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Featured Artwork: Cynthia Rosen
The Lights of Morro Bay
By Cynthia Rosen
Oil on panel
30 x 48 in.
Contact the artist about this artwork
Just try to keep up with artist Cynthia...
In the Steps of the Master: A West Texas Adventure
A hundred years ago, coming to West Texas was the ultimate adventure ... Roughing it was not an abstract concept on these sketching trips.
Unsticking the Stuck Student
Artist and art industry veteran Terry Stanley has some advice for art instructors who encounter creatively blocked students.
10 Mental Keys to Make an Extraordinary Painting
Plein air painter Bill Davidson takes us through his process of creating a powerful landscape painting.
A Pep Talk for Beginners and Frustrated Art Students
If you weren't naturally handed a free pass to excellence or are coming to art late in the game, John Hughes has an encouraging message for you.
Putting Design Over Subject
North Carolina painter Jean Cauthen says she seeks out “the places between or in back of places,” by which she means finding a strong design rather than painting a portrait.
How the Desert Helped Carlton Paint Snow
Minnesota artist Philip Alexander Carlton was not impressed with painting winter in the Midwest until he realized he could apply lessons learned on his lengthy road trip.
Who Are Your Painting Mentors?
Thoughts on how plein air painters can find their own voice, and the importance of having specific mentors and artists to emulate.
Not Idle in Winter: Dawn Whitelaw
We can't show one of the most interesting things Tennessee artist Dawn Whitelaw does in winter to make her plein air paintings better...
Telling the Truth – By Leaving Stuff Out
Most of us mistakenly feel when we start out, that the more detail we include in a painting the more convincing it will be. Where does this lie come from? It may sound silly, but I think it’s partially the fault of...
My Favorite Place to Paint: Julie Jilek and the Mysteries of High Cliff
From ancient burial mounds to one of the most striking geological features of the United States, Julie Jilek’s favorite place to paint has much to intrigue the painter. But Jilek also loves it because of her personal history.
Featured Artwork: Laurel Daniel
Flying High is Laurel Daniel’s response to the marsh skies on the Georgia coastline, a location she returns to often.
Joseph McGurl on Contrasting Edges
"What I’m trying to do is paint the appearance of nature, the experience of looking at it," McGurl explains. Learn more, and see what's in his landscape painting toolkit!
Choosing From Column A
Artists often return to a particular subject matter when they don’t think it has been sufficiently explored. For Richard Maud, one of those motifs is the columns of the Alameda, in Seville, Spain.
Dramatic Skies in 15 Minutes
Doing a drawing exercise for even a few minutes a day can make a difference in both your comfort level and skills. So get out your sketchbook and favorite drawing utensil, and draw away during this 15-minute montage of amazing skies.
Something is Missing
An artist reflects on what was and what is, and share the touching story behind his plein air painting, "Enjoy the View."
Seeing the Unconventional, on Location
It took an unconventional painting done from a photograph taken at an extreme vantage point to set David Boyd, Jr. on his current path as a plein air painter.
National Parks Through the Eyes of 6 Artists
Today, the U.S. National Park System encompasses 423 sites, spanning more than 84 million acres. Here are six notable paintings honoring these protected lands.
The Landscape Guaranteed to Bring You To Tears
The varied and vivid landscapes of this state inspire oil painter Bill Sawczuk to take a more expressive approach to plein air painting when it comes to this subject. “I’ve seen people cry at the effort. They are good painters, but they come here and try to paint these mountains and it wrecks them."
The Battle of the Art Media
What constitutes a medium, and why do artists have an emotional reaction to their differences? Johns Hughes braves the topic in the following guest blog post.