It is no secret that painting is hard! So here are some painting accessories to make your painting journey just a bit easier. These accessories are not essential by any means, but you may find them useful depending on how you like to paint. If you use any other painting accessories which are not included … Read more
The most difficult strokes to make in an oil painting are the first and last strokes. The first strokes are because you may not know where to start and the last strokes are because you may not know when to stop. This post is all about how to start an oil painting to help you … Read more
Peder Mørk Mønsted (10 December 1859 – 20 June 1941) was a Danish painter known for his realistic landscapes. He began painting from an early age and attended the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts from 1875 to 1879. His landscapes are incredibly detailed, yet do not appear to be overworked. This is not easy to achieve. Many realist paintings … Read more
Are you struggling for painting inspiration? These painting quotes by some of the great masters of art should help inspire you on your own journey. These quotes offer interesting insights into the mindsets of these great artists and how they painted. If you have any painting quotes which have inspired you and are not included … Read more
This post will discuss how you can mix your own earth tones. Earth tones are browns and ochres such as raw umber, burnt sienna and yellow ochre. I cover: The purpose of this post is not to show you how to replace earth tones on your palette. Instead, it is merely to demonstrate that earth … Read more
George Henry (1858-1943) was a talented Scottish painter who attended the Glasgow School. His paintings demonstrate rich colors and strong contrasting elements. My favorite painting by far is River Landscape By Moonlight. This is a perfect demonstration of how you can paint the illusion of light. As you are probably aware, we are not able to duplicate … Read more
I recently stumbled across a remarkable artist named Tom Thomson (August 5, 1877 – July 8, 1917). He was a Canadian artist whose work influenced a group of landscape painters known as the Group of Seven. Thomson passed away before the Group was officially formed, however he is sometimes incorrectly included in the Group. Thomson started drawing and … Read more
Vivid colors usually get all the attention, so this post is dedicated to the subtle beauty of muted colors. I find that one of the most common problems of beginner painters is that they completely overlook the importance of muted colors in favor of the more flashy vivid reds, blues, oranges, purples, and so on. … Read more
In this post, I will discuss what positive and negative space is and how you can use it to improve your paintings. What Is Positive and Negative Space? Positive space refers to areas where the subject is positioned. Negative space is the area surrounding the subject. Or in other words, positive space is the main … Read more
Childe Hassam (October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was a brilliant American painter who had a unique impressionist style. In particular, the way he used color is inspirational. Few artists have the ability to push such rich and vivid colors without the painting appearing jarring or overdone. Hassam was a busy artist, producing over 3,000 … Read more
Green has always been a troublesome color for beginners. Why that is the case, I’m not sure. It may have something to do with a lack of understanding of how to mix color. Or maybe it has something to do with how we actually perceive green. As Pablo Picasso once said: They’ll sell you thousands … Read more
Water is a challenging subject to paint. There are just so many variables you need to deal with such as reflections, transparency and movement. In this post, I will provide some simple tips for how to paint water with quality of realism. I cover: “How to paint water” is admittedly a bit vague. Water comes … Read more