My Favourite Book on Drawing
Why Draw?If you draw a lot you get better at painting. If you draw a lot you’ll learn to see. If you draw a lot you will learn about values, edges, composition and proportion. Yes, drawing is one of the …
Pets in Pastel
Painting pets in pastel is one of the most popular art genres in the world. Thousands of amateur and professional artists use pastel to portray our furry friends. Pastels are loved as the perfect medium to paint fur as its …
Are Pastel Starter Sets a Good Place to Start?
If you have no pastels at all and you want to dip your toe into this dusty medium, a starter set would be a great place to get you going. Almost all pastel brands offer a starter set, but do …
RWA Open Exhibition 2019: Review
The Royal West of England Academy of Art is having its 167th annual open exhibition. The exhibition shows well over 600 works from well known and lesser known artists in a huge variety of styles, material and subject matter. The …
Getting Started in Soft Pastel: Colours
When you want to try soft pastel, you might not be sure which colours to start with. There are so many brands and so many colours! Which colours should you start with? Many brands have starter sets available, but do …
Bitesize Blog: The Large Piece of Turf
Albrecht DurerThe Large Piece of Turf1503Watercolour on Paper, 40.8 cm (16 ″); Width: 31.5 cm (12.4 ″)Albertina Museum in Vienna I find this work quite amazing. It was painted in watercolour in 1503 by Albrecht Durer (1471-1528), one of the greatest …
Oil Painting without Solvents
Oil painting without using solvents or toxic mediums; can it be done? Absolutely. This guide explains how oil painting can be enjoyed without the need for solvents or heavy metal pigments. It will explore how to keep your studio safe …
Book Review: Chromatopia
An Illustrated History of Colour, so reads the subtitle of this small but chunky book. The blurb on the back of Chromatopia tells us it will reveal the origin stories of over 50 of history’s most extraordinary pigments. Now most …
6 Tips for Getting a Portrait Likeness
Here are some tips and tricks for beginning portrait painters to get a likeness in your portrait work. I hope you will find these 6 tips useful. I’ve added some images from the history art for inspiration. They include some …
Ampersand Gessobord Review
Ampersand Gessobord is a premium rigid oil painting support. It is a wonderful support that I regularly use. In this article I’d like to describe its qualities and explore its uses. Gessoboard comes in a cradled and uncradled version. The cradled …