Below is one of my recent paintings featuring a magnificent autumn tree in New Zealand. This was a tricky one. It’s a busy subject with many overlapping parts and intricate details. All up, it took me about 10 hours to complete over several sessions. I’ll walk you through how I painted it and the lessons … Read more
I’m currently on a solo two-night stay in the Montville hinterlands. I try to do this a few times a year to write, paint, and catch up on work I’ve been putting off. Thankfully I have a great wife who supports me in this. It is a bit lonely without Kobe by my side, but … Read more
Here’s one fresh off the easel: New Zealand, Autumn Colors. New Zealand really is a landscape painter’s dream. I do a trip every few years there to stock up on reference photos and inspiration. If you live there, make sure to take advantage of it! This was a tricky subject. There’s a lot of information, … Read more
For the founding members of the Sunrise and Sunset Workshop, I provided a brief critique of each student’s work. Many students were a little bit rigid and tight with their approach. They focused too much on the shapes and details at the expense of the subject’s raw character. My suggestion to these students was to … Read more
Someone commented on my Horace Vernet post: “Hello Dan. Thank you so much for this great analysis of Vernet’s painting! Although this is an amazing work with fine detailed technique way above my skill, it is not a style that I can connect with. I’m not sure why. Too detailed perhaps? Too perfect? However, the way you … Read more
In painting, we tend to judge each work purely by the outcome. Good or bad. Success or failure. But we rarely talk about the inherent difficulty of the painting. Some paintings are much more difficult to create than others. The following are some factors that increase the difficulty: You can overlay several of these factors … Read more
Here’s a little plein air study I did recently. Don’t judge too harshly! This was a tricky subject and challenging conditions. The water chopped and churned against the shore, and gradually receded with the outgoing tide. The light came and went based on the clouds. And I was under constant attack from mosquitoes and midges. … Read more
For your inspiration today is a remarkable tree painting by Horace Vernet, Hunting in the Pontine Marshes. Let’s take a closer look at the painting and what makes it tick. Scale and Focal Point The first thing that strikes me about the painting is the play of scale. The name suggests the painting’s focal point … Read more
Someone commented on one of my posts: “Very interesting watching you paint. But did you stop on and off to get an area a bit dry and continue? Or did you use a medium to make the oil paint dry quickly?” I posted a brief reply on the website, but I thought I would elaborate … Read more
I have some sad news unfortunately. Our golden retriever Kobe passed away peacefully just before Christmas. Usually I would keep this private, but he has been a pivotal part of our lives and my art journey so far. I always considered him my loyal studio assistant. When I started Draw Paint Academy some 11 years … Read more
First, thank you for your continued support over the years. Some of you have been with us on the art journey for nearly 10 years now. Hopefully many more to come! Let’s take a look at how 2025 went and set up some goals for the new year. You can see previous wrap ups here: … Read more
I was looking at a progress shot of my Elora painting, trying to work out what more it needs. It wasn’t long before I noticed these ugly titanium white smudges around her ear and hair. I must have had some wet paint on my hand while doing detail work. Not good! What to do when … Read more