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Top artists answer questions about plein air painting – Part 1
In order to create a quality painting outdoors in front of the subject, an artist is required to be at their very best. Just about everything involved conspires against success. Deluged with an...
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Top artists answer questions about plein air painting – Part 2
“Landscape painting is a timeless expression of human experience; man has contemplated the earth, sky, and trees throughout history. The challenge of painting outdoors, en plein air, allows close...
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What’s the concept?
The great, Paul Strisik, former master artist and teacher, urged artists before beginning a painting to have a clear “conception of the subject”. I call it “your painting concept”. What is meant by a...
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PleinAir Live
I’m honored to be back for my second year with PleinAir Live…a virtual online global plein air event, 15-17 April 2021. As many of you know, Streamline Publishing has produced two DVDs and a best...
View ArticleOne way, or many?
Truth is debatable, changeable and up for grabs. Really, truth is whatever one decides it to be, for man is the decision maker and the ultimate arbiter of what is true. It’s a great system; this way...
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Guidelines for commissioned art
Creating a specific work of art for a client can be both imposing and intimidating. Two massive hurdles that must be cleanly cleared are: 1) Pressure to satisfy the client. 2) Fear of not being able to...
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Beyond the photo
Photos can be a starting point for further exploration. It’s a creative exercise to conceive of a variety of compositions and moods based on the same photo. When we force ourselves to think beyond the...
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Charles Hawthorne discusses painting
Charles Webster Hawthorne (1872-1930) was born in Illinois but raised in Maine. His father was a sea captain. When Charles was eighteen, he went to New York, worked in a stained glass factory by day...
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More from Charles Hawthorne
I’m not a big fan of Charles Webster Hawthorne’s paintings, but then, who am I? In his day he was highly respected, had a huge following and taught thousands of students…Norman Rockwell among them. To...
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Grain Silos: Form following function
You’ve heard the term, “Form follows function”? Well grain silos are a perfect illustration of this. “Stately Elegance” – 12″ x 16″ – Oil “The Evening Descends” – 12″x 30″ – Oil I have been...
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Grain elevators
When traveling through many small towns in America you will invariably encounter a scene of interconnected cylindrical towers with connecting buildings known as grain elevators. (Click images to...
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“The Culvert”– How it was created
In this latest video I show the complete creative process behind my latest painting…”The Culvert”. You’ll find this helpful. ***If you would like to receive this weekly blog automatically, please...
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“The Culvert”– Understanding the composition
A good question was raised by one of the viewers of my last video, “The Culvert”, in which I showed the complete painting process. A viewer of that video wanted to know if I deliberately intended for...
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The best plein air painter of all time?
A few years ago the Meadows Museum in Dallas hosted an extraordinary exhibit of Joaquin Sorolla y Bastida paintings. The individual galleries were softly lit and human voices seemed as whispers…distant...
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A lasting legacy
I thought this article would be easy to write…that it would just flow out of me. In reality its been quite the opposite. For three weeks I’ve been contemplating how best to faithfully express my love...
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Independence Day, 2021
Two hundred and forty-six years ago on July 2, 1776, The Congress of the United Colonies adopted a resolution of political independence, meaning that the 13 colonies believed they had a right to be...
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Leslie Levy Fine Art
I am pleased to announce that I am now being represented by Leslie Levy Fine Art, located in Scottsdale, Arizona. The gallery was established in 1977 and is one of the Southwest’s leading art...
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Pompeo Coppini’s words resonate still
I’d say most people, including artists, have not heard of the Italian born sculptor Pompeo Coppini. Born in 1870, he immigrated to the United States in 1896 to seek fame and fortune. It seems he...
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The legacy of Paul Strisik
I had the good fortune of meeting Paul Strisik and his wife, Nancy, in 1984. I had been invited to accompany a group of artists to Spain and Portugal for two weeks of painting. There were 19 of us,...
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Dancing and painting
I’ve been a professional artist for many years and painting is still hard. I’m not sure it can ever be mastered. I suspect that the great, Rembrandt van Rijn, was never able to set his brushes down and...
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