Five Tone Shading

My morning drawing practice was interesting. Not too hard, but not too easy. It was centered around values — using … More

Basics Redux

Redux is not a word we hear often. To me, it’s an awkward word. It sounds funny, and exactly what does … More

Facing the Bugaboo

Last week I wrote about my bugaboo: getting a wide range of values in my drawings and paintings. I’m always concerned that … More

My Old Bugaboo

I love words, and among the words I love best is bugaboo. It’s a playful-sounding word; it’s light-hearted, and it makes … More

The Great Van Project – 1

The Great Van Project Begins I suppose it’s technically incorrect to say that this project is only now beginning. The … More

The Moon Lies Fair Upon the Straits

The sea is calm tonight. The tide is full, the moon lies fair Upon the straits; From Dover Beach Dover Beach … More

Movement

I love how art never fails to move me in many different directions. As I study different art styles and … More

Art with Attitude

So much of art is attitude, I’ve learned, and unfortunately at times my attitude isn’t the best. That was how … More

Learning to Draw – With Paint

“…some artists like to do detailed drawings to use as reference before they paint, but many don’t. Some artists do drawings directly onto their canvas before they start to paint, but many don’t.”

What Is Art For?

What is art for? We all know that art can certainly be a bit of a mystery.

Emotions in Art

I’ve written a lot about emotions in art. For me, emotion is what draws me to a particular painting when I’m … More

Originality — Or the Lack Thereof

Originality is a word that’s heard in all areas of art: creative writing, dance, music, drawing, painting, and any other … More

Art and Music – Memorization

As a pianist, I’ve always struggled with memorization. It doesn’t come easily for me. Recently I spent weeks memorizing Schumann’s Melodie, a … More

What Are the Elements of Art?

I’ve talked a lot in this blog about getting back to basics in my drawing practices, but what, exactly, are those … More

My New Drawing Pencils

I’ve had my new Tombow MONO Drawing Pencils for several weeks now. If you’ve been following along on my art … More

What Did I Get Myself Into Now?

At the very first art club meeting I attended — last year — one member gave a brief talk about composition … More

September is Here!

I love September. I always have, and I’m sure I always will. Really, what’s not to love? Although it’s still … More

Artistic Etudes

Over the past few weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about art and music. This was the theme of a … More

Critiquing Our Art

Having studied art now for several years, I’ve learned that two specific things tend to give us problems: Knowing when … More

Line and Form

I love browsing through art books at Amazon. Actually, I love browsing through art books anywhere I happen to find … More