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New Video This Week!Art Lessons with Lee Hammond: Draw Faces in Colored Pencil
From eyes and hair, to rich, realistic skin tones, you can create stunning, realistic faces from photographs now with Lee Hammond! Learn more about Art Lessons with Lee Hammond: Draw Faces in Colored Pencil here.Get instant online access to this video, and many other art workshop videos, at ArtistsNetwork.TV—now available for viewing on your iPad too!
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New Spring Issue of Inspired!
A FREE Digital Magazine for Artists!
Looking to get inspired and stay inspired? Check out the latest issue of the digital publication, Inspired Magazine. Boost your creativity with fun, new ideas and practices for artists of all types! Read your FREE COPY HERE.
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Richard McKinley’s Pastel Pointers Blog
Richard McKinley offers weekly advice for pastel artists, covering plein air painting tips, art design ideas, information on landscape painting and must-know pastel techniques.
Pastel Pointers | Shades of Green, Part 2
Green can be a tough color to handle, but with color temperature finesse, sensitive observation, wise selection, and artistic permission to sometimes tweak reality for the sake of a harmonious outcome, a successful lush painting can be achieved.
Posted in Art Mediums & Drawing, Get Pastel Journal, the Ultimate Resource for Pastel Artists, Landscape Painting: Techniques & Tutorials, Pastel Art Techniques Painting Landscapes & More, Richard McKinley's Pastel Pointers Blog, Subject, Top Art Blogs Tagged Landscape Painting: Techniques & Tutorials, Pastel Art Techniques Painting Landscapes & More Comments Off
Pastel Pointers | Shades of Green, Part 1
Put two or more landscape painters together and inevitably, the topic of how to handle green arises. Skillfully finessing green requires an understanding of its relationship to and interaction with the other colors of the spectrum and ultimately a degree of theatrics. These skills are even more pertinent during the season of Spring when the bones of Winter begin to adorn themselves with the most intense green foliage.
Painting En Plein Air, Part 2 | Field Sketch Painting
In last week’s blog post, I described the thumbnail/value sketches involved in the first part of a plein air painting process I refer to as “Field Sketch Painting.” Once these sketches are evaluated to see if the composition is worthwhile, it is time to start the pastel painting.
Posted in Art Articles: Education & Topics, Get Pastel Journal, the Ultimate Resource for Pastel Artists, Landscape Painting: Techniques & Tutorials, Richard McKinley's Pastel Pointers Blog, Subject, Top Art Blogs, Top Art Techniques & Tips Tagged Landscape Painting: Techniques & Tutorials, Pastel Art Techniques Painting Landscapes & More Comments Off
Painting En Plein Air, Part 1 | The Field Sketch
Every serious artist understands the importance of working from life. Whether it’s the still life, portrait or landscape, there’s no reference material that can replace the experience of interpreting subject matter one-on-one. While it’s never easy to progress from painting from photo reference to painting from life, it takes special concentration to do so in the landscape with the ever-changing lighting and conditions. This, along with the overwhelming vastness of the landscape, can stymie even the most technically advanced pastelist.
Posted in Art Articles: Education & Topics, Art Mediums & Drawing, Get Pastel Journal, the Ultimate Resource for Pastel Artists, Landscape Painting: Techniques & Tutorials, Pastel Art Techniques Painting Landscapes & More, Richard McKinley's Pastel Pointers Blog, Subject, Top Art Blogs Tagged Landscape Painting: Techniques & Tutorials, plein air painting Comments Off
Maggie Price | A Pastel Artist Remembered
On April 4, 2013, the pastel community lost one of its most beloved champions, Maggie Price, to a short but courageous battle with brain cancer. Maggie began working with the medium in 1990 and her love for it blossomed eight years later into The Pastel Journal magazine, which she co-founded with fellow artist and friend, Janie Hutchinson. Maggie served as editor and art director, while her husband Bill Canright, an artist as well, handled the advertising department.
Lessons From Da Vinci | When Is Your Painting Finished?
“Art is never finished, only abandoned.” A Da Vinci exhibition I saw at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry in Portland, Ore., reminded me of the struggles artists have deciding when a piece of artwork is finished. The exhibition was filled with models and examples of da Vinci’s creative and scientific ingenuity. Of particular interest to painters were the sections dedicated to Mona Lisa and The Last Supper.
Photographing Paintings | Keeping a Record of Your Work
Photographing finished paintings can be one of the most frustrating aspects of painting, but still one of the most necessary. These photographic records are invaluable when reminiscing about past accomplishments, a necessity for entering most juried exhibitions, and a prerequisite for publication. Since most artists either sell or gift their works, it’s paramount to keep a high quality photographic record for future reference.
Framing Tips for Pastel Paintings | Reusing Frames
Framing can be one of the most costly aspects of our pastel painting careers. Frames are expensive, never mind the glass, mats, backing, and fitting charges when a professional framer is utilized. We invest in the hope that someone will open their wallet and purchase a painting, helping us to recoup some of our overhead. It’s a speculative business at best.
Posted in Art Articles: Education & Topics, Art Craft Tools, Material Supply Tips & Recommedations, Art Mediums & Drawing, Get Pastel Journal, the Ultimate Resource for Pastel Artists, Pastel Art Techniques Painting Landscapes & More, Richard McKinley's Pastel Pointers Blog, Top Art Blogs Tagged Art Business Comments Off
Pastel Pointers | Getting Ready for a Painting Workshop
Workshops afford us the ability to get an insight into the painting concepts and habits of many of our pastel heroes. Admiring finished paintings is one thing, but having the ability to watch a hand in action is priceless. Having had experience with both workshop taking and workshop giving, I have a few observations that may help ready you for your next workshop adventure.
Painting Surfaces for Pastel | The New Kids
Pastel is unique among fine art media, because it doesn’t have an inherent binder to hold it onto a surface like all other forms of painting. This difference is one of the reasons it gets classified as a drawing medium in some circles. Pastelists, though, most often associate their intent with the act of painting. While the end result of painting with pastel may visually resemble binder-based paints, it does rely on one component that they do not. It requires enough tooth and surface density for adhesion.
