Out of ten scenic views, I often reject nine for various reasons that I'll delve into here. Every painter seeks to capture something that truly "speaks" to them and holds a deep emotional connection. I often find myself in the same situation, but many times, after contemplating the scenery in front of me for a while, I choose to keep walking in search of a better view and there is why.   Frequently, my students inquire about how I select a subject matter to paint and why I choose it. There is no shortage of beauty around us, and I am eager to [...]

It would be foolish to deny the importance of drawing skills in the work of an artist. Yet during the evaluation of someone’s artwork, I see mistakes in this area all too often. This blog is designed to help artists avoid most common mistakes. What is the drawing? Drawing consists of three basic skills. In the matter of importance, it consists of composition skills, proportions and perspective knowledge. Usually masters are skillful in all three areas to the point that it does not stand in the way of creative process. Think of it as an alphabet. Poets create poems using it as [...]

Usually it takes only 20 min to make a graphite sketch. It will help to zero in composition and focal areas before starting your watercolor painting. Usually I work on my sketch until I see a black and white version of my future color painting. What if the sketch is not going well and the results are unclear? Considering it has no glaring drawing mistakes, the reason most likely being omissions in my composition or shading in the wrong places. I would advise to look again into these areas of most common mistakes, fix them, start over the sketch or abandon the [...]

Sometimes I see painters around me who diligently paint every day for long hours but the results of their efforts look disappointing. Repetition of the same mistakes are seen all over the canvas and manifest themselves in a glorious fiasco. It seems as though long hours in the studio or plein air work does not lead to any kind of progress and becomes more apparent as the painter gets fatigued and unfocused. The answer most likely lies in a lack of painter’s knowledge. Just exploiting the fact that our eyes are tolerant to any abuse of harmony (as oppose to our ears) [...]

Hi folks and welcome back! After my renewed interest in oil and acrylic paintings I decided to shop for an Outdoor (plein air) easel to suit my requirements for portability and ease of use. Good luck Vlad... After reading reviews for major brands I realized that there is no such thing. Perfect plein air easel apparently is just like a tripod. You can’t have sturdy, light and cheap tripod. Only two from the list. I had an old French easel laying around and suddenly realized that the only complain I heard was that it is hard to assemble in the field which [...]

Throughout the history, humanity was involved in three basic visual art activities… up until today! First and foremost was the craft. Craft is something which is done by professional craftsmen with certain level of education and has a practical use. We are talking about furniture, household items etc. Yes, sometimes they are ending up in the museum if they represent historical significance. [...]

First, you need an umbrella which is not attached to your easel. With umbrellas that are attached, the easel becomes a high flying machine. Ask any airplane engineer and he will confirm that. One moment everything is nice and quiet outdoors and another the painting is up in the air along with the paints, water or oil going in every which direction. [...]

I've been encouraged to write when online content Manager Cherie Dawn Haas from Streamline Publishing contacted me and ask what the differences are when I am using watercolor to paint two subjects: buildings and boats. Do I use different methods or brushes? Or are they similar, and in what ways?   When it comes to painting my favorite subjects - boats and buildings - I use the same methods and brushes. Universal principles for painting anything are basically painting the light distribution on the surface and not the object per se. For instance, when I paint or draw a portrait, I [...]

Hello everyone!   I would like to share with you the great news and thank the judge Iain Stewart of the 2017 Florida Watercolor Society annual competition for the Jim Carpenter memorial award. It is especially nice to receive award from the artist with whom I believe share fine art philosophy and whose work I deeply respect. Very honored.    This painting will on display at Coral Springs Museum of Art. The exhibition runs from September 9 - November 17, 2017 46th Annual ReceptionFriday, September 15th, 5:30 – 7:30pmIn unique Miami style, this year’s reception promises to be chic and will not only applaud the exceptional talents of FWS but [...]