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Preparing for a Solo Show!
Getting a solo show is a big honor, and something you want to build for rather than have too quickly in your career. If you are not...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
May 27, 20225 min read


Why Under Paint?
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...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
May 7, 20222 min read


Making an Underpainting Work For You!
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...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Apr 25, 20223 min read


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

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Apr 10, 20222 min read


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

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Jan 21, 20223 min read


How to Fudge a Light Source
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...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Jan 15, 20223 min read


Color Studies May Just Save Your Life!
Color studies may save your life! How to plan a painting. Preparatory sketches.

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Jan 7, 20223 min read


Simplifying Your Subject Into Blocks of Value and Color
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...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Nov 20, 20212 min read


Doing things that scare the hell out of you artistically!
(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...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Nov 6, 20213 min read


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

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Oct 30, 20214 min read


Working up a painting from sketch to completion ALLA PRIMA!
When you are just starting out, it can be daunting to paint a larger or more complicated painting. I've heart novice artists say that...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Sep 26, 20215 min read


Complementary Palette for Pastel
I first learned about using a complementary palette from reading The Yin and Yang of Painting by Hongnian Zhang, from the Woodstock...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Sep 16, 20213 min read


The Rules of Art
Many artists and teachers will claim that their way is the right way, or the only way to approach painting. While painting does have some...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Sep 4, 20214 min read


Embracing Frustration
What I learned from attending Pastel Live! and how to use your artistic frustration as Miracle Grow for your artistic abilities... As a...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Aug 22, 20215 min read


Believing Mirror-why we artists need each other
"Success happens in clusters..." Julia Cameron The Artist's Way I asked my friend A. (for anonymous) how her painting was going in a...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Aug 14, 20215 min read


Your Art Discipline
I teach a lot of workshops where people are taking a class for the first time, or just setting up an art practice. Yesterday, I taught a...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Aug 7, 20215 min read


Color Temperature and Henry Hensche
In my class; "Classical Training for Artists" we are studying color theory and the work of "Every form change is a color change..."...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Jul 10, 20213 min read


Lessons from Cezanne
Cézanne mastered the simplification of his subjects to their basic shapes: he wanted to "treat nature in terms of the cylinder, the...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Jun 26, 20212 min read


The Golden Curve and the Fibonacci Sequence
and how it can help your compositions affect viewers on a primal level... I'm a geek. If you are an artist, you probably are too. One of...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Jun 19, 20213 min read


Back to Basics-Values
"Value does all the work, color gets all the credit!" In my Classical Training for Artists class at Dunedin Fine Art Center we are...

Shawn Dell Joyce artist
Jun 12, 20213 min read
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