Watercolor painting is a very exciting medium. It’s easy to get started. All you really need is some paint, a few brushes, some water and paper and you are good to go. It is one of the most convenient painting mediums in existence to day. It is no wonder why it is such a popular option for beginners. Of course, you are going to need some advice and direction in order to get started, so I put together this post that covers some of the more basic watercolor techniques.

I have also included several excellent videos that demonstration watercolor painting techniques below.  Enjoy!

Basic Watercolor Techniques

Flat Wash Technique - The flat wash painting method is a common one. This technique is usually used when large areas of  your support need to be covered. It is important to  lay out the watercolor wash evenly and uniformly. First, you dampen the area of your paper where you will be applying the wash. Be sure  to have an adequate amount of water and pigment available before your begin. If you should have to stop for any reason, it will be rather difficult to match your layers. It is better to have more than less available. The angle at which you apply the watercolor wash is important. If the angle is too steep your wash will run down the paper. If the angle is too level, then there  won’t have enough movement. Use a large brush for this technique and start your first stroke at the top of the paper. Continue applying the watercolor wash going down the paper, but alternate sides as you move down.

Glazing - Glazing in watercolor is when you apply a thin transparent color over a completed dry layer of color. This technique creates unique and  interesting blends of new color. You will need to use a non-staining, transparent color for this watercolor technique. You will need to  use a soft brush and try not too apply that much pressure.

Wet In Wet - Wet in wet is simply applying a wet wash over a wet surface. You start by evenly wetting the paper with a brush or spray bottle. Have a sponge handy to absorb any excess water. You want your paper to be evenly saturated. Then apply your watercolor.

Dry Brush - With the dry brush technique, you begin with a dry piece of paper. Then pick up some dry pigment with just a touch of water and apply to your paper.

The dry brush method is only recommended when  you want to draw focus or create texture in your painting. It’s always a good idea to use different brush techniques in a single painting. This results in a more interesting painting.

Lifting Off - Artists use this technique when they want to remove watercolor from a certain area of the panting. It is usually done by first wetting the area that needs to be removed with a clean sponge and then absorb the color with a tissue. If you find that the color does not come off right away, then let the water soak in a bit longer and try again. If you still are unable to remove the color, dampen a bristle brush and gently scrub the area. Use extreme care when utilizing this method as it is possible to damage your paper....

Pastels are one of the easiest mediums to work with and therefore are a very popular choice amongst artists. Pastels combine the immediacy of a drawing medium while at the same time provide the artist with a color rich, paint like environment. With Pastel drawing, there is no need to prepare your drawing surface, as pastels can be applied directly to your support. There are no harsh chemicals or mediums to be concerned about and cleanup is a snap! It is no wonder why artists adore this medium so much.

Pastels are available in a wide range of exciting colors and materials from soft pastels and oil pastels, to pastel pencils and crayons. You could literally spend a lifetime exploring this versatile and exciting medium.

TYPE OF PASTELS

Pastels are available in a wide range of types and this is to accommodate the different tastes artists have. These various types of pastels are all created using similar pigments, only they are composed of different quantities or kinds of binding materials.

Soft Pastels

Soft pastels are the original form of this medium and probably the most popular. Soft pastels are composted of pure pigment, chalk and a gum solution. They produce rich colorful lines and are more often than not, looked upon as painting mediums more than drawing mediums. Soft pastels can produce subtle lines or can be built up into rich impastos. It provides the artist with the best of both worlds essentially. Of all the various types of pastels, soft pastels are available in the widest range of colors. They can be purchased individually or in sets.

Hard Pastels

Hard pastels, as the name implies, are hard and more suited for drawing and producing lines. Artists often use hard pastels and soft pastels together in the same drawing. The hard pastels are used to layout the drawing and the soft pastels are worked in over the hard. The hard pastels are then used again to finalize the drawing by adding in details. Hard pastels do not have the extensive range of color that soft pastels have. It is for this reason that you must utilize various optical color mixing techniques on your paper if you want to produce different colors.

Pastel Crayons

Pastel crayons are a hybrid medium of medium hardness that combine the characteristics of the hard and soft pastels. They are available in a limited range of colors when compared to soft pastels. Crayons are quite popular for artists that enjoy outdoor drawing as their convenient size makes them suitable for transport and their composition makes them less prone to breakage.

Pastel Pencils

Pastel pencils are very similar in composition to crayons only they are encased in wood in the form of a pencil and tend to be a bit softer than crayons. Pastel pencils are perfect for detailed work and also have the ability to be blended somewhat. They are available in roughly the same range of colors as crayons and are available as individual items or in sets.

Water soluble Pastels

These pastels are an ingenious invention because of their ability to be used both dry and wet. Obviously you can see the amazing possibilities with this kind of medium. You can lay down lines as you would any traditional drawing medium and then brush over these lines with water to create colorful watercolor like washes. These pastels are available individually or in sets and are available in a limited range of colors.

Oil Pastels

Oil Pastels are quite different than other types of pastels in that they use oil as a binder rather than gum. Oil pastels are very sensitive to temperature and they will soften as you use them. They are versatile medium and can be used on a number of different supports including canvas, paper and board. Just like oil paints, oil pastels can also be used with turpentine opening up a whole new world of exciting techniques.

Follow this link for more free pastel painting and drawing tips, techniques and step by step tutorials

“Pastels for Life”

Author: Pauline Adair - Australian Artist

Note: This painting won the Pastel Award at the 2006 Gympie Gold Rush Annual Art Exhibition.

