Articles offering advice on a variety of visual art subjects, including plein air painting, equipment, business practices and more.
Getting people to your show is one of the hardest parts of exhibiting—and one of the most important. Artists can spend months making the work. Galleries and institutions spend time shaping the presentation, installing it, writing about it, and putting their name behind it. Then the doors open […]
Concerned with your health in 2026? Recent research shows the arts can be just as powerful as going to the gym in improving your health and well-being. Consider ditching the dumbbells for your New Year’s resolution this year and adopting one of these three arts-related goals instead: Resolution […]
Crazy thing, we were peeking under the hood of the website the other day and were surprised to find that we’ve had more referrals from Facebook over the past couple of months than from Instagram. We weren’t even sure people still used Facebook. Except, you know, your parents, […]
Fire up your computer, pull up a chair, and you’ll have the best seat in the house for three days of plein air painting instruction from 24 instructors who are members of Plein Air Painters of Utah (PAPU). The three-day event is enrolling students now and will go […]
Let’s face it, the landscape is no simple subject to be easily understood, let alone painted, without much study. Its intricacies need to be learned on many different levels in order to break its code and come away with a credible painting that captures the essence of a […]
Not all artists see the same. The difference between the way a novice sees a scene and how a seasoned artist views it can be great, and can be the key between a good painting experience and a frustrating one. The serious student artist needs to see in […]
Today’s column is on a subject that I encountered years ago and was recently reminded of — avoiding the cartoon look in a painting. This may seem like a weird thing to write about, but it is a look I happened upon once or twice out in the […]
One really effective way to begin planning your next studio painting is to do several thumbnail sketches until you hit on something you like. After that, you might forgo heading directly into oil paint and do some pre-planning in the medium of soft vine charcoal. The reason for […]
“You two just keep getting better,” Denis Phillips observed Wednesday afternoon at a walkthrough of the terrific new show by Mark Knudsen and Leslie Thomas. And he’s an artist who doesn’t hand out compliments readily. The public seems to agree: five paintings have sold already including a 24”x […]
Scene selection can be a huge advantage or a stumbling block to the advancement of your work. Often, the problem with a painting is not that an artist can’t paint well enough, but that the choice of subject matter lacks that certain something that will lend itself to […]
Using a value scale to assist your efforts when painting out in nature can be useful, especially when there is a lot of glare, like in snow painting, beach scenes, or just regular sunny days. The need arises when you have a value that you are trying to […]
A major element to getting work in the Utah film industry is word-of-mouth references. Case in point: in 2013 I worked on a feature film as Second AC (Assistant Camera) and a Production Assistant with a young camera operator and must have made an impression on him because […]
Remember the old problem many of us pondered in elementary school science class? The question went something like this: If a tree falls in the woods and no one is around to witness the event, is there any sound? The same might be asked about the future […]
Occasionally I will return to a familiar subject or location that I happen to like and paint it again. I have actually done this on a number of occasions, and each time I have enjoyed the experience. Why? A good subject is a good subject, and painting on […]
As a planner and goal-setter in all aspects of my life, including art creation and marketing, I’m afraid I may overdo it. I fear that too much planning and scheduling may leave one blind to those serendipitous opportunities that could enhance creativity, not to mention joy of living. […]
Years ago when living in Southern California I had a neighbor who was an accomplished artist fresh out of the New York City art scene. He had several of his large abstract pieces that were sandblasted and splattered with paint rolled up and tucked under my porch for […]
From staying in a cozy room in bucolic Spring City, to backpacking in the Tetons, plein air painter John Hughes tells us what he did on his summer vacation.
Occasionally someone will say to me, “I can’t draw a stick figure.” The intended meaning is that they have no artistic talent. This may be true or not, but the real reason is most likely they don’t have the desire to learn or have not been instructed properly. […]
