Let Your Style Find You
By Guest Contributor John Pototschnik “Don't worry about your originality. You couldn't get rid of it even if you wanted to. It will stick with you and show up for better or worse in spite [...]
What’s Great about This Painting?
Sanford Robinson Gifford (July 10, 1823 – August 29, 1880) was an American landscape painter and a leading member of the second generation of Hudson River School artists. A highly regarded pioneer of what’s now known as Luminism, [...]
Magnolia Still Life
See how a watercolor still life painting that includes leaves, crystal, and some unexpected challenges comes to fruition, step by step. BY MATTHEW BIRD One aspect of still life painting that I enjoy most is [...]
Mirrors, Photos, and Taking a Walk down the Hall
By Guest Contributor Barb Walker Do you ever wonder if the painting you are working on is heading in the direction you want it to? Is it ok? Does it need something? At some point [...]
3 Inspiring Tips for Artists
1. LISTEN TO THE PAINT Maintain a dialogue with your painting. Many artists begin with a precise underpainting and proceed carefully and accurately apace, and many do not. Some painters have a definite endpoint in [...]
Zoom in to a High-Res John Singer Sargent Plein Air
Last week we took a close look at a few landscapes by John Singer Sargent, but we didn’t get THIS close! In fact, most ordinary mortals will never get this close to a painting by [...]
The Universe in a Box
Today we’re turning aside from painting to visit a popular form of sculpture called assemblage. An assemblage is a sort of 3-D collage, wherein an artist puts together (assembles) various elements to create a new [...]
Mastering Design with Mountainscapes
Especially strong in design, Paul Kratter's paintings skillfully compose light, atmosphere, and expression of emotion. Paul comes from an illustration background that instilled strong drawing and design skills and a robust belief in graphic shapes [...]
Are You Being Best Artistic Self?
Art opens portals to timeless and exotic inner worlds. Whether looking or creating, the hours pass unnoticed – silent (but no less real) adventures befall us. Even if the effort exhausts us, we walk away [...]
Behind the Wall of Sleep
Eugène Carrière’s painting “The Sleep” (above) represents a woman and her infant sleeping side by side. Yet despite the close-up view, the blurry and sweeping mode of representation eludes the onlooker. The outlines of both [...]