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 [...]

What Makes This Painting Great? An occasional series all about analyzing what makes paintings beautiful, iconic, memorable, or effective. Painters, beginners and masters alike, make leaps and bounds by studying creative triumphs of the art. [...]

Johan Christian Dahl, Swinoujscie in the moonlight, 1840 Growing up in poverty, the son of an unambitious fisherman, left him bitter; being kept down and exploited by his first art teacher infuriated him. [...]

“No man has the right to dictate what other men should perceive, create, or produce, but all should be encouraged to reveal themselves, their perceptions and emotions, and to build confidence in the creative spirit.” [...]