followed by a coat of clairecole to render the plaster non-absorbent.

• Faux Finish - A popular painterwork technique, commonly known as 'faux finish,' covers a wide range of decorative techniques for replicating material, such as marble (marbling) and wood (graining). Popular since classical times, in the modern times also it is widely used for decorative finish on walls and furniture in commercial and public spaces.

Conclusion
Painterwork is an evolving domain in which a plethora of substances is tried on various surfaces each day. The basic requirement of protection and decoration of a work has now expanded to making purposeful paints, like non-toxic paints for kid's work, lead-free paints for hospital, metallic faux finish paints for decorative purpose, and washable paints for walls.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world.

Please visit the website at http://www.Labedzki-Art.com It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Annette_Labedzki

The Art of Watercolor Painting

Watercolor also known as aquarelle is a medium in which the paint is made of powdered pigments suspended in a water soluble vehicle. The conventional and most universal support used for watercolor paintings is paper. Many brands of watercolor paints are available in the market, each varying in texture, quality and constituent concentrations. Quiet obviously, artist quality paints provide a much superior painting experience than their cheaper counterparts. They use a more high class pigment and are evidently richer and much more vibrant.

The paper used for this medium is available in a variety of sizes, weights and textures depending on the preference of the artist. The paper used for watercolor painting should be tough and have a certain grade of absorbency to avoid breaking and tearing.

Beginners interested in this medium should pay keen attention to the brush control mechanisms and techniques involved. It is perhaps the most important part of watercolor painting as a painting lacking brush control is indeed a sorry piece of art.

Watercolor paintings include fresco, tempera, aquariums, and gouache types of paintings. One advantage of watercolor paints over oil paints is their ready and smooth application followed by attainable transparent effects which add to the painting's magnetism and glamour. A wet tip can be used to add light to the painting.

Like most mediums, once the watercolor has been applied on paper the likelihood of correcting any mistakes are low. Even though these "hiding" techniques are few and not cent percent promising, they may be helpful if the shade applied is of a lighter tone. Moreover, in some cases the watercolor application maybe lightened by several shades and repainted with another color to give the desired effect. Watercolor paintings need to be taken special care of as they are vulnerable when exposed to sunlight, dust and humidity in the air.

However, recent techniques have taken care of most of the disfavors and drawbacks of the watercolors. Watercolors help introduce light effects in the paintings which improves the overall quality of visual perception of the painting.

An artist can play with an assortment of colors and shades to perk up the dynamism and liveliness of his creation. Proper, balanced and skillful exploitation of light and dark effects is the essence of a watercolor painting. If the color blends well with the color of the paper then a shimmering and translucent effect is achieved which gives the painting a more natural look. A spectacular and dramatic effect can be created in the final outcome of the painting by overlapping different shades to slightly modify one another. Hence watercolors have proven to be an excellent medium for landscape painters who wish to infuse nature and its beauty into their work. Furthermore, an artist may mix and match the primary colors to make astounding shades of secondary colors according to their wishes and needs.

Watercolors can add a lot of life to the painting and are relatively easier to work with than other mediums.

To learn more about art of watercolor painting please visit http://www.paintinvestor.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hamza_Ejaz

Art and Jewelry - Not So Different Worlds

Art comes in many different forms. While some see art as something that is framed and hanging in a museum, others see art in other venues such as in a building, basilica or even in the layout of a city. For some, though, art can be seen in jewelry. While most people view jewelry as merely an accessory, others view things such as an artcarved wedding band as a piece of art. It may not be a priceless Picasso, but until they are able to shrink "Guernica" to fit your finger a ring is the best way for you to wear a little piece of artistic expression on your on your hands.

Joking aside, fine jewelers go through much the same process when creating a ring as artists do when doing a painting. They both have a canvas in which they can work and they both try to maximize their output within the constraints of this canvas. Except, with a jeweler making a ring the canvas is a round piece of metal to be placed on one's finger, not paper and an easel. Whether it is diamonds, gold or paint, both artists and jewelers have to think both inside and outside of the box to create something that will be beloved by its eventual owner.

