Facebook Live Series: Michele Byrne “Palette Knife Painting” **FREE VIEWING**
In this broadcast, watch and learn from Michele Byrne as she shows you how adding a palette knife to your tool kit will allow you to paint in a new way that will make people leap up and take notice!
6 Reasons Field Studies Are Priceless
From illustrator to fine art painter since 1982, John Pototschnik shares his advice on the importance of field studies, which he says have “a value greater than any monetary reward.”
How to Turn an Imperfect Photo Into a Fantastic Painting
Shelby Keefe shares her goals and processes for the painting “Urban Patchwork.”
13 Ways to Get the Most out of Any Painting Workshop
Take advantage of the art workshops you attend — don’t wind up returning home, only to paint the same way you always have in the past. John Hughes shares tips for your next workshop.
Do You See These Colors in the Sky?
As plein air painters know, the sky is rarely just blue. There’s at least a gradation from top to bottom, and the clouds can reflect anything from deep orange to vivid purple. What did 20 artists see when they looked up recently?
Color Corner: 10 Artists Share What’s on Their Palette
We asked some of your favorite plein air artists about their palettes and what colors — and brands — they use to create stunning landscapes.
Painting Techniques: Glazing Basics
Have you heard of the glazing technique, but aren’t sure when or why you’d apply it to your painting? In this guest blog post, Hebe Brooks, a NOAPS Master Artist, explains glazing for beginners.
Is Ultramarine a Cool Blue?
Particularly in plein air painting, where carrying a lot of paint tubes around and having a complex palette is often avoided, artists go for a split-primary palette, with a warm and cool for each primary color. So what is your warm blue?
Understanding Value Keys for Painting Landscapes
The key of a painting refers to its overall appearance in value or, more specifically, to the position of its foundation values on the value scale. John MacDonald explains.
Working Out the Kinks of Water-Mixable Oils
Christine Lashley gets a wide variety of responses — everything from rude negativity to nods from those in the know — when people discover that she paints with both traditional and water-mixable oils. Here are the benefits and the drawbacks as she has experienced them.
The Visual Tools You Need to Create Atmospheric Perspective
Master these elements to give your paintings a powerful sense of atmospheric depth.