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, […]
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 […]
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, […]
Quick Demo from a Master
Artist Shane Wolf is a big deal – he is IT! Originally from Cincinnati, he lives in Paris now and is represented by several big league galleries. I studied with him a few years ago, just before he became famous. A mutual friend shared Shane’s art with me and I was blown away, so when […]
Avoid “Overworking” Your Paintings
“Is it done? Am I finished?” It’s a tough question sometimes. Here’s an example of a painting I consider to be “overworked”, and it’s one of MY paintings 🙂 Aaaaargh! When I look at this, the purpose isn’t clear, the relationships between the objects are vague; the shapes are too similar without being rhythmic; there’s […]
