I love watching chickadees; in fact, they will land on my pan when I carry seeds out in the early dawn. They will congregate in a nearby pine, waiting for me to put their food out. So, they are a natural subject for a painting. In this blog, I will show how to paint theseContinue reading “The Chickadee Tree: Online Art Lesson”
Category Archives: art lesson
How to Paint a Cheetah in Acrylic
Last fall, I went to the zoo, and by great luck, got a nice head shot of a cheetah who was resting near where I was standing. I love big cats, and decided to paint one in this art demo where I will share how it is done. First, I primed the canvas (it wasContinue reading “How to Paint a Cheetah in Acrylic”
How to paint an Egret in acrylics: Lesson 2
In the previous post, I shared how I start an acrylic bird painting. In this lesson, I will show the next steps. Next, I start refining my lights and darks, and mid-tones, correcting where needed. I use mainly the palette I mentioned in lesson 1: titanium white, burnt umber, burnt sienna, ultramarine blue, payne’s grey,Continue reading “How to paint an Egret in acrylics: Lesson 2”
Process: How to Paint an Egret
One of my readers asked if I could share my process in creating a painting, so I decided to take photos and discuss how it is done, from start to finish. While the process starts with field studies, sitting out in marshes and swatting mosquitoes and black flies, I will focus on the painting aspectContinue reading “Process: How to Paint an Egret”
Learning to Paint Impressionism: Lilac blooms
A few days ago, I set up a still life in my studio with a lilac sprig that I took from the bush outside. I wanted to paint my impressions of light and color, following the Hawthorne method as best as I could. Because of the late afternoon sun, there was a lot of goldenContinue reading “Learning to Paint Impressionism: Lilac blooms”
Learning to Paint Impressionism: Sunny Day block study
I am in the pursuit of color. That means that I am doing what is considered a basic study in art school: block studies. Because I want to learn impressionism (a la “Charles Hawthorne” method) I am following the suggestions in Lois Griffel’s book, “Painting the Impressionist Landscape”. So, I decided to do the sunnyContinue reading “Learning to Paint Impressionism: Sunny Day block study”
Painting Impressionism: color block study
I have been reading an outstanding book by Lois Griffel, who follows the methods developed by Charles Hawthorne at the Cape Cod School of Art (where some of the outstanding American impressionistic painters have studied). She shares the importance of doing studies with color blocks, so here, I will share how to do a simpleContinue reading “Painting Impressionism: color block study”
Titmouse revisited
Since I am learning acrylics now, after years of working in oils, I decided to re-paint my titmouse painting in acrylic. This was a fun project, and I learned some things about acrylics doing this. As usual, I used a limited palette (titanium white, hansa yellow, yellow ochre, ultramarine blue, burnt umber and burnt sienna).Continue reading “Titmouse revisited”
Back to the Basics: Still Life
I am spending some time going back to the basics (still life), working on technique more, with still life paintings. Don’t worry, I’ll still be painting birds and landscapes, too, but want to work on my overall mixing, brush strokes, etc. Below, I’ll share how I did it for those who would like to know:Continue reading “Back to the Basics: Still Life”
Portrait Day 7
The portrait is finally done. For some reason, my camera picked up more yellow than is in the original. I added yet more details to the face, softened transitions, added more details to the dog’s fur. The pit bull was painted with raw umber, burnt sienna and ultramarine blue for darks; and yellow ochre, burntContinue reading “Portrait Day 7”
Portrait Day 3
Today, I added some highlights, shadows, and more detail, especially to the girl. I am also adding more colors to the dog’s coat. I am trying to keep my light consistent in the background and on the objects; it’s a warm mix of cad. yellow med., yellow ochre, and titanium white. It’s starting to comeContinue reading “Portrait Day 3”
Ferns
One thing I’ve discovered about living in Michigan that is VERY different from Texas is the ferns. They are everywhere, especially when you live in a state forest like I do. They grow like weeds here, but are pretty. I think that the ferns and moss (my lawn in the front is actually partially moss)Continue reading “Ferns”