I stumbled across an old video you might find interesting. It’s an interview with Frank Frazetta, one of the all-time greats of illustration and fantasy art. I wouldn’t say I’m a fan of these genres or even Frazetta’s work in general, but there’s always something to learn from those who have achieved mastery. Frazetta was … Read more
Here’s a painting fresh off the easel: Kingfisher Bay, Morning Light. I painted this from a photo I took on our last trip to Kingfisher Bay on Fraser Island, Australia. It was 6:24 am on the jetty, with the sun low on the horizon line, and when all the wonderful pastel colors had come out … Read more
(My “On the Easel” posts give you a behind-the-scenes look at what I am working on, what went well, what went wrong, and things I learn.) Let’s take a look at how I painted Gumdale, Red Flowers, Blue Sky. I run past this spot almost every day. On this particular occasion, everything was just right. … Read more
For your inspiration today is Mont Sainte-Victoire by Pierre-Auguste Renoir. Mont Sainte-Victoire is a mountain in France that overlooks Aix-en-Provence. When people think of paintings depicting this mountain, Paul Cézanne’s series is the first to come to mind. But I think Renoir’s more colorful interpretation deserves some attention. This painting is a great lesson on … Read more
“To give a sincere and truthful representation of a portion of the beauty of Nature, and to show the charm of light and shade, which I try to give forth in correct tones so as to give as nearly as possible an exact illusion of reality.” Clarice Beckett Today’s featured artist is Clarice Beckett. One … Read more
Last week, I shared this gallery of some of my favorite paintings by Paul Cézanne. Let’s take a closer look at one of those paintings to see what exactly is happening behind the scenes. Here’s View of Auvers-sur-Oise—La Barrière. (Click here to see a high-resolution photo of the painting.) A Familiar Subject The painting conveys … Read more
Let’s cover a tricky topic: determining the right strategy for your next painting. Your strategy is the general plan or approach for how you will end up with a painting that’s faithful to the subject and conveys your ideas. It broadly covers questions like… What medium will you use? What brushes? What colors? What style? … Read more
Here’s a painting fresh off the easel: Perth Gardens. One of the key challenges of this painting was making the feature plant stand out as a soft focal point, yet also appear woven in with the surrounding landscape. Getting it right involved a lot of back and forth between blending the plant in with the … Read more