Looking at Old Masters and attempting to reproduce them can give a great insight into the way paintings are put together. We can see how great Artists approached perspective, colour or light, get a feel… Read More »Copying the Masters – Looking at Michelangelo
A great way to explore styles and ways of painting is to attempt a copy of an Old Master. Here is ‘Camille’ by Vincent Van Gogh. Print out a good copy onto an A4 piece… Read More »Looking at Paintings: Learning from Van Gogh
Black is really the absence of colour as it absorbs light and no paint or dye can truly replicate this total absorption. A perfect black can simply not be achieved in a single pigment and… Read More »Using Black when Painting
Because Acrylic Paint is the most robust media, there are a greater number of display options. Acrylic does not necessarily need to be protected in any way so unglazed frames, floating frames, unframed box canvases… Read More »Keeping Artwork Safe in Storage and on Display
Even if your usual style of painting and drawing is detailed, precise and meticulous, occasionally shaking things up with these well-known exercises can add new vigour and enthusiasm to your creativity and will, perhaps, inspire… Read More »Arty Exercises to Motivate and Invigorate your Artwork
A landscape or still life can take many different forms and it is easy to draw what you think you see. The Human Figure, on the other hand, has pretty standard proportions so you will… Read More »Why Do Life Drawing?
‘Pushing through’ a drawing onto a painting surface instead of ‘gridding up‘ or sketching directly onto the surface is a quick and easy way to plot out your composition so that you can get on… Read More »A Simple Trick to Transfer a Drawing to your Painting Surface
Stretching Watercolour Paper prior to painting provides a taut surface that will stop it from ‘cockling’ – or buckling – when the paint is applied. Stretching is a simple process that ensures the perfect painting… Read More »How to Stretch Watercolour Paper