New Forum A Success

The new forum that I put online just a few weeks ago is proving to be a success, with new people joining daily and new topics being discussed and added to. To join in just sign up for my free news-and-info emails, and as part of the package of goodies I'll send you is access to the forum.

Thanks to everyone who's taken part in it and encouragement to all of you who haven't yet done so to join in and let's make this the best and most useful art forum on the web! Connect with others, make new friends, ask questions and get answers, or just make comments! It's a great way of turning our sometimes solitary hobby into a social affair!

Proper paper proportions

Here's a strange bit of info I came across the other day. It relates to the most common proportions that are used in paintings. Did you know that when you buy paper, prepared canvases or ready made frames, they will be almost always in one of these ratios: 1:1, 1:2, 2:3, 3:4, 4:5 or 5:6?

Here's how it works out:
1:1 All squares
1:2 10" x 20" or 12" x 24" (about 25 x 50cm or 30 x 60cm)
2:3 20" x 30" or 24" x 36" (about 50 x 75cm or 60 x 90cm)
3:4 9" x 12", 12" x 16" or 18" x 24" (about 23 x 30cm, 30 x 40cm, 45 x 60cm)
4:5 8" x 10", 16" x 20" or 24" x 30" (about 20 x 25cm, 40 x 50cm, 60 x 75cm)
5:6 10" x 12" or 20" x 24" (about 25 x 30cm or 50 x 60cm)

Fascinating isn't it?