Brooklyn-based artist Allison Maletz doesn't want to use watercolor in a traditional way. Although her work is representational and often figure-based, exploring themes of human connection and the...

Pivotal moments in my life have often-to take a line from Ernest Hemingway-come "gradually, then suddenly." Nothing appears to be on the horizon, but then a few things fall into place, then a...

In last Friday's post featuring artist-instructor Kerry Dunn, we explored some of the opportunities and challenges that an extensive color palette offers. On the flipside, Bulgarian-born painter Ignat...

Painting instructors often ask students to consider two important relationships between the colors squeezed out on their palettes: value and temperature. By that they are asking them to consider whether...

I’m from a card-playing family, so when it comes to discussions about artists using reference photographs, I always think in terms of watching for a “tell.” Like in poker—where...

After spending all day sitting at my desk, click-click-clicking away on my computer, I savor getting out and being active, especially if I’m learning a new activity or skill. It’s the difference...

After receiving hundreds of submissions, the editors of American Artist have chosen the 2010 Cover Competition finalists! The winner will be contacted in the next few weeks, and his or her artwork will...

When I look at Artemisia Gentileschi’s Judith Slaying Holofernes , I always focus on Judith’s clenched fist in the foreground; to me, it reinforces the physical violence of the scene. Viewing...