The pyramid or triangle design in painting offers a way to avoid composition problems like lack of movement, imbalance, “one for each eye,” or too much linearity or “stripiness” (obviously stacked horizontals).   “One for each [...]

“The objection to fairy stories is that they tell children there are dragons. But children have always known there are dragons. Fairy stories are more than true, for they tell children that dragons can be [...]

If I were making my own holiday gift wish list, these are the items I’d tell folks to pick for me (hint, hint!). Richeson Santa Fe Easel Who doesn’t want bigger, badder easel? The Richeson [...]

This is a black and white painting by one of the artists of the famed Lyme art colony in Connecticut. It’s a virtual blueprint of landscape technique – the absence of color lets us study [...]

There’s something about this image that impresses itself on the imagination and memory. Somehow Sir William Nicholson’s simple still life paintings, this one being no exception, transform random, everyday items into indelible images with a [...]

Now, this is one proud monk! The miniature below (the whole thing's maybe 9 inches tall) resides in the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester, NH., where it’s a small precious gem within that worthy collection. Leo [...]

An alla prima painting is one that was painted in one session. In this step-by-step demonstration, learn how Cornelia Hernes creates a beautiful still life that includes a copper pot with lavender, a glass jar, and a [...]

There’s more than meets the eye in James McNeil Whistler’s painting originally titled The Woman in White after a popular mystery novel of the day by Willkie Collins. “This is modeling as performance art,” wrote [...]

Andrew Wyeth (1917-2009), drew inspiration from wells of emotion. Wyeth called Spindrift (1950) a “portrait” of one of his Maine acquaintances. It’s done in tempera on panel, and the colors are opaque and muted and the surface is matte. [...]