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One of the best conversations I’ve had about art wasn’t with an artist. It wasn’t with an art historian, curator, or gallery owner, either. It was with a mechanical engineer. We went from discussing his latest design project to the artfulness of historical blueprints to Leonardo’s...
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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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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...
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Do you ever lose yourself in creating pencil sketches and discover, when you "wake up," that you've drawn objects or people or places that have personal meaning to you or ideas you've been subconsciously toying with? Drawing sketches can be like writing in a journal--the pages of your...
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Whenever I go to the doctor and get my finger pricked, I'm always surprised at how much it hurts--at how sensitive the tips of our fingers are. Yet at the same time, they are so utilitarian. Judith Ann Braun's work uses both these qualities of fingers--their sensitivity and their strength--in...
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I have a painter-friend who is gearing up to do a major work with figures, but she feels a bit rusty about painting a model in all his or her glory. To help prepare herself, she's set up a series of life-drawing sessions so that she can spend a bit of time drawing models before tackling her actual...
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I'll admit that in the past I have been guilty of thinking of colored pencil art as colorful and bright and not necessarily able to be coupled with serious subjects or moody narratives. But that was my own bias. As I've spent time looking at sketchbooks of draftsmen creating colored pencil art...
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Susan Lyon's figure drawings truly set her apart artistically and are the foundation and preparation for all she creates as an oil painter. If you ask her why, it is a drawing's immediacy, directness, and drama that are the ideal conduits for her creative sensibilities and in her opinion these...
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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...
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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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Never mind that "the frenzies" is not technically a real medical condition. What I mean is that during the holidays, I feel like we can all get a bit frenzied. There are parties to attend and host, events to go to, cards to send, gifts to wrap, and friends and family to visit. Right now I have...
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I've been told by more than one person that I try to see both sides of any issue. And my personal life aside, I can attest that I also do the same for art--I like to see it from all sides, materially speaking. That makes me a perfect match for mixed media art because you can combine so many different...
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Uh, I think I may have stumbled into an artist's dream! The Artist's Network Annual Holiday Sweepstakes is going on right now, offering awesome art prizes from the best painting and drawing product makers and service providers around. Rosemary & Co. brushes? Yes! Strathmore surfaces? Yes...
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How to let go of small brush addiction so your paintings can move on to become more gestural If you lost all of your brushes, which one would you miss the most? For me, it's a 12 year old Filbert bristle brush that has lost its shape, has unruly hairs, and is caked in paint. In other words, it's...
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I'm a water person. I love boating, swimming, scuba diving, and just looking at the ever-changing surface of nearby waterways. And I'm not alone. American artists--and those abroad--have been enamored with so many beautiful bodies of water over the centuries. But the watery artist who is stealing...