How does an artist guide the viewer through a painting? Too many distractions and you'll lose the viewer. The picture will confuse them, and they will move on. Oops... missed that sale! Sometimes you will want to have distractions to add interest to the painting. You need to think about what you are doing, though. Many paintings contain objects placed with little or no … [Read more...]
Finding serenity in a chaotic world.
I feel that art has something to do with the achievement of stillness in the midst of chaos. A stillness which characterizes prayer, too, and the eye of the storm. I think that art has something to do with an arrest of attention in the midst of distraction. - Saul Bellow We live in chaotic times. It seems like the whole world is out of control. What's worse -- there is little … [Read more...]
Still using solvents?
We had a session today with Tom Anderson. Tom teaches our Master Class art course. He is a professional artist. He and his wife Lynda ran a studio and art gallery in Northern California for over twenty-five years. They retired to Texas to be near his grandchildren a couple of years ago. You can read more about Tom at this link on our website. Tom is the most knowledgeable … [Read more...]
The Three Solutions
We've gotten to the point where we double check quotes before we use them. Many quotes attributed to others turn out to be false. They never said them or someone "refashioned" the real quote. An interesting article from the New York Times explains the problem. I wanted to use a quote attributed to Gandhi. "Be the change you wish to see in the world." Sorry, that's not … [Read more...]
Who are you trying to please?
I saw a pending post in one of our Facebook groups. It began, "My work may not be very good..." When I read it, I felt a pain in my heart. The post continued by stating that the member really enjoyed painting and that was the important thing. While we love that idea, it hides a need we all have. The need is unconditional love -- for ourselves. We've written before … [Read more...]
[Q&A] What inspires artists?
Painting is about expressing yourself. All art is about self-expression in one way or another. Whether you play a musical instrument, dance, or create an oil painting, you communicate your feelings with another human being. A work of art speaks to the viewer. It communicates an idea that was in the artist's mind as little as a moment ago. Or it could be an idea that was … [Read more...]
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