I used to think this painting was titled “Summer,” I guess because it seemed, in my memory of it, to convey the end of a hot, hazy day among tall grass, ponds, and woods, all [...]

By Mike Barr Painted on a sunny winter’s day, this is one of my favorite plein air pieces. From a high vantage point, the sea was unusually light in color and contrasted sharply with the [...]

“Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son,” 1875 Claude Monet , “Woman with a Parasol – Madame Monet and Her Son,” 1875 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons Public Domain) Most perfectly well-intentioned [...]

Under the name of “Phoebus Apollo” (Phoebus is a Greek word that means “shining, radiant, bright”), the god Apollo daily drove the sun across the sky, manning a chariot drawn by four barely controllable horses.  [...]

Austrian Symbolist painter Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) is well known for his 3/4 life-size fin de siècle paintings of dreamlike women in oil, gold leaf, and other precious metals. The oil-on-canvas painting The Kiss of 1907-08, [...]

Not sure whether to paint a seascape or a landscape? Try a marsh! Marshes combine the colors and skies of landscape with the light effects of water. They’re a great subject for a painting in [...]

It’s “England’s favorite painting” according to a BBC poll in 2005, it’s reproduced on the British £20 banknote, and it’s one of the greatest paintings of the 19th century period. JMW Turner's The Fighting Temeraire depicts [...]

Getting an accurate image into a human portrait is hard enough, right? Then there's getting the LIFE into it. To those not privy to the process, a successful finished portrait can seem like a miracle, destined [...]

Painting Cityscapes: Capturing a Busy Urban Scene Without Getting Lost in the Details Just as you wouldn’t explore a new city without a map, don’t start your next cityscape without a plan for where you [...]