Insights
Harmony and Color Dispersion
There seems to me no greater challenge to a painter that brining together a clear balance of color dispersion and harmony. What do I mean? After one plans the color palette and executes the composition, what remains is the 'icing on the cake. How do you disperse...
Light fades into shadows and therefore is relevant!
Light is that energy that shapes the forms and its absence creates the shadows. It is what draws us into a painting. The contrast of the adjacent darkest and lightest values, known as chiaroscuro, is easy to paint for most artists. More difficult is the middle...
Green – Mixing Greens
My least favorite color is green. It seems to take over paintings if too saturated. Reality, especially landscapes, displays many variations of green. And it is important to note that green makes water wet in a painting. Combining various blues (cobalt,...
For Whom do You Paint?
When you wonder if your style has gone out of style, doubts stir and you question why and for whom you paint. To paint is not an option; it is an obsession - passion. Artists desire to express inner feelings about the world and what we see. Painting, therefore, is...
Shipping Your Artwork
This past year several of my paintings have been shipped to various locations. Lessons learned in this regard are many. Carefully packaging the painting for shipping is very important. A strong commercial box intended for shipping art such as "Air Float" is...
Painting Inspiration
There will be highs and lows in which one feels and doesn’t feel inspired to paint. During the ‘dry spells’ the creative energy is not dormant, but rather changing perspective. That which was learned previously is being enriched. Keep painting in your mind seeing...
En Plein Air
The term, en plein air, originated with the French Impressionists. It refers to painting outdoors and capturing the colors of the daylight. Though most of my work is done in the studio, the subject and composition are captured from life; painting a small plein air...
Oil Paint Hues
Often artists will ask what oils I use. And the answer is different manufacturers. The manufacturer that has the hue I like and puts little else besides pigment and oil in the paint, usually is the one selected. For example yellow ochre varies considerably among...
Reusing Canvases
We likely agree that not all of our paintings turn out as planned. And some artwork just doesn’t seem to sell; perhaps it lacks that emotional connection needed by the viewer. If the canvas is of good quality, it makes sense to reuse it. The first step is to...
What went wrong? Perhaps the answer is here.
Not every work of art we do meets our expectations. The image in our head sometimes doesn’t materialize. So, a ‘what went wrong’ analysis is needed. Here are some questions to ask. Is the drawing correct? Is there a good composition? Are the hues clear? Is there a...