Watercolors are an amazing medium, in part because of the fluidity of the paint itself. The inherent characteristics of water (surface tension, etc) allow artists to do many things with watercolors that other mediums do not.. . . read more
Before you start a painting, it's often a good idea to draw out a preliminary sketch of your subject matter with all the right proportions and measurements. In the following video, Craig Nelson demonstrates. . . read more
The beginning watercolorist often experiences a trial-by-error initiation, in which the desire to produce a lovely, light-filled watercolor painting exceeds one's ability to actually do so. However, once bitten by the painting bug it is impossible to give up on the challenge. . . read more
Today, Jean Pederson gives a brief demonstration of how she layers various pigments of transparent watercolors to produce a realistic, three-dimensional image on paper. The subject matter she chose is tricky under the best of circumstances. . .. . . read more
In today's video, Jean Pederson shows how she “reactivates” dried watercolor paper after it’s been sitting for a while. This lets her pause in the middle of a painting, and then pick up right where she left off an hour, a day, or even weeks later.. . . read more
In an abstract painting (as opposed to a realistic one) it's more important than ever to be conscious of design elements like line quality, texture, value contrast, and so on. For today's video tutorial, watercolor painter. . . read more
In today’s video, watercolor painter Carl Dalio demonstrates his techniques for painting cloudy skies. After sketching out his entire drawing on watercolor paper, Carl starts right in with. . . read more
When you want to fill up space in an abstract painting (or any painting for that matter) it helps to have a few different techniques at hand for adding texture. In the following video, Carla O’Connor shares her methods. . . read more
Although it’s definitely the most common, stretched canvas isn’t the only surface that works well for oil paints. Here are some alternative surfaces that I have enjoyed using over the years. . . read more
There are a number of effective ways to create visual interest in a work of art, but today’s video tutorial focuses on just one - creating visual pathways through your artwork. . . read more
Our eyes instinctively seek out areas of contrast, no matter what we're looking at, so it makes sense to add patterns high-intensity contrast to our artwork as well. Here's one method for doing that. . . read more
Painting from life always brings with it a certain set of challenges, but perhaps the biggest challenge is finding a way to recreate all those vibrant, light-filled colors that saturate the air around us - while just using opaque oil paints.. . . read more
If design and composition isn't generally something that you think about while painting, it probably should be. A good design ensures that your viewers will stay interested in your artwork, even over a long period of time. . . read more
As with any drawing, the beginning of a painting is the most important step. Successful starts lead to good finishes. In the next few paragraphs I’ll explain what I do to start a painting off on the right foot.. . . read more