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It’s only May, and already I’m fantasizing about summer road trips and exotic jaunts. But then I remember that almost every time I go on vacation my glow wears off once the artists show up. Inevitably, I see a traveler who is painting landscapes or sketching, creating significant and personal...
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For just a few seconds, I thought that watercolor pencils were some kind of April Fool's come lately prank. I mean, everything I think of and know about watercolor painting is that it is fluid and kind of uncontrollable. In a pencil, how can watercolor art still have that same looseness? But then...
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You can go the less extreme route, of course, but there is something to be said about a studio painting session in which you don't pick up a brush. You don't make any sketches. You just observe. I find myself doing this again and again when I discover a new artist or a body of work from a painter...
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Let me first clarify that the watercolor painting technique of white-on-white isn't a highfalutin, conceptual idea of existentialism and the true meaning of art. No, it allows watercolor artists to achieve brilliant and bright shades of white and other light effects by applying white paint over and...
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Artist Allison Maletz forcibly breaks with convention and defies the observed rules of watercolor painting, working in ways that seem contrary to what the medium is capable of doing and exploring subject matter that can spark uncomfortable and often contradictory feelings in the viewer. Hug by Allison...
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Here's a sneak peek at a great upcoming watercolor blog by artist and instructor Robert Reynolds on the importance of color and how personal choosing pigments can be. And after you are done, be sure to check out the new book, Watercolor Unleashed (sounds thrilling, no?) for more watercolor painting...
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Working with artists is a lot of fun. Really, I would put nothing before it in terms of what I want to do with my life's work. But sometimes it can be a little like herding kittens, and it can get really frustrating if the artists aren't organized. (But really, that never happens...never.) Mom...
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It’s quite sad that 18 th -century painter Luis Melendez died poor and relatively unknown and yet he is now recognized as one, if not the, greatest still life art painter of his day. His style and approach as a still life artist breathed new life into a genre that was already well established,...
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We're pleased to announce that the Grand Prize winner in the "What Do You Love?" watercolor art contest is Johne Richardson, of Overland Park, Kansas. Congratulations, Johne! The winning image will be featured alongside the artist's other work in a feature article in the June 2013 issue...
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Another slice of my personal humble pie is the fact that I'm pretty bad at math in general and downright horrible at geometry in particular. You'd never ever find me trying to use these skills when making art--or so I thought. But when I was gleaning tips from watercolor artist Law Wai Hin on...
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Artists who step outside their studios take a leap of faith. When you determine that you are ready to create a plein air painting , you take a chance with lighting, composition, color, and time. All of these are variables that you need to contend with to get your outdoor painting right. Artist Robin...
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As much as I love the holidays I also stress a lot about gift-giving. I'm a people pleaser and want the friends and loved ones in my life to feel appreciated, which means I can sometimes get super anxious about how to show them how I feel. Myths: Santa Claus by Andy Warhol, 1981-85, synthetic polymer...
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When I met a woman who told me about the best watercolor painting instructor she'd ever had, I had to know more. There are so many artists out there whose work is compelling but that doesn't always make them good teachers. I had to know what put her instructor heads and shoulders above the rest...
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We all enjoy using Facebook to stay connected to our friends and family, and Pinterest is a lot of fun for collecting and sharing ideas, but have you thought about how you can utilize these social media tools as part of your overall marketing efforts for your art career and to sell art online? A recent...
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I love that John Cougar Mellencamp song! Mostly because it reminds me of being young, and that life is full of possibilities and change. It's also a great reminder that the "small" stories of our everyday lives are the ones that matter most! Roanoke by Mary Whyte, watercolor on paper, 2007...