Draw and Paint more Masterful Portraits with Stronger Value Skills

Scroll to the end to see today's suggested experiment.

I'm feeling incredibly grateful that I took advantage of opportunities to sketch and paint in crowded, lively, public places for so many decades. Though it's still quite...

For today's challenge, scroll down to the end.

Perhaps you’re more fortunate than many of us who are feeling worn down by the challenges of the pandemic, the politics, the natural disasters and the isolation from one another.  And … perhaps not. 

 Being an artist who...

Happy New Year and Welcome to 2021!!!

On our Projects and Discussion Group page I was asked how I frame my circular Dala Art.  I made a quick clip (above) to show you some of the matting and framing I've done for the Dala Art.  I often use handmade papers and old rag mats that I've used...

What a year it has been.  Throughout all of 2020 I experienced great highs and great lows ... as we all have on every continent and country in the world.  Being the insatiable optimist I am, I look forward to a better year in 2021.

Art has always been at the tip of my fingers to help...

Like many of us, I’m reflecting on the year 2020 and having incredibly mixed emotions about it.  It's been simultaneously horrific and enlightening, wiping clean the slate in many ways.  I'll focus on the more positive aspects of 2020 because the negative aspects don’t help...

Portrait of Louise with Natural Dye Vats of Logwood and Weld

I've had more time this year to dig deeper into the caverns where my inner artist lives.  My inner artist was born as a sculptress, not as a painter.  During the warmer months I created abstract forms out of clay dug from the...

This holiday season will be quite different. 

We won’t be gathering together as we have in the past, celebrating our community of family, loved ones and friends. Why not include a little piece of yourself along with the packages you’ll be mailing?  A beautiful gift tag...

A few days ago I received my copy of Suhita Shirodkar's fabulous new book, The Urban Sketching Handbook, Techniques For Beginners.  I'm honored to have one of my sketches included in this excellent collection of art and guidance that features so many of my favorite urban sketchers. ...

When sketching out-and-about, the experience is rarely predictable no matter how well prepared I am.  Perhaps that's why I keep inventing new (hopefully improved) methods and equipment to maximize the opportunity to engage successfully with my environment and the people within that...

What a fantastic week!

The rain held off until after the Boat for the Vote event on the Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn last Friday evening. 

photo taken by my daughter, Nicole, from another canoe as we drifted along

The first mini course in the Series of DIY Sketchbooks & Illustrated...