Interesting and valuable web sites
You might enjoy checking the Draw Paint Academy website, an art education website mostly focused on helping beginners learn how to paint. Each week I write 2-3 detailed tutorials on various aspects of the art world. In each tutorial I will go deep into a certain art topic, such as how to mix a vivid green, how to make your paintings appear more realistic or a comprehensive guide on color.
Culinary creative Sine (aka Foodbites) brings fruit and vegetables to life by transforming them into super-cute characters. From banana penguins to strawberry mice, each edible work of art showcases her playful sense of humor and boundless creativity.
By using melted chocolate and other confectionery embellishments, Sine gives everyday ingredients from her fruit bowl cartoon eyes, expressive mouths, and sometimes even paws. She also carves features from the food itself—in one piece called “Mr Jawsome” she sculpted a shark’s friendly toothy grin from a watermelon. In another, Sine filled banana skins with kiwis to create adorable “peas in pod.”
Here is an interview with the creator of Foodbites, at the Williams Sonoma blog.
By using melted chocolate and other confectionery embellishments, Sine gives everyday ingredients from her fruit bowl cartoon eyes, expressive mouths, and sometimes even paws. She also carves features from the food itself—in one piece called “Mr Jawsome” she sculpted a shark’s friendly toothy grin from a watermelon. In another, Sine filled banana skins with kiwis to create adorable “peas in pod.”
Here is an interview with the creator of Foodbites, at the Williams Sonoma blog.
Poured Paint Art - We have had some fun demonstrations of paint pouring. Here is a video demonstrating some very interesting poured paint techniques. You'll have to watch a few seconds of an advertisement before the video starts. After a few seconds you can click on "Skip Ad" in the lower right corner of the video.
8 World-Famous Artists Who Were Drawn to Working in Pastel - When you think of great artists like Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Pablo Picasso, chances are their works on canvas come to mind. However, most of art history’s master painters dabbled in more than just oils and acrylics. In fact, many had a penchant for pastel.
Whether used to sketch preliminary studies or create polished masterpieces, pastel has played a big role in many painters’ practices.
Here is a link to the rest of the article
Whether used to sketch preliminary studies or create polished masterpieces, pastel has played a big role in many painters’ practices.
Here is a link to the rest of the article
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Interview: Finger Painting Artist Shares How She Creates Her Energetic Artwork - Artist Iris Scott might be the only adult that still finger paints on a regular basis, and has actually made a name for herself with her amazing work. Her portfolio of beautiful art looks as though she created them with a brush, but in actuality, she put on a pair of gloves, dipped her fingers in pigment, and spread it on canvas. Like us, viewers are wowed by the incredible detail Scott achieves and the complexity of her images.
Though she’s now had years of experience and dedication, Scott actually got her start in finger painting by happenstance. In 2009, she was “too engrossed in painting” to wash her brushes, so she decided to manipulate the oil pigments with her fingertips. Scott then had an a-ha moment as she put her hand to the canvas. Painting this way felt better than using brushes, and there was an added benefit that once people saw these works, they liked the new pieces more. Here is a link to the rest of the article |
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How to Paint with Negative Space - Every painting is composed of negative and positive space. We tend to “see” the positive space - the apple in a still life painting, the person in the portrait - but there’s always more to a painting than that!
Negative space is visually just as important as positive space, and it’s the area around and in between your subject matter. Those little glimmers of light through the leaves of a tree, the shape of the empty sky above a cityscape, or the space inside the handle of your coffee mug are examples of negative space.
Never underestimate the beauty of negative space. . . all of those supporting shapes and colors are intriguing and important in their own right!
Here is the rest of this article.
Negative space is visually just as important as positive space, and it’s the area around and in between your subject matter. Those little glimmers of light through the leaves of a tree, the shape of the empty sky above a cityscape, or the space inside the handle of your coffee mug are examples of negative space.
Never underestimate the beauty of negative space. . . all of those supporting shapes and colors are intriguing and important in their own right!
Here is the rest of this article.
Textured, colorful abstracts - Ever-fascinated by naturally-occurring cracks, shadows, and repeating patterns in nature, Don Wunderlee’s vividly-painted abstracts are—at their core—a gorgeous re-imagining of the world around us.
Here is the rest of this article.
Here is the rest of this article.
How to Find Painting - IdeasNever be without an original concept for a painting again. If you haven't got great painting ideas, then all the technical painting skills in the world will be near useless. But it's also okay to allow some room for experimentation. Be gentle on yourself and allow yourself to make mistakes, to go down dead-ends, to see what might develop.
This article provides ten painting ideas as starting points.
This article provides ten painting ideas as starting points.
10 Revolutionary Art Movements That Have Shaped Our Visual History - Looking back through Western history, it's incredible to see how many types of art have made an impact on society. By tracing a timeline through different art movements, we're able to not only see how modern and contemporary art has developed, but also how art is a reflection of its time.For instance, did you know that Impressionism was once considered an underground, controversial movement or that Abstract Expressionism signaled a shift in the art world from Paris to New York? Like building blocks, from Realism to Lowbrow, these different types of art are interconnected. As the creative pendulum swings, artistic styles are often reactions against or homages to their predecessors. And by looking back at some of the most important art movements in history, we have a clearer understanding of how famous artists like Van Gogh, Picasso, and Warhol have revolutionized the art world.
This article reviews the ten visual art movements that are fundamental to understanding the different types of art that shape modern history.
This article reviews the ten visual art movements that are fundamental to understanding the different types of art that shape modern history.
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The Use of Edges - One of the most difficult concepts to grasp about painting is the use of edges. Controlling edges is an advanced stage of painting that eludes most everyone, until it’s pointed out to them. Here is an excellent article describing different types of edges and their use in painting.
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What to Leave In, What to Take Out - Composing a painting is all about editing, whether you are working from life, a photo or your imagination; we are making decisions about what to leave in, what to leave out, what to enhance and what to make up. Here is a good, brief overview on the subject.
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The Essence Of Watercolour - Meditations on watercolor painting, by Hazel Soan. "To me, to make an image appear on a blank sheet of paper is almost magical – it is a chance for an earthbound human to taste what it is to create, from nothing, something that did not previously exist and yet now does. Of course, it is not from nothing, because we have a wonderful array of pigments in our palette, exquisitely tapered brushes and creamy white papers, but I still think painting in watercolour is a miracle of sorts. My best watercolours are often those I feel happened despite me, rather than because of me, and I stare in wonder at the way the pigment dries and settles on the paper in an array of exquisite blends."
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Best designed street murals in the world - Architectural Digest offers an excerpt from Street Art, a new Lonely Planet book
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Free art books for members who like electronic books - Over 200 free art books are now available to download from the Guggenheim
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Cézanne unmasked: the shattering portraits that blew Picasso and the Paris avant garde away - Paul Cézanne’s unflinching portraits didn’t just astonish Picasso and his disciples. They changed art forever.
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Clever street artist is transforming NYC’s streets into one giant playground - using forgotten elements of the street to create whimsical artwork.
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25 Color Palettes Inspired by Beautiful Landscapes - Sarah Renae Clark is an illustrator and designer in Melbourne, Australia. She has an interesting article in which she shares 25 simple color palettes that have been taken from beautiful landscape photography from around the world.
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