We get stuck for a lot of different reasons. I know that for myself, sometimes I need new tools. New skills. That’s why I’ve sought teachers so many times – in college (twice!), at workshops, in recreational classes, at art exhibits. Color exercises were a big help to me, so I’m sharing them with you! […]
Celebrating Children’s Art!
Children come up with wonderful imagery! I’ve had the pleasure of teaching kids several times, and it’s always delightful to see what they create! Here’s a big self-portrait mural that Ms. Heigel’s students painted with me at the Otterbein Public Library: It’s about them, and their interests – sports, games, books, pets, friends, family. Windmill […]
Painting Like an Impressionist, Part 1
Everyone loves Impressionism! The colors, the movement, the beautiful light and sense of calm. What should you do if you want to paint more like an Impressionist? Impressionism was a big change in the way paintings are made and seen. Landscape paintings changed from this detailed, idealized view: (Ommeganci, Landscape With a Flock of Sheep, […]
Gifts for Artists – Books
Here are some suggestions you might not have heard of: “Artists on Art” by Robert Goldwater (amazon link) Thoughtful essays from great artists. “The Art Spirit” by Robert Henri (amazon link) Henri (pronounced hen-rye) was an American artist and teacher. He was completely committed to art-making and knew how to inspire his students. “Artists Speak […]
Gifts for Your Young Painter
Looking for good quality materials that are appropriate for school-aged children? Here’s what I suggest. Kids usually use tempera rather than acrylic paint because tempera is much easier to clean up (though it can still stain). If you like to shop online, Blick Art Materials is a great source. This tempera paint is fantastic – […]
Inspiration – Diebenkorn
When I hit a plateau or am stuck, or just need some inspiration — looking at great artists helps me a lot. This painting is by Richard Diebenkorn. and it’s called “Cityscape 1″. It’s huge, like 50″ x 60”. He painted it in 1963, when he was 40. Diebenkorn passed away in 1993 at the […]
Art School Shortcut – Contrast, Using Color
A client asked about making an object in his painting stand out – he wanted it to be more dominant. The rest of his painting was full of bright, fun colors that were overwhelming the purple shape in the middle. But that shape was actually his focal point. It was drowning! And though he’d added […]
Art School Shortcut – Using Your Smartphone
I often take photos of my work as I’m going along, and I noticed that my cell phone’s “auto-correct” feature makes good suggestions now and then! It’s that little magic wand icon, and it’s really designed to compensate for lighting. Because we’re usually snapping photos in less than perfect conditions. But sometimes the way it […]
Which Brand of Acrylic Paint?
You know that saying “It’s a poor craftsman that blames his tools” Well it’s not necessarily true. Especially with paint. The ingredients make a big difference in how paint behaves, whether it’s smooth or sticky, how well it spreads around and whether you can mix colors to get something good (or just bleh). For Paint […]
Giant Paintings!
This landscape painting is HUGE! It’s a 4′ x 8′ panel that I painted for the VA on Soldier’s Home Road, West Lafayette. We talked about painting directly onto their wall, but their walls have a lumpy surface, kind of like a woven basket, so that wouldn’t have worked. I used acrylic paint on plywood, […]
