Say the words “plein air painting” and I get a bit scared. It’s not that I don’t love being in nature. . . I do, most certainly. But when it comes to painting outside, with the intention of painting what I see, well, I get so overloaded with “information” that I. . . read more
Need some inspiration or ideas for your next watercolor pieces? Perhaps a few of the following tips will help! For example, painting directly onto an already wet surface will . . . read more
I live in a part of the world where it is warm and sunny most of the year, so when I get the time I truck my paint gear outdoors and set up for some plein air painting. My gear needs to be portable, easy to tote, and above all, cheap (meaning that I’m not [...]. . . read more
After my first article was published on EE a few weeks ago, a number of artists wrote me with more questions about the process of creating large watercolors on a prepared canvas surface. For instance, a couple of people asked questions about preparing the canvas; while a few others asked how. . . read more
There can be a lot of mystery when you go to purchase paints, especially if it’s your first time buying a particular medium. Just to start with, when you look at the wall of paint at your local art supply store you’ll see many different brands. Then within each brand you’ll. . . read more
Sometimes it only takes a small adjustment or two to improve your paintings. I’m sure I’m not the only artist who has looked back on their work from years ago and thought, “If only I had done this or that differently, the results would have been so much better.” We. . . read more
If you paint on canvas—either in acrylics, oils, or watercolor—you’ve probably noticed that your unframed paintings look much better from the front than they do from the side. Anytime you catch a glimpse of those raw canvas edges, they look startlingly white against the painted. . . read more
“Watercolor batik” is an amazing technique that combines melted wax and watercolors on rice paper to create an exciting-looking painting. Today I’ll be explaining how I use this technique in my own paintings. If you’re ready, let’s get started! First, I ink in my. . . read more
Like many artists before me, I am addicted to the magical glow of the early morning or late evening sunlight known as the "Golden Hour." Masters like Corot and Inness made great use of the Golden Hour. . . read more
As artists, we often obsess about the many and varied elements of our work. Everything from subject matter to color theory and paint handling come under close scrutiny. But there’s one aspect that many of us often overlook. . . read more
During a recent still life painting I took some photos to show how I go about my painting process. I’m sure many of you probably do it differently, but that’s the great thing about painting—you can almost always learn something from seeing how someone else does it. First off, I. . . read more
After discovering the beauty and freedom of watercolors over twenty years ago, I instantly fell in love with the spontaneous nature of this medium. I love to see pure transparent colors flowing freely over wet paper, forming exciting shapes and patterns out of nothing. The challenge, then, is. . . read more
There are many styles, methods, and techniques for painting fur. But I've had a few people ask me how I paint fur, so I thought I'd share my way of doing it. . . read more
What’s an accident? According to wikipedia, an accident is an “Unintended external action which occurs in a particular time and place, with no apparent and deliberate cause but with marked effects.” Usually an accident causes a negative outcome, which you try to avoid, if at. . . read more