Painting Methods, Tutorials, and History

People have asked me if watercolor was hard. I had heard that too and avoided watercolor for a long time in favor of oils; I was afraid it would be too hard to tackle. My fears were unfounded.

An example of how to paint an abstract painting using acrylic paint, masking tape, and bubble wrap on canvas.

Columbine, 4" x 6" watercolor on cold press watercolor paper by Robert A. Sloan. The finished painting for this step by step demonstration. This step by step demonstration can be done using my colors and choice of flower, or you can use the...

How do you represent distance and depth in art? Learn Aerial Perspective and tips on how to render the illusion of recession in painting.

A step-by-step overview of the different stages and decision making involved in a landscape acrylic painting, with an example featuring a cow in an Alpine pasture.

Before you can paint on canvas, the fabric should be primed. How do you prep a canvas for acrylic or oil painting? Step-by-step instructions on how to prime a canvas with acrylic gesso.

If you are used to painting indoors, the first few paintings you do outdoors are going to be very challenging. However, painting en plein air can be a great experience and teach you a lot. Here are 11 tips that can help you make outdoors painting a little easier and more successful.

Some common mistakes quickly ruin paint brushes. How you clean and store paint brushes determines their life span and how they stay in shape. Great tips for beginner artists.

Simple step-by-step guide on how to paint galaxies using paints, a paintbrush, water, sponges and a toothbrush!!

Tips and tools for creating real works of art with watercolor, discussed and examined. Artists and creators need encouragement and inspiration to continue to create successfully.

Sketch or draw in pencil a portrait of your choosing, bring it to life painting with acrylic paints. Sketching, drawing, and painting are valued techniques to producing a fine art portrait.

Things you need to know on how to paint with acrylics that can make your painting a lot easier and less stressful.

How to mix different colors of paint and get brown using a limited palette of primary colors. Mixing brown from Red, Yellow, and Blue.

Varnishing step-by-step. Your acrylic painting is complete. As a final step, apply the best varnishing techniques to protect your artwork, and getting it ready to hang or to be sold. Learn how to brush on or spray the varnish, and how to remove it.

I would like to make people aware of the alternatives to paint thinners when it comes to oil painting. Would you like to learn about an easy way to paint in oil with beautiful results, and, without the fumes? Read about it in this article about walnut oil based paints.

Self portrait, Winsor & Newton Artists' Field Box watercolors in 5" x 8 1/2" Moleskine watercolor journal. Copyright Robert A. Sloan, October 2007, all rights reserved. In the watercolor self portrait I started my Moleskine watercolor journal with,...

Walk into any art shop anywhere in the world and you will be confronted with a vast array of products. This article aims to help save you money by offering advice on selecting only those items which you really need to get you started on your journey to becoming a watercolour artist.

This article will explain my approach to painting images of vintage cars. It will follow my process step by step to help artists create beautiful watercolor images of some of history's greatest cars.

Plein air painting is becoming popular. A lot of artists think that painting landscapes on location is the best way to go. Learn about the advantages and challenges of painting outdoors. Would you enjoy it? Plus, tips to help you have an easier and more successful outdoor painting experience.

Create a pencil drawing sketch and a digital color study for an acrylic landscape painting! I've included step-by-step instructions and a time-lapse video to help you visualize what you need to do.

Do you want to try watercolor painting? Take these baby steps and soon, you'll be creating your own masterpieces. I've provided a list of materials that you'll need and tips on how to use them.

Things You Need to Plan Before Starting a Painting. What to paint? How? With what techniques and styles? Learn how to take the most important decisions before and during the painting process.

In this tutorial, I will share my tips on how to paint colorful tigers with watercolor paints!

I absolutely loved Anna's character in ABC's Once Upon A Time. In this tutorial, I'll show you how I painted a portrait of her with watercolors!

Paint stones to make custom plant markers for your garden. Easy to do and fun to make.

Paint a rock cat, step-by-step - detailed description and over 30 photos.

If you're new to watercolor painting, use these five helpful brush techniques and painting principles to create something beautiful!

An art lesson on how to draw and paint American flags and easy fireworks for the 4th of July. Step by step instructions on using oil pastels, watercolor and acrylic paint to create one-of-kind-art.

Learn how to paint a lone rider in the forest! It's a moody scene that you can easily create with watercolor paint.

There are moments when all of the practice pays off and you start to click with your watercolors. And what glorious defining moments they are.

Make your watercolours more interesting by adding texture with these simple tips and techniques.

Making and stretching your own canvas doesn't have to be difficult. It's actually an art in itself. Learn how in this hub.

The color wheel is a great tool that helps artists decide what color scheme they want to use with a geometrical mixing method, taking into consideration the distance between colors on the wheel. Learn how to use it and how the color wheel can help you choose color schemes and mixing colors.

