How to Write an Artist Statement
“Why do I have to explain my art, can’t they just look at it?” Of course they can look at it, but if you're running away from writing an artist statement, you’re missing out on [...]
Going Deep
Canadian artist Andrew Judd has won first place in the latest round of the monthly PleinAIr salon. Master Artist Dean Mitchell judged this round, winners of which were announced on Dec 30th and will be [...]
Oh, Luscious Acrylic!
Rick J. Delanty, “Yosemite Snowfield,” acrylic, 12 x 9 in. Rick will demonstrate how this painting was created during “Acrylic Live,” the upcoming inaugural online event happening March 26-28, 2025. Check it out here. The [...]
A Close Brush with Sorolla
Most recently we basked in Joaquin Sorolla’s celebrated mastery of light (see Sunshine on a Brush). In this post we go deeper – by staying on the surface. This painting, “A Street in Toledo (Una [...]
On the Color Red
Red is the ultimate cure for sadness. - Bill Blass Red is the rose, the heart, the passion, the lifeblood of the living. It’s also STOP, danger, the dreaded red pen, play with fire and [...]
The Poetic Seascape
Almost literally luminous, the seascapes of 19th century American artist William Trost Richards (1833 – 1905) can claim an honored place in the history of American landscape painting. Though unjustly not exactly a household name, [...]
Sunshine on a Brush
“Nothing is stronger than nature. With nature in front of us we can do everything well.” (Joaquin Sorolla) Despite living far from the ocean, Spanish realist Joaquín Sorolla y Bastida (known colloquially as “Sorolla,” which is [...]
On the Color Yellow
From radioactive threat to saintly halo to honeybee fur, yellow shines, the most luminous of the primaries. Whether strident, dazzling, or molten, yellow is light, intense and uncontainable, symbolic of joy, youth, strength, and divine [...]
“The Sky Overarches Here”
Great sky paintings lift us with a sense of the vastness and space that daily moves above our heads. A strong sky in a landscape painting, oil, watercolor, or acrylic, expresses airy light, motion, and [...]
A Study in Sargent
Though known for his masterful handling of oil paint and his virtuosity in rendering light and texture, John Singer Sargent created striking, original compositions that did not rely on previous models or inherited rules of [...]