An underpainting wash is a way to dissolve layers of color into the tooth of a paper to lay down a base coating and free up the paper...

I don't often use under paintings as I am an alla prima painter (all at once) and tend to move quickly through the composition. This is...

I'm my last session of my advanced pastel class at Dunedin Fine Art Center, I had a conversation with my people about what keeps them...

Figures bring a human element to any landscape, especially beach scenes. But many artists are intimidated by the figure, and feel they...

Continued from last week... Then I blamed myself for being too old, or maybe our genes were stale, or I gained weight at the wrong pace...

A short story based on the Hudson River School and the philosophy of Transcendentalism. The storm howled outside the tiny RV rocking and...

Many realist painters do not have to look far for inspiration, others work from inspired series (figures in the landscape, sunsets,...

Nature almost never gives you perfect light, and the time to paint it! Very often you must make up the light, or intensify it when it...

Adding a figure into a composition-while you are painting it en plein air-is always a challenge. I prefer to work from live models on the...

A friend recently asked me “if you didn’t have to sell your art, or teach art, would you still do it?” My answer is “Hail yeah! I’d still...

How using fewer brushstrokes and edges can make a stronger painting. In my class; "Classical Training for Artists" which is a beginning...

Landscapes are beautiful all on their own, but adding a focal point like a figure or a creature can improve a painting. But how do you...

Color studies may save your life! How to plan a painting. Preparatory sketches.

Plein air painting in Florida means that at some point you will be painting water in motion, and probably at the beach. Painting anything...

This blog along with the previous 4, and the next 22 are designed specifically for the Plein Air Adventure class to go along with the...

Painting Palms and trees with Shawn Dell Joyce Treat trees as value masses and start with your darkest darks and get them down first:...

One of the hardest things for me to do is to keep it simple. I'm a complicated person. I can complicated my way out of a paper bag! I...

This week's demo and topic in Plein Air Adventure was on using the tool of sighting to gauge a measurement, and basing every measurement...

(Like starting a new class where you feel over your head, and out of your league) We all feel scared and overwhelmed at some point-if you...

Portraits are the Holy Grail in art. Artists aspire to do realistic portraits because nothing screams success like a well drawn likeness....