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Blog posts

The bones of painting, and a cute story

The bones of painting, and a cute story

Carol L. DouglasAug 8, 20233 min read
Remember when I said ‘value is king’? Its co-regent is composition. Every other element of painting is subservient to this pair.
Monday Morning Art School: why grisaille?

Monday Morning Art School: why grisaille?

Carol L. DouglasAug 6, 20234 min read
Your painting should be a carefully judged pas de deux between reality and your own vision. That’s best worked out before you start adding color variables.
The value of system

The value of system

Carol L. DouglasAug 3, 20234 min read
Systematic paint gets the mechanics out of the way and makes room for true creativity to emerge. It also helps when time and pressure threaten to derail you.
What is art?

What is art?

Carol L. DouglasAug 1, 20234 min read
Beauty is something both traditional art and craft do magnificently. It’s something a banana taped to the wall (and much other modern art) fail at. To divorce aesthetics from art is as foolish as trying to draw a line between art and craft.
Monday Morning Art School: ten great fog paintings

Monday Morning Art School: ten great fog paintings

Carol L. DouglasJul 30, 20233 min read
I thought about giving you some didactic rules for painting fog, and then thought again: why not let the masters show you themselves? The hard part was winnowing it down to ten.