Oil painting tools and materials for beginners. Which are the best oil painting materials and tools to buy for a new artist? How do you choose the best art supplies? How do you avoid buying art materials that you don't need? This guide will help you get started with oil painting - economically.

It's the season for making cards.

The way elements are arranged in the picture acts as the armature and supporting structure of a painting. To make a piece successful and interesting for the viewer, plan a composition with a strong value structure. Squinting helps. Seeing simplified shapes, it’s easier to “see” the composition.

How to Paint a minimalist abstract landscape with acrylics, step-by-step. Easy acrylic landscape painting, great for beginners.

Brush stroke techniques for fine art painting. Learn the different brushstrokes and become a more successful painter. Crosshatching, hatching, dry brush, flat wash, scumbling, stippling, etc.

Lines and shapes are essential elements of painting. How you use them in art strongly affects the composition and overall feeling of the painting.

Verdaccio is a classical underpainting technique used traditionally in tempera and oil painting to produce better flesh tones.

Opacity sounds like a good quality for paint to have, right? Maybe. Discover the differences between opaque watercolors and transparent watercolors to see which is best for your paintings!

Derwent Inktense Blocks, photo by Robert A. Sloan Derwent, formerly called Rexel Cumberland, is an old, old UK company that more or less invented pencils and to this day creates more variety, inventiveness and sheer colorful weirdness in pencils...

Painting tips for beginners. A guide to acrylic paint techniques you can use to get creative effects: splattering, pouring, masking, collage, and more.

The Bob Ross Joy of Painting series is a tutorial for beginning oil painters and a very good one.

Watch how to paint Princess Jasmine from the movie "Aladdin."

Acrylic painting for beginners: all you need to get started. Great info about art supplies and materials needed to start painting with acrylics for beginners. Tips on what paint, brushes, canvas, and easel they should buy.

In this beginner’s guide to oil painting step-by-step tutorial, you'll learn how to turn a blank canvas into a finished oil painting.

Connie Hayes’s paintings are often recognizable for her vibrant use of color and her loose painting style. Well-known as a painter of Maine landscapes, she uses color and composition to create unique views of small towns and unseen places in Maine. Her paintings beautifully depict the quiet moments of daily life.

How to paint ladybugs and ladybirds on rocks. Tips and ideas for rock painting and ladybug rock art. Painted rocks are crafts that sell well at craft shows

Water-Soluble-Oils have come to the rescue of people who love to paint with oils but are allergic to many of the components of traditional oil painting. Here's some help to make the transition easier.

If you want some texture under your paintings then you can buy texture in the shops or you can make your own. Find out instructions how and the materials you need.

Step by Step instructions on how a professional artist created an abstract acrylic painting using texture and various paint techniques.

As it’s coming up to Mother’s Day, I thought I’d celebrate by compiling a hub about Mothers in Art. Initially, I thought of blue gowned Renaissance madonnas, or chubby Renoir babies balancing on the knees of fresh cheeked country girls.......

Easy Lessons for teaching kids how to paint.

What are the 13 most common beginner painters' habits to avoid? Keep from creating paintings that look amateurish or mediocre. Know what not to do in order to take your work to the next level.

I’m presented with the “beauty” issue all the time. What galleries want and don’t want to hang; what people want and don’t want to decorate around; what is and isn’t beautiful. So what is beauty?

Learn how to add color to clear lacquers with pigments and dyes to create fast-drying custom paints and toners!

Abstract Wheels created with three primary color Sennelier oil pastels and one black Caran d'Ache Neopastel for the strong black lines. If you're looking for a fine art medium that is clean, portable, lightfast and powerful, consider oil pastels. ...

For thousands of years, the process of converting tree resin into lacquer to add beauty and longevity to everyday objects has been practiced and perfected by Asian craftsmen.

In this article, I discuss five cleaning fluids to removed dried acrylic paint from surfaces. I discuss the properties of each cleaner and any hazard involved.

Roy Lichtenstein is best known for his work as a Pop artist, but his work goes deeper and makes a statement about art, culture, and what would soon become of both.

Acrylic paints provide the opportunity to experiment both watercolor and oil painting techniques. A review of the most popular acrylic painting techniques.

If you enjoy painting but just aren't inspired, check out these painting ideas. Lots of photographs are included!

Detailed explanation of the mother color painting technique, a great way to create color harmony. Learn about how to pick the mother color and how to mix paint harmoniously, unifying the color scheme.

Why is it better to paint on toned canvas, and what color should you choose for the toning? Starting a painting on a colored ground speeds up the painting process and helps to create harmony. What are other advantages of toning?

Having problems mixing colors when you paint? Understanding color theory will simplify color mixing for you. We start with the basics and move to the more complex including some video demonstrations.

