Watch Me Paint: World-Class Art, World-Class Instruction
I rapidly gained a hundred pounds after my first cancer in 1999. It’s taken me this long to get serious about getting rid of it. As I reach my halfway goal, I realize that much of the discipline of losing weight is the same as the discipline of learning to paint and draw. Peppers, by …
Continue reading “Monday Morning Art School: what I learned from losing 50 pounds”
Start with the mechanical measurement and work your way down to the details. All illustrations are by Carol L. Douglas (left) and Sandy P. Quang (right) By now, the long slog to decorate for the Christmas holidays is in full swing. If you haven’t got your tree up, you’ve at least located the boxes and …
Continue reading “Monday Morning Art School: drawing a globe”
This exercise is like learning perspective. You’ll never draw this way in the real world, but practicing it will improve your harborside skills. Cadet, by Carol L. Douglas I tell my students that it’s best to paint a boat from the deck of another boat or a floating dock. If you can’t, then keep your …
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The important thing you bring to class is not your prior painting experience, but your attitude. To teach painting effectively, one must not only know how to paint, but be able to break that down into discrete steps and effectively communicate those steps to students. That’s straightforward, right? What isn’t so straightforward is how one …
Continue reading “Do you have the right mindset for learning?”
“When I was young, I shied away from art because I mistakenly thought that either you had talent/ability or you didn’t. Period. It didn’t occur to me that like music or writing, you can take a bit of raw talent and get better at it with lessons and practice.” Sandy Sibley 2025 Workshops Canyon Color …
“I’m not talented” is the most pernicious lie in the world. Science is slowly disproving it. Under a milky sky (Hare Bay, Newfoundland), Carol L. Douglas. It’s exactly what today’s sky looks like. Like Thomas Edison, I firmly believe that “Genius is one percent inspiration, ninety-nine percent perspiration.” I have zero tolerance for the 18th …
Continue reading “You can’t draw a straight line, and other falsehoods”
Fast, effortless drawing is the artist’s most important skill. It’s easy to learn and lots of fun. Michelle reading, by Carol L. Douglas Drawing sometimes seems like the “eat your vegetables” of art lessons. It’s what students need most, but they believe its unpalatable. So we teachers are always hiding it in our painting lessons. …
Continue reading “Monday Morning Art School: how to do a gesture drawing”
Have trouble drawing people? Here’s a way to get a good likeness in a hurry. Robbie, by Carol L. Douglas Most artists don’t have trouble drawing individual features. They run into trouble hooking all those parts up into a plausible whole. Sadly, a person’s likeness starts with the overall structure of their head, not with …
Continue reading “Monday Morning Art School: drawing a face”
The South sure loves its Greek Revival pillars, doors and windows. Here’s a little trick to draw them evenly. My painting of Siloam Baptist Church from last week. The South also observes Blue Laws. That meant I wasn’t able to get a replacement sketchbook at Hobby Lobby yesterday. I drew these on tissue paper; the …
Continue reading “Monday Morning Art School: how to draw windows and doors that fit”
Drawing six similar objects will teach you to observe details. Reliant rigged as a sloop. I once got a commission to paint Lazy Jack II in Camden Harbor. I was pretty happy with the results. As I finished, two deckhands from another boat stopped to look at it. Their eyes met. “You’ve got the…” one …
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