-
Looks Like Heaven by John Budicin, 2002, oil painting, 32 x 40. Almost any artist will tell you that there's a certain appeal to working outdoors that can't be found anywhere else. With spring in full swing, many of us have left our studios for our porches, backyards, and beyond. To celebrate...
-
Attitude by Patricia Hannaway, 2006, pastel sketch drawing, 21 x 12. Human figure sketching, especially learning how to sketch from a model, is one of the most rewarding ways of practicing art because it can enhance your abilities in ways that are both practical and inspirational. It's practical...
-
I am usually heartened when I hear disagreements about matters of art and technique. Maybe I'm just combative that way, but more likely, I think I take such debates as a sign that there are more artists coming to the table, that the field is growing and evolving, and that there's no end in sight...
-
In figure drawing and painting, knowing the ins and outs of the human body is essential. There's no way around that fact, and honing our skills with anatomy drawing helps us understand and truly see the body more accurately than any other endeavor. Drawing by Stephen Schultz. I was flipping through...
-
I'm an artistic omnivore to be sure, but there is really nothing I love more and respond to more than pencil drawings. I know, the humble pencil and paper seems so simple, so basic. But what some forego and forget as too elementary, I see as essential. Yes, starting with beginner pencil drawing lessons...
-
It's probably half-endearing (hopefully?) and half-annoying that I think there's no better way to start off the weekend than with art. But you know what I mean! As the fall season gets into full swing, I think we are all coming back around to our art, and for me, nothing sounds more appealing...
-
One of my unhappiest memories of making art is drawing a really 70s-looking still life that my art teacher set up for us in the sixth grade. I remember being soooo bored and not interested at all in what we were doing until my teacher gave us a challenge to use any of the different shading techniques...
-
Watercolor artist Thomas Schaller achieves convincing and dynamic effects in his skies ( Salisbury Cathedral , watercolor painting). I know it is a bias, but sometimes I can't help thinking that painting skies belongs to a particular realm of watercolor painting . The medium just seems best suited...
-
Matthew Carr refused to use pure white in his drawings, treating his surface with charcoal before he began. ( Gordon , 2006, conté pencil on prepared charcoal paper, 56 1/2 x 44.) As you all might remember, charcoal drawing and I haven't always worked well together. Largely it's been my...
-
This is a blog about drawing people from one of my favorite co-workers, Cate, the online editor of Cloth Paper Scissors . Enjoy! Proportion is key to life drawing. When I was a kid growing up in Michigan, I was privileged to take classes at Cranbrook Institute of Art. I have two memories of this experience...
-
It's not as if the wall space in my apartment is getting any bigger, but still, I'm always looking at works of art and murmuring, "I know just the place for you..." And for the past several years I've been particularly drawn to works on paper. The mark-making and drawing techniques...
-
The cave paintings of Lascaux. Legend has it that Pablo Picasso remarked upon emerging from a visit to Lascaux cave that, "we have discovered nothing new in art in 17,000 years." The beautiful artwork from this ancient era is a reminder of our innate impulse to create. Amazingly, research is...
-
Leonardo Da Vinci's drawing, Head of an Angel , 1483. In my last post, I was telling you about how I decided to take Leonardo Da Vinci for my master when I was first studying art seriously. Choosing a master means taking a close look at great art and great artists, and learning the lessons they can...
-
Van Gogh's self-portrait (detail) is an exercise in line, but notice how it varies in thickness and direction, especially around the eyes . If the eyes are the windows to the soul, then a painter needs to get them right when creating a portrait. But the "oval, circle, dot" anatomy of the...
-
Painting in a group means gaining insights from others and solidifying your own point of view. As much as the stereotype of the solitary painter working alone and shutting him- or herself off from the world makes artists seem mysterious and cool, I’ve found that artists tend to be fairly social...