Five words: Keep looking, thinking, and painting.  Like a handful of magic beans, that simple sentence contains the entire history, philosophy, and technique of artmaking in embryo.  Looking (and really seeing), thinking (about painting, yes, [...]

"The artist’s task is not the faithful representation of air, water, rocks and trees, but rather his soul, his sensations should be reflected in them. The task of a work of art is to recognize [...]

An Art Collection Spotlight “On a lark, my wife and I stopped by the Broad Ripple Hoosier Salon gallery in 2006, the weekend before an exhibition opening, and were invited to attend the show preview,” [...]

“A GREAT PAINTER will know a great deal about how he did it but still will say, How did I do it? The real artist’s work is a surprise to himself.” – Robert Henri Robert [...]

1. Turn Up the Contrast  Darken your darks and lighten your lights. When you finish a painting, the last thing you should be to adjust the values. Darken the darks, especially, and maybe turn up [...]

By Contributing Author Allison Malafronte  There is a lot of superb contemporary realism being made these days; this article by Allison Malafronte shines light on a gifted individual. Viewing Nicole Parker’s paintings and intaglio prints feels like discovering and dusting [...]

Christine Lashley is known for colorful and dramatic oils that marry strong design with a process infused with artistic risk-taking. As she told us in an interview, keeping the “big idea” in mind and trusting intuition [...]

Artist Lori Putnam, the 10th Annual PleinAir Salon Grand Prize Winner, has revealed her selections for the March 2025 PleinAir Salon art competition. Scroll down to see the top three winning paintings and read Lori’s comments on the [...]

What's the difference between one painting that mesmerizes and captivates, and another that barely catches a glance? Some say it's skill or technique, but if that were all that mattered, why would so many technically [...]