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Last week we talked about parallel parking a car -- or in my case, not parallel parking the thing -- and how, if we don't know a specific skill, we can frequently compensate by doing things another way. It's not easy drawing the human figure accurately, and if you've tried and you've...
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Especially since the mid-1800s, many artists have stressed color over other elements in painting. The Impressionists are notable examples. Monet, for instance, explored how to paint light and its effects on the colorful scenes he saw in his mind's eye. Although many think of Monet as a painter of...
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Okay, I'm going to share with you my dirty little secret: I can't parallel park a car. Well, I can parallel park a car as long as I've got three blank spaces, in a pinch two, and it helps that I drive a Honda Fit. But for the most part I'm willing to drive blocks out of the way and walk...
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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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Arches, towers, bridges, and vaulted ceilings--I love all aspects of architecture and engineering, and it was through these things that I first started to appreciate plein air painting. Before, when I was trying to understand what plein air was all about, I was sort of "meh" about the idea...
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Continuing the long line of intimists from Vermeer to Vuillard, Mark Karnes makes an alluring world out of the quietest aspects of his domestic life. Like all great painters of the near-at-hand, Karnes' work reminds us that beauty is to be found everywhere, at both expected and unexpected moments...
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Looking at Mark Messersmith's artwork is like being sucked into a kaleidoscope. The colors are bold, varied, and everywhere. It seems odd to say this. I mean, of course, there is color everywhere--it's a painting. But what stands out about Messersmith's work is that the colors, more than...
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The last two centuries, in particular, witnessed the final great explorations of the surface of the planet by scientists, geographers, and surveyors. In those pre-photography days, and for a while after, artists were an integral part of any expedition. Often these artists were also trained naturalists...
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When I say "the perfect blend," I feel a little bit like I am describing a gourmet coffee flavor, but there really is a perfect blend that exists in pastel painting. For me, the crème de la crème of pastel drawings combines a certain level of literal representation with a modern...
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Interest in acrylic painting is skyrocketing. There is less and less of a bias against this medium as a newcomer, and more and more of an interest in the healthful qualities and vibrant colors acrylics have to offer. In our free eBook, Acrylic Painting Techniques: Methods on How to Paint With Acrylics...
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In the last article, I discussed my distressing and difficult sock project ( The Socks from Hell ), and how I didn't enjoy the process at all, and the best thing about the whole thing was when it was over and the socks were on my feet (which almost didn't happen, incidentally). So why, you ask...
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Sometimes I get list fever, and this is one of those days. I have made a grocery list, a list of gifts I need to buy, and a list of artists I want to look up. The only list I haven't made yet is my list of lists! But lists are great things, especially when you are like me, learning painting techniques...
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I was always taught that effective color mixing starts with discovering the tinting strength of each color on your palette. For me, that is the basis of understanding how to mix colors, because it tells me how they will react when combined. A Breath Away by Joseph McGurl, oil on canvas, 24 x 36. I'm...
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If I had a time machine and could travel back to learn how to oil paint from any artist in history, I would not spare a second thought setting the clock to circa 1895, smack dab in the middle of the era when Odilon Redon was refining his fine art oil-painting and pastel-painting skills. The Cyclops by...
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Those of you who have read me for awhile know that I'm big on this patience thing, even though patience is the least of my virtues. Come to think of it, I'm not sure if it's on my list at all, but I keep working at it, and perseverance is part of patience, even if it only begins with the...