Compose Yourself!
You can learn almost everything you need to know about composition by closely studying successful ones. To that end, we recently invited you, our readers, to send us paintings for our “Compose Yourself!” series of [...]
Love Letters to the Earth
Some artists create paintings that are like love letters to the visible world. Maybe it happens like this: The creative imagination receives a gift from nature in the shape of an apple, a bowl, a [...]
When Monet Moved a River
There’s a surprising story behind Monet’s Poplars series. Not that he was some sort of all-powerful art god or something (spoiler: he was), but Claude Monet once diverted a branch of the Epte River. Though [...]
Chasing Beauty in Oils and Pastels
Oil and pastel painter William Schneider credits several sources for his work today. He’s taken workshops with some of the world’s best artists and has devoted hours to copying realist masters like Nicolai Fechin. His epiphany with [...]
When Monet Moved a River
There’s a surprising story behind Monet’s Poplars series. Not that he was some sort of all-powerful art god or something (spoiler: he was), but Claude Monet once diverted a branch of the Epte River. Though [...]
On Art and Magic
We know there’s all kinds of good magic in art. Maybe that’s partly why artists over the centuries have created such richly imagined and beguiling scenes of mythological wizards, witches and magicians doing their magical [...]
The Poetry of Cezanne
On trip to the warmer Mediterranean coast, French painter Paul Cézanne fell in love with the little fishing village of L’Estaque on the bay of the city of Marseilles. It was the color, made brilliant [...]
Dark Trees, Dark Water
Arnold Bocklin’s painting, “The Tombstone,” depicts a hauntingly serene island cemetery surrounded by dark, towering trees and reflected in still waters. A single tombstone stands at the center, evoking a sense of solitude, mystery, and [...]
Between a Rock and a Soft Place
Internationally known artist Matt Ryder works out of the coastal-mountain region around the city of Dubai, U.A.E. Originally from the UK, he found himself in Dubai a bit more than 15 years ago (life choices [...]
Compose Yourself – with Caillebotte
Would you like to understand more about composition and what makes a painting work? This week, a reader sent me an image of the above painting, along with a great idea – what if readers [...]