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What Are You Waiting for? Go Ahead Paint on Note Paper
“What Are You Waiting for? Go Ahead Paint on Note Paper” pretty much says it all. Here’s a spread from one of my green lined journals. You can find non-art journals in any bookstore on earth—typically with botanical sketches or pink covers that will appeal to 16 year old girls. (Well actually to […]
Don’t Stop, Keep Going
I think one of the biggest mistakes an artist keeping a visual journal or sketchbook can make is to stop when he gets frustrated. That’s when you kick it up a notch, hunker down, repeat, repeat, repeat. Keep searching for that line, or that likeness, whatever it maybe. If you give up too quickly […]
Paper Matters: Is There A Right Paper?
For artists making works on paper media selection and method of application of course both matter, but too often artists forget that paper matters too. Have you been seduced by an art supply catalog into purchasing a substandard, non-artist grade paper? I see it all the time in my student’s questions. They’ve spent money on […]
Textures: Backgrounds for Visual Journaling and Mixed Media Begins June 1, 2019
“Textures: Backgrounds for Visual Journaling and Mixed Media” registration is now open. Class begins on June 1. There are 6 weeks of lessons in which students work through the process of creating backgrounds for their artwork. I share my favorite materials and approaches and provide detailed information on those materials so that you can […]
Testing Papers for the 2018 Minnesota State Fair
Before I go to the Fair each year I test a bunch of papers to see which bound book (containing that paper) I want to take and work with, or which loose sheets I want to carry and work upon. On this sheet I also worked with a Niji Waterbrush. I knew that for some […]
Warm Ups: Some More Thoughts…
I’ve written about warm ups many times, but readers still often forget how important they are. So I’m sharing some warm up pieces from my journals again today, before I get some more warm ups done and get my day going. My goal with warm ups is to check myself on my ability to correctly […]
Projects versus Series?
Sometimes in classes I have students ask me what the difference is between a project and a series. I believe the difference is basically slim to none depending on how the user of these words understands and defines them. Dictionary.com defines “project” as something that is contemplated, devised, or planned; plan; scheme. a large […]
Limited Choices Lead to Successful Projects
After my post last week about doing creative projects many people wrote in to tell me that they were inspired to start a project. One accomplished artist wrote in to ask advice: Just looking for advice. After listening to the podcast on projects I’ve decided to take up the challenge. Over the years I’ve […]
Just Try It: Pushing a Drawing Beyond Finished
How do we make decisions, fast decisions, when sketching out in the field? By making decisions during practice, and comparing results. Some people can hold two versions of a piece in their mind and weigh what the future work will look like. For artists just starting out there might seem to be too many possibilities. […]
Moods and Momentum in Your Daily Drawing Practice
The sketch in today’s post is the first sketch I did on the day following my November 19, 2017 fall (torn tendons and ligaments, and small fracture in left foot). I think you can tell from the sketch exactly how high my frustration level is as I sit up with a pen, my foot in […]