Let’s Talk About The Blues
Blue is one of the primary colors, but there are so many variations that it’s not an easy color to pin down. There are blues that are so brilliant that they don’t seem to be natural and others that are …
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Converting Pictures to Paint
If you’re creating an abstract or non-representational painting, you may not need any reference material to complete your work. Impressionism can do without a model or a photo at times, but when you start painting realistically, you do need either …
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Spring – Time For Plein Air Painting
It’s spring, and a young artist’s fancy lightly turns to thoughts of painting outdoors. Lord Tennyson may have been talking about young men and their yearning for the company of a charming maid, but spring does conjure up all sorts …
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The Colors of Spring
It’s springtime everywhere, and the drab monotone of the sullen winter fades and is replaced with the fresh, soft colors of the season. Dig out your favorite, bright pastels and add a burst of sunshine to your spring paintings! Colors …
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Essentials For The Art Studio
So, you’ve finally decided to take the plunge and begin your adventure in the world of art. You’ve purchased all the necessary paints, supports and brushes. Now, it’s time to fine tune your studio and set it up with all …
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Acrylic Paints – Right for Everyone!
Acrylic paints became available to artists in the middle part of the 20th century. Originally developed and marketed as house paint, this water-based emulsion was quickly developed for the art world by Liquitex and Daler-Rowney, and it was eagerly snapped …
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Portable Multi-Media Art Kits
If you’re interested in art, but you don’t know which medium to pursue, consider a painting kit that comes with several different types of paints. These kits are convenient and give you enough paints and supplies to try out several …
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Grisaille – Leap From Drawing To Painting
Learning to paint takes a lot of work and head scratching on several fronts. You have to be able to draw convincing shapes. You then need to form those shapes into an interesting composition. Next, you need to learn how …
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Creating A Painting From A Photograph
Coming up with fresh ideas for paintings is sometimes the hardest part of being an artist. Standing in your studio, you’re desperately trying to think of what to paint next. You’re tired of doing still lifes of flowers and fruit, …
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Fill Your Trash To Become A Better Artist
Artists place great expectations on themselves. They’ve put so much time and effort into learning their craft that executing less-than-marvelous pieces seems like a complete failure. For beginning artists, this failure can be devastating to the point of giving up. …
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Pamper Your Brushes
Unless you’re into finger painting, brushes are some of your most important tools. These tools of the trade can be very costly, so it pays to give them the best treatment you can. Brushes can last for years if they’re …
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Fixing Mistakes In Watercolor
Many beginning artists have the mistaken notion that once you put watercolor on a support, you’re stuck with it. That’s just not true. If you make a mistake or change your mind, you can usually remove enough of the pigment …
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Get Creative With Easter Eggs
Easter is just around the corner, and it’s never too early to start making plans with the Easter Bunny for treasures and treats that will enchant the little ones in your life. With all the renewed interest in crafting and …
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The Colors Of Easter
If you’re pondering your next painting or series, this is a great time to consider an Easter palette. While many of us still have many weeks of snow, sleet, shovels and overcoats with which to contend, it will lighten your …
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Working with Mixed Media
It’s happened to all of us: You sit in your studio, surrounded by all your paints and supplies, and you can’t come up with an interesting subject or decide which medium you want to use. To bull your way through …
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Nontoxic Art Paints for Children
Children are natural born artists. However, they also are naturally inquisitive. For kids, one of the most direct ways of investigating anything is to insert it directly into the mouth. Since this natural genetic trait is not likely to change …
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Painting Realism
Realism has many levels. You can achieve photographic realism with loads of practice, a good eye, a firm understanding of all the rules of perspective, color theory and, yes, a lot more practice. Moving it back a notch, most artists …
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