Welcome to lesson 1 of the Painting the Landscape workshop. Glad to have you on board! Before I get into it, I’ll recap what to expect from this workshop. The idea of this workshop is to give you practical insight into the landscape painting process. I’ll walk you through the creation of my most recent … Read more
I came across this interview with Bob Kuhn on Youtube that took place back in 1997. It provides insight into the mind and process of a master animal and acrylic painter. At 4:27, he says: “As I grow older, I do what I want to do. And if I cheat a little bit, who cares? … Read more
I was introduced to a new painting by Vincent van Gogh the other day, Interior of a Restaurant. I’m surprised that I’m still seeing van Gogh paintings for the first time, especially considering I’ve been writing about art for over seven years now. He may have lived a relatively short and turbulent life, but it … Read more
This is an interview with Susan Goddard, a dynamic artist and master watercolorist. She’s also the mother of my closest friend, Ted. I’m grateful to have her answer a few questions about her work, watercolors, and the art life. Q: When did you start painting? Since I was knee-high to a grasshopper! I was interested … Read more
This is a detailed guide on painting hair and fur—whether that be human hair, artificial hair, animal fur, whiskers, etc. I’ll broadly refer to all this as “hair” from hereon. Big, Simple Shapes One of the most common mistakes beginner artists make when painting hair is getting caught up in the tiny details. They paint … 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 Parent’s Garden. This was a challenging painting of a familiar subject. Reference Photo Below is the reference photo I painted from. … Read more
This is a detailed guide on the concepts of foreground, middle ground, and background. You’ll learn what they mean and how to paint them effectively. What Do They Mean? The foreground, middle ground, and background refer to areas in space. The foreground refers to the nearest area. The background refers to the area of space … Read more
Let’s take a closer look at The Fishing Boat by Gustave Courbet. I first saw this painting at the European Masterpieces exhibition back in October 2021. I remember it catching my eye despite it being a somewhat quiet painting in a room full of vibrant color and contrast. I’ll cover: (Click here to see a … Read more
For your inspiration today is Visit to a Museum by Edgar Degas. (Click here to download a high-resolution photo of the painting.) Some key observations: The painting has two distinct parts: the woman pursuing the museum and the museum itself. Degas used a unique approach for each part. For the woman, he used fine rendering, hard edges, … Read more
Feel free to paint from them without the worry of copyright. If you want more, you can get access to the full reference photo library here. Happy painting! Dan Scott Draw Paint Academy
This is a detailed guide on staining the canvas (or what is more formally known as underpainting). I remember when I first started using this technique. It had a profound effect on my work and my ability to judge colors. I’ll cover: (I also published a video on this topic here.) What it Means and … Read more
Let’s discuss the primary colors as they relate to art, or more specifically, painting. These are the first colors you’ll learn about in art. Even my 1-year-old daughter, Elora, has been introduced to the primary colors through her children’s shows and at daycare. Perhaps it’s because we’re introduced to the primary colors so early in … Read more