If packing up all your gear and driving to a scenic locale isn’t your idea of a great painting session, you certainly don’t need to make an expedition out of your time at the easel. There’s quiet beauty and expressive …
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Once you’re comfortable painting with brushes, a fun project is learning how to paint with a knife. You’re already familiar with a palette knife for mixing and blending paint, but using your knife to paint takes your painting experience to …
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Most beginning artists think of painting in terms of creating a life-like representation of what they see. They want to paint depictions of life, so they begin learning realism. This is really the most logical approach, as it gives a …
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This is a sort of watery week, and I’m going to focus on watercolor tips again. Sometimes watercolors get a bad rap over being pale, shadowy and less than vibrant. Some watercolors are soft and diffused, and it may be …
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Watercolor is a little more challenging than working with oils or acrylics. If you make an error with either of those mediums, you can simply scrap it away or paint over it. Unfortunately, watercolor isn’t quite so fancy free, but …
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I attended an art festival last weekend, and there were so many fantastic artists that I didn’t know where to look next. It seemed that every booth was crammed with creativity and unique interpretations from traditional to impressionistic to daring …
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Since it’s the holiday weekend, Independence Day, it’s time to talk about red, white and blue paints. These basic colors are part of almost every palette, and there are many variations that can significantly alter the appearance of your paintings. …
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What do you do with your art work when you’re done with it? Do you mount and frame it to hang in your home, or do you stick it in the closet with all your other pieces? Use your computer …
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Not every painting you create is destined to become a masterpiece. In fact, you’ll probably have more failures than successes when you’re just starting out. In reality, that’s a good thing. You learn from your mistakes, so use your less-than-stellar …
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With today’s busy schedule, most budding artists don’t have a lot of time to devote to painting. Unless you’re blessed with a lot of free time on your hands, you need to grab painting time when and where you can. …
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Outdoor festivals and shows are great for artists and art lovers alike. Summer brings vacationers and tourists, all of whom are looking for a good time and perhaps a memento of their travels. Local folks are always on the lookout …
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You may have mastered paint mixing, application and the basics of perspective and drawing, but if you can’t create a strong composition, your audience won’t give your work more than a passing glance. Your composition should grab the viewer’s attention, …
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June is a double-birthstone month, and both of these stones are two of the most difficult to paint. They both come in a variety of colors and have unique properties that make them real challenges to capture on canvas. The …
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If you’re new to the painting game, there are loads of tips to make your artistic life easier and more productive. One thing that a beginning water media artist needs to know is how to prepare paper for painting. Unless …
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After a wickedly cold winter and a dreary, wet spring, summer has finally arrived. It’s time to dig out all your bold, vibrant paints and get ready to tackle Mother Nature’s finest creations. A great thing about floral painting is …
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We already discussed ways to add visual interest to your painting by using paint in unexpected ways. Using paint to texturize a composition is a painter’s initial method (Read: Add Excitement to your Paintings Part 1). But there are lots …
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Do you find yourself in a rut or bored with your current paintings? Has your painterly enthusiasm been lacking? Maybe it’s about time you started thinking about the negative space of your compositions as areas in which to focus some …
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