Watch Me Paint: World-Class Art, World-Class Instruction
Notan differs from value study because it is based not just on what we observe. It is the orderly restriction of shapes into patterns. It is reality subservient to beauty. Sextant, c. 1917, Marsden Hartley, oil on panel, courtesy Philadelphia Museum of Art When I saw this collection of eight paintings based on the color …
The first rule of composition is, ādonāt be boring.ā Step one of Maggie Daigles Alien Mango Tree Progression, as she called this exercise. She drew 90Ā° from this, and flipped it because she liked this view better. Composition is an enormous subject, rather like the Chinese language, and it is hard to shoehorn into a …
Whatās important in painting? It all comes down to drawing and composition. Weymouth Bay, 1916, John Constable, uses closely analogous colors to create cohesiveness in a painting of raw natural elements. We enter every painting at some point, although there doesnāt need to be a literal āpath inā to a painting. Itās more typical (and …
Continue reading “Monday Morning Art School: the fundamentals of a good painting”
Two artists whose paintings in adversity remind us that we don’t always have to paint from our happy place. Forgotten Man, 1944, Maynard Dixon, courtesy Wikiart Maynard Dixon Maynard Dixon is less remembered than his second wife, photojournalist Dorothea Lange, but they shared the same social justice concerns. Dixon had just finished a mural for …
Fabric is an opportunity to support the composition with line and shape, and insert abstract design into even the most hyper-realistic paintings. Underwear and glass head, by Carol L. Douglas. Every artist needs to be able to paint fabric, either to clothe his subjects or to support a still life. Drapery used to be an …
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A good reference picture is not necessarily a good photo. A great photo is almost never a good reference picture. Headwaters of the Hudson, by Carol L. Douglas, private collection. This is one of several paintings I’ve done based on the following photograph. Sometimes Iāll post a photo to Facebook, only to have someone suggest, …
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The background of your painting is a key element of its composition. Prom shoes, oil on canvasboard, Carol L. Douglas Last week I wrote about the lost-and-found edge, and techniques to make edges and lines sink. That allows the viewer to focus on other passages that are more important. The painter has three tools to …
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Sometimes itās what you donāt say that matters most. Girl with the Red Hat, c. 1665-66, Johannes Vermeer, courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC. I once had a painting teacher who told me that heavy edges were āmy style.ā Like many younger artists, I just hadnāt learned how to marry edges in my painting. Beginning …
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Yes, inconsistency is immature, but that doesn’t make it a bad thing. Rocks and Sea, 1916-19, Edward Hopper, courtesy Whitney Museum of American Art The other day, Bruce McMillan sent out a blog post asking readers to identify an artist. (He kindly mailed me the images, which illustrate this post.) Iām pretty good at art history, …
Continue reading “Consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”
A student asked for book recommendations for Christmas. Iāve gone over my own bookshelves in my mindās eye. If the binding is worn from overuse, or itās a new acquisition Iām excited over, Iām recommending it. I frequently recommend Art & Fear: Observations On the Perils (and Rewards) of Artmaking, by David Bayles and Ted Orland. …
Continue reading “Books for the art lovers on your Christmas list”