The rule of thirds helps artists and photographers to plan a winning composition. Use it as a guide to composing pictures that looks balanced and interesting. Keep the rule of third as guidance, but integrate more structural elements to make the scene visually pleasing.

Painting rocks to look like lady bugs is a fast and easy project for beginning painters. This is a great project for rainy days when the kids are bored.

Understanding and controlling color temperature are crucial in painting, especially when rendering depth. Learn how to set the mood of a painting by controlling the temperature of color mixtures.

How to clean up acrylic paint from brushes, painting palettes, or clothes whether they are still wet or after they are dry.

Learn how making thumbnail sketches and using them as value studies helps you create winning painting compositions. It's essential to see value and tone relationships for better painting.

Here is a complete list of acrylic pour painting supplies for anyone who’d like to try pour painting. You’ll also learn about each of these supplies, how they'll be used in your painting and where to buy them.

Painting from photos vs. from life. Why professional artists and art teachers recommend painting from life and not from photo. What are the differences and the challenges?

Do you want to learn how to make art pieces from leftover watercolor paint? This is a fun way to use your extra paint and not throw it away. You can easily make several pieces and create an art wall gallery!

Learn the process of completing a still-life oil painting in one session. I share a short video that shows the painting process and delves into how I chose the colors of my limited tetrad palette. Alla prima is a direct painting technique, also known as wet-on-wet.

Do you want to create a beautiful acrylic landscape painting on a toned canvas? I've laid out step-by-step instructions for the painting process and included a time-lapse video of the sketching that you can reference.

Can you happily create representational paintings but despair at the thought of attempting something that isn't supposed to BE anything? If so, then you are not alone, help is at hand.

Value means light or dark, an essential element in drawings and paintings. Learn how value is the key to a successful painting, not color. How to understand and see values in art.

Use these 10 great tips to paint gorgeous skies and clouds. I'm sharing the techniques I learned the hard way to hopefully help beginners avoid my mistakes and improve their paintings.

Basic oil painting supply list. The 8 things artists need to start painting with oils. The answers to the common questions of all beginner painters. Gift ideas for oil painters.

Still life painting step-by-step: setting up a successful composition, lighting it, sketching it, and getting ready to paint or draw it.

Step-by-step painting tips for beginner artists. Learn the seven supplies you need to paint with acrylics, how to get started, how to plan your painting composition, and how to proceed in the painting process.

The appearance of a painting is influenced by the effect of light and atmosphere, the arrangement of darks and lights, and the harmony and balance of color. Light influences all of these factors.

Painting landscapes successfully is a learning process. I learn best through visual means. So, I have shown things that will help you succeed and also provided some videos to help you learn.

This is my technique that I have made up for creating abstract paintings with watered down acrylic paint. I have sold quite a few paintings created with this method.

A guide for fine art painters on how to choose and use paint brushes, the best artist's working tools. To achieve the desired painting effects you must choose the right brush for the job.

Paintbrushes are a precious tool for acrylic painters: it's very important to keep them clean. How to clean art brushes in 9 steps and tips to keep them in good working conditions, just like new for a long time.

I love watercolor. It isn't as hard as everyone says. Armed with just a few simple techniques, you can be turning out some fabulous paintings with impressive skies. Come and see for yourself.

Learn how to paint a seagull with acrylic paints! I've created a detailed step-by-step tutorial with photos and a video that shows how to create a painting of a seagull standing on a beach. You'll also learn some general tips and techniques for painting with acrylics.

Need to paint a dark background in watercolor? Need help in achieving depth or luminosity in your painting? This tutorial is my step-by-step process for creating both dark and luminous backgrounds.

If you’d like to learn how to paint with oils, this three-part series will show you what supplies you'll need, how to prepare a canvas, choose a subject, and get started on your first oil painting.

Learn how to prepare the canvas, choose a subject, and transfer a sketch from a drawing pad to your canvas.

If you are tempted by boxes of miniatures and figures at your local hobby shop, or keep seeing cool figures online, and don't know how to even begin painting figures, discover what supplies you need to get started in the hobby.

Fine Art Tips. What makes a painting good? Learn the essential elements to include in your paintings. Focus on composition, color palette, focal point, and the way to arrange shapes.

How to improve your landscape paintings. A list of practical, helpful tips to help you improve your artwork.

How to make Marbled Paper

This article gives information on how to avoid having watercolor paper warp and buckle when creating a watercolor painting. Several methods and materials are discussed.

Learn to make colorful bookmarks using simple watercolor techniques and materials! A fun project for artists of all ages, making bookmarks is a great way to enhance your enjoyment of reading!

What kind of presents can you get for an artist that paints with acrylics? A list of tools and supplies that make a great present for any painter.