Sophie Ploeg
Bring Beauty Into Your World through art
Welcome!
I am a Dutch-born artist, art tutor, writer and art historian, based in the UK. I run my online Art School with courses in oil and pastel painting. On my blog I write about everything art: painting tips and tricks, exhibition and book reviews and so much more. Check out The Art Cafe for a free and supportive community of like-minded arty folks
In my own painting I try to find a dynamic between the past and the present in my painterly depictions of lace, silk, and velvet as well as my portraiture. My portrait work has been exhibited at the Royal Society of Portrait Painters, the BP Portrait Award and elsewhere. I paint in oils and pastel and am available for commissions.
Bitesize Blog: Liotard’s Opera Singer
Jean Ettienne Liotard Portrait of Louise Jacquet (opera singer)Pastel, 59.8 x 45 cms, 23 1/2 x 17 3/4 in1748-52Private collection. Photo © Sotheby’s/Art Digital Studio This
Best Free Online Painting Demonstrations
There are a lot of online painting tutorials. A lot. One could easily spend hours watching them and forget to paint at all. But ever since
How to Paint an Eye in Pastel
So often people ask how to paint this or that. So often you find tutorials about how to paint something specific. You might have noticed (or
Create Fine Art prints from your Paintings
Creating prints from your art work is a great way to open up your sales. But once you decided to go for it, an avalanche of
A Place for Everything Pastel
To blend or not to blend? To fix or not to fix? Do I need to buy those expensive pastels? Where do I start? Are these
Vlog: Can I Use a Watercolour Brush for Oil Painting?
Pop into any art supplies store and you will see an inviting wall of brushes. There are watercolour brushes, brushes for acrylic paint and brushes for
Which Pastel Paper Suits Me Best?
When it comes to sanded pastel papers there is a lot of choice and variety. Any beginning pastel painters would be forgiven for not knowing where
Vlog: How to Mix Colour on your Canvas
One thing I have learned from working with pastel for so many years, is how to mix your colours on your painting. So many painters struggle
the past is not so far away after all
finding new meaning
through snippets of History
Busting some Painting Myths along the way
25 Oil Painting Tips
Improve your painting with this free ebook!
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