Art Articles

From techniques and art supplies, to interviews and inspiration, Artist’s Network University is home to some of the web’s best articles about art. Whether you’re looking for creative art project ideas, learning new painting techniques, itching to listen to artist interviews, or just generally in the mood to get lost in a few good art articles, this is a great place to get started. Don’t be afraid to take a stab at something new – art is often most fun when it is uncharted!

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The Value of Studies for Pastels with Marla Baggetta

Creating workable thumbnails are vital in the creative process. While some might find them tedious or even boring, creating this road map will give you greater creative freedom. Marla Baggetta creates her thumbnails by sitting in quiet spaces in order to create imaginary places with them. The possibilities really are endless. You can also use photos that you’ve taken in order to create thumbnails. Using an iPhoto program, Marla creates a “contact sheet” with 16 small images. These small images help you avoid the temptation to add more detail than … View

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The Value of Studies for Pastels | by Marla Baggetta

Although they may not be the most thrilling part of the creative process, thumbnails are vital, as they offer both a road map to better paintings and a pathway to greater creative freedom. One of my favorite ways of working with thumbnails is to sit in a quiet place and create imaginary places with them. Once you get started, the possibilities are endless. I also enjoy doing a group of thumbnails from photos I’ve taken. I usually put a page together called a “contact sheet” in my IPhoto program that … View

Koo Schadler

The Color Black | Artists’ Pigments for Black Paint

Learn about the various artists’ pigments used to create the color black. Don’t hesitate to paint with black to achieve the richest, darkest values in your paintings. Choose from this list of black paint pigments provided by artist Koo Schadler. By Koo Schadler In Portrait of Lily with Zinnia (below), the black color in the dress and hat are unambiguous, arresting darks; the green background and red flower stand for the middles; and my niece’s fair skin and blond hair represent the light values. I used a natural Mars black … View

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Mixed Media Artist Maya Brym | Building Layers for Collage

Using collage techniques to structure paintings layered with acrylic and oil, Maya Brym creates still lifes as spatial experiences that shift between two and three dimensions. The following is an excerpt from the feature article “Natural Synthesis” by Judith Fairly in the April 2012 issue of The Artist’s Magazine. Building Layers Brym chooses her surface based on the idea she has in mind—sometimes she begins with a drawing, sometimes with a paper or digital collage. On occasion she uses Photoshop to experiment with photos she’s taken, or she might recombine … View

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Colored Pencil Drawing: Getting Started

Find expert colored pencil techniques and colored pencil tips from professional artist and author Gary Greene below! There are three types of colored pencils you can use in your colored pencil drawing: Wax colored pencils: Pigments are bound together with wax to create either hard or soft pencil cores (the colored part of a colored pencil). Wax-based colored pencils provide excellent coverage but are more prone to breakage, quick wear, and debris. They also produce bloom, a coating of powdery film that appears after the color has been applied Oil … View

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Painting Light in Winter Landscapes by Peter Fiore

By Peter Fiore Winter can be a bleak time of year, but painters can transform an ordinary gray day into something spectacular. The secret to infusing your winter landscapes with vibrant color lies in understanding how color values and temperatures interact with one another. Winter Shadows and Skies Always remember that you paint the effect of light on your subject, not the local color of the subject. For example, when strong sunlight falls upon a subject and creates cast shadows, the observed value of the shadows is dark, creating an … View

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Colored Pencil Techniques: Scumbling

Colored pencil is one of the most versatile and easy-to-use mediums around and North Light Books author Ann Kullberg is one of the best. She regularly critiques student work at her website . Here is an excerpt from her most recent North Light Book, Colored Pencil Secrets for Success, which features personal critique sessions. The scumbling technique offers a ton of control and very smooth, even application where you don’t see any strokes at all. Use a very sharp pencil, turning it often to keep the point sharp, and apply the … View

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Art Journaling Classes, Workshops and More

By Cathy Johnson   Art Journalist and teacher Gay Kraeger and Christina Lopp have taught watercolor journaling together for 12 years. “I always loved the idea of an illustrated journal, but I had all sorts of excuses not to draw and paint,” Kraeger says. “When Christina came home from a trip to Europe, she shared her journal with me. It captured her trip wonderfully, and I was inspired to go out and buy paints and a small book. I started the next day. “For tools, my main criteria are portability. … View

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5 Rules to Paint By

You know something’s wrong, but you’re not quite sure what. Watercolor artist Mark Willenbrink shows you how to spot five common pitfalls that many artists struggle through—and the rules that’ll help you avoid them in your next painting. With a little practice and attention to detail, these simple guidelines for using line, color and value will become second nature and will dramatically improve your painting results. Mark Willenbrink is a regular contributor to Watercolor Artist.