I remember when I was a child my dad would wear an Italian gold coin with a gold chain around his neck. This wasn't really his idea, but his father in law had purchased it for him saying that if he ever got lost while traveling and desperately needed money he could sell it. I had mixed feelings about the coin. Gold has never really been my cup of tea, but I could see the artistry in its creation.

While wedding rings might not immediately come to mind when thinking about art, if you really think about it each individual wedding ring is a tiny little piece of art that uses your finger as its museum wall. Each time someone sees your finger they gaze at the artistry of the ring, just like in a painting. Also like a piece of art, wedding rings are created to show off certain tendencies of their owners. A ring that is big and loud with a diamond the size of a thumbnail gives off a different vibe then a ring that is soft and subtle. Is it any wonder why some of the biggest art collections in the world contain pieces of classic and contemporary jewelry?

Author Kimberly Green chose an artcared wedding band for her husband @ titanium-jewelry.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kimberly_Green

Visionary Art - A Journey Into the Creative Unknown

Visionary Art - The Concept
Visionary Art may be considered as a theme rather than a movement. Although the styles vary radically, the essence of portraying the overlap of mystical and spiritual powers in the real world stays the same. Therefore, Visionary Art offers a virtual vision of the mystical and spiritual powers in our everyday life.

The Details
Visionary Art is based on psychedelic experiences. In psychedelic mental frame, the brain perceives stimulus beyond its normal range. Right from perceptual distortions to hallucinations, these experiences may be joyful or depressing. Defining an initial point and the finishing one is a key challenge associated with Visionary Art. As against the recognized trends, this style did not have any demarcated characteristic features. The type of mystical energies portrayed is unique to an artist. The four elements of life, water, fire, earth, and wind however are integral to the genre. Love, lust, holy, unholy, positive, and negative forces are some of the commonest themes captured. Therefore, the main aspect in creating Visionary Art is to make soul perceptible.

The Correlations
Symbolism, Surrealism, and Psychedelic Art have keenly inspired the Contemporary Visionary Art.

The Artists & the Artworks
Both trained and self-taught or outsider artists have been creating their spell in the genre. Many Visionary Artists practice spirituality. Hallucinogenic intoxication often inspires their works. The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism is instrumental in shaping the technical and the philosophical angles of the contemporary visionary culture. Some of the key artists associated with the School include Arik Brauer (Austrian, born 1929), Ernst Fuchs (Austrian, born 1930), Mati Klarwein (German, 1932-2002), Robert Venosa (American), and Laurence Caruana (Maltese, born 1962). Some Contemporary Visionary artists are Hieronymous Bosch (Netherlands, 1450-1916), William Blake (English 1757-1857), Morris Grave (American, 1910-2001), Emil Bisttram (Hungarian-American, 1895-1976), and Gustave Moreau (French 1826-98).

Hieronymous Bosch produced several triptychs in this dimension. In his famous painting, 'The Garden of Earthly Delights' (1503-04), the paradise is shown on the left panel with Adam, Eve, and many interesting animals present there. The middle panel shows the numerous nude figures, powerful fruits, and birds. Hell is depicted on the right panel. The punishments assigned to the different classes of sinners are portrayed here.

William Blake illustrated 'Original Stories from Real Life' (1791), which opinionated on gender equality and marriage. In his other illustration for his poem 'Visions of daughters of Albion' (1793), Blake criticized the illogical societal acts, such as enforced chastity and marriage without love. He also supported the right of women to total and independent self-fulfillment.

Annette Labedzki received her BFA at the Emily Carr College of Art and Design in Vancouver, B.C. Canada. She has more than 25 years experience. She is the founder and developer of an online art gallery featuring original art from all over the world. Please visit the website at http://www.Labedzki-Art.com It is a great site for art collectors to buy original art. Artists can join for free and their image upload is unlimited.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Annette_Labedzki