Chauncey Ryder: ‘The Poetic Aspect of Nature’
A look at how elements of abstract design enliven a landscape.
Painting with Bugs
Some higher-end pigments, including carmine lake, also known as crimson lake, are still made the old fashioned way: by crushing up bugs.
Joy: The Beauty of Color
Choosing the right color that is the right shape, of the right consistency, of the right value and temperature, and putting it in exactly the right place—that’s the job of the painter.
A Mysterious Celebration of Spring
Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli’s La Primavera, the title of which means "Spring" in Italian, perplexes art historians as much as it dazzles audiences of hundreds arriving daily from all over the world to view it along with its equally famous sibling, The Birth of Venus.
Raising the Ordinary to the Extraordinary
Other artists painted Spanish tavern scenes, but Velasquez, being the great artist he was, saw and painted deeper truths.
Are You Making YOUR Work?
Follow the art you like and see what it teaches you, not just about art but about yourself.
Was American Plein Air Born in the Adirondacks?
From its earliest exploration by colonial settlers, the region of the Adirondack Mountains has beguiled artists lured by the prospect of nature in its purest form.
Swing a Bigger Brush
A big brush keeps you from getting too fussy too soon.
Landscape Artists Boycott Trees!
"A tree never wastes its growth in unnecessary twistings, nor in frivolous waste of energy."
How Much of Success is Just Showing Up?
I kept hearing about the practice of consistent easel time and wondered if it would make a difference in my paintings...