Clean Color: A POV on Painting With Acrylic
Artist Brooke Borcherding shares her insights on painting with acrylic, including a great tip for using acrylic en plein air.
Watch: How to Organize Your Pastels
In this live interview with Eric Rhoads, Marla Baggetta takes us through a pastel painting demonstration you don't want to miss!
3 Supplies For Your Plein Air Oil Toolkit
Think you’ve got your plein air oil supply list nailed down? Think again. Landscape painter John Crump takes the myth out of some plein air oil painting conventional wisdom. Whether you’re a seasoned pro or just getting started in plein air painting, you might be surprised by some of his hard-won findings.
14 Guidelines for Painting Effective Edges
Edge control is one of several tools which artists use to create quality paintings; but there are 14 governing factors that determine the degree of hardness or softness on the various forms that we paint.
How to Paint Like Monet: Understanding Light Keys
Immediate spoiler: There isn’t a formula for learning how to paint like Monet. But as Camille Przewodek explains, it’s a way of thinking ...
Creating the Perfect Watercolor Blend – Watch Free
In this demo, Richie Vios shares the essential but underrated skills of creating the perfect consistency of water and pigments. If you love watercolor or want to learn about it, watch this free lesson!
Day 3 Highlights From Plein Air Live 2025
The 6th Annual Plein Air Live wrapped up after several days of camaraderie, workshops, paint-along sessions, and learning from the masters.
Impressionism, Sorolla, and the Color of Light
Seeing, understanding, and learning how to use color temperature in your work can elevate a so-so painting into a work of art.
Plein Air Watercolor Demo in 5 Steps
Looking back: A step-by-step plein air watercolor demo, painted amid choking smoke from local wildfires.
Tips on Painting Ocean Water
Catherine Fasciato paints water wonderfully, particularly the ocean waves along the California coastline, where she lives. Her advice for painting convincing waves and seascapes is simple, but devilishly difficult.
Hard Not to Fall in Love Once You Touch It
Highlights from the Pastel Live virtual art conference, taking place now through Friday evening, September 20, 2024, with attendees from 14 countries, 49 states!
Chunking Labels to Simplify Value Choices
There is a lot to consider, and this knowledge is extremely valuable in understanding what’s going on with different objects in the light.
Facebook Live Series: John MacDonald “Creating Dynamic Landscapes” **FREE VIDEO LESSONS**
Imagine a beach scene that is painted so well, you can actually feel the warmth of the sun. This is exactly the kind of landscape paintings John MacDonald will help you create.
What Is Color Blocking in Art?
In this interview with Eric Rhoads, colorist Camille Przewodek explains why she stresses the importance of color blocking for artists, which she compares to practicing scales for musicians.
Variety: The Spice of Art
The very idea of how we approach our own art and feel about the art of others, keeps the “spice of art” alive. Now, I will be the first to confess that...
How Do the Pros Ship Paintings?
There comes a time in an artist’s career when she or he needs to ship paintings across the country for an exhibition. What is the best way to do this?
7 Oil Painting Ideas for Artists
We've put together some of our most popular articles with oil painting ideas and techniques for all levels of artists. Bookmark this page so you can come back often, and share it with a friend who could benefit from this!
Gifts for Artists: Your 2023 Holiday Shopping Guide
This list has it all: gorgeous frames, beautiful paints, and a special section of gifts under $50!
How I Paint Trees with Character
Artist Paul Kratter shares three examples of how to paint trees with character by taking artistic license, playing with color, and ...
My Biggest Stumbling Block as a Plein Air Painter
A quick tip to help you discover the transformative strategy that will elevate your plein air painting - learn from over 40 years of experience to create more ...