For this Soft Pastel Demonstration I am using a double sheet of Canson Mi Tientes pastel paper, in a warm grey colour. I prefer to work on the smooth side of this, but I know many pastelists who choose the textured side. The smooth side still has a good tooth which suits my application.

The model is Sophie…. a favourite of mine, and I am working from a photo as it will probably take me several days to complete this to my satisfaction.

Here is the reference photo, which I cropped to achieve a more close up and intimate feel in the
painting.

(The photograph below contains tasteful nudity. Click image to reveal)

Sophie’s Gallery

I’m starting with a willow charcoal drawing…. I like the willow because I can just manipulate it with the heel of my hand… wiping it off easily if I want to adjust the drawing. After each couple of strokes I step back to view it as a whole, trying not to get bogged down to much in the detail of any one area.

I’m happy with the start now, I can begin to add some colour.

I’m adding some shading here, using a deep purple….. I really want to just colour the paper at this stage and to mark where the accents will be…. bones beneath the skin, the darkest shadows, etc. This is still at the drawing stage…. not the painting stage.

Just getting a feel for the lights now, finding where the light falls on her body from the one light source. All those planes must be facing the light to create the illusion.

The shadows need warming up…..I’m putting a couple of warm skin tones in over the purple, still working loosely.

I call them ‘hot spots’….where I see the warmest of the skin colours…. in the creases, on the elbows, lips, cheeks. Nothing is set in concrete at this stage…. I’m still feeling my way around…..tentatively!

Sophie has red hair…. so while I have the red in my hand….in that goes too!

I’m strongly leaning toward a dark background....

Please follow this link to view the rest of this pastel drawing lesson...

About Steve

I am an artist and teacher who primarily works in watercolor. I have been painting for nearly 35 years, and teaching for 14. I believe that the goal of art should be a creative interpretation of the world around us and not the perfect rendering of what we see. I also strongly hold that art is a process not just a product. We should spend more time involved in the making and experiencing our art and less time worrying about the successful marketing of the piece we are working on. Good art is the result of hard work and dedication, but it only happens when the artists finds their own story to tell.

Please click here to visit Steve’s website to learn more about him and to view his work.

Brushwork

Although it is sometimes not what we notice first about a great watercolor painting, expressive brushwork is one of the most important qualities of a good work. Due to the fact that watercolor is fairly hard to remove from the paper and is somewhat less workable than oils, pastels, graphite and to some extent acrylics through the use of overlaying opaque colors on top, it is critical that you begin and end the painting with solid and creative brushwork. It will be very difficult to correct sloppy and repetitive brushwork in those major areas of the painting. Think of the trees you have painted with brushwork that evoke the look of a broom, not an elm, or the water you painted that has the feeling of a parking lot, not a tranquil pond or the light on the side of a model’s face that looks like an advertisement for a beard commercial and you will understand that your freedom with the brush is a critical factor is expressing your creative intent.

Now I must say that there are times when you apply paint in big washes or solid color forms without a major concern for the individual brushwork, but you still want the brushwork in these forms and pieces of color to be reflective of your intent for this area of the painting and not be cluttered movement, conflicting movement or unintentional texture. If brushwork is not an important consideration in your painting then your work will not have the finish or quality of a masterful painting.  Learn to apply your paint with a purposeful and deliberate brush stroke and try to avoid continual rubbing onto the painted surface with a wet and soggy brush.  Get in the habit of thinking about the brushwork before you touch the paper and then have a confident and direct approach when your brush is in contact with the paper. The brush is the extension of your creative intent — it is your partner in the process, not just a stick with hair on it. Until we get to the point of painting with our hands and feet, the brush is the major way that the paint will get on the paper and the painting will always record for the viewer the  skills you possess in brushwork. Neglecting the improvement of your brush skills will always hold back your painting progress.

Please follow this link to view the rest of this watercolor painting tutorial...

About Doris Joa

My name is Doris Joa and I am an artist from Germany.

My mediums are watercolor and oil. One of my special favorite subjects are Roses and figurative work. I paint roses and also other flowers in oil and watercolor. Beside Pansies, Rhododendron, Peonies, Daisies and Tulips, there are a lot of roses in my gallery on my website like Heidi Klum Rose, Sangerhauser Jubiläumsrose, Rose “Mein schöner Garten”, Rose Golden Celebration from David Austin, Rose Innocencia, Rose New Dawn, Rose Clair Renaissance, Rose Queen Mother, Rose Bonita Renaissance and more.

My goal is to paint in romantic realism. I am also doing figurative work, portraits, still lifes and in 2005 I have started a new series of colourful Horse paintings in oil. I also have started with doing postcard paintings in 4?x6? and other small studies .

I have a great passion for nature and her beauty and try to capture this in my paintings. The sunshine, the shadows, the light and the glittering of a raindrop I find most captivating.

I love it when people tell me that when they view my paintings they can smell the flowers, feel the velvet of the rose-petals and have the feeling of standing in a garden.

Please be sure to visit Dori’s website to learn more about her and to view more of her work.

Her websites:

http://www.dorisjoa.com/

http://romanticrosesinwatercolor.blogspot.com/

How To Paint a Rose in Watercolor Step By Step

The Star of this painting and Demonstration will be the Rose painting “Open Arms”.
It is a beautiful climbing rose, which I bought new this year for my garden and I was lucky to see a lot of blooms.

I love the colours in this rose and I am looking forward to paint this rose.
Since I need time for doing a rose painting, I cannot paint from life, no rose would live such a long time.

Another reason is that I have two small kids, so I usually only have time to paint in the evening when they are sleeping - so I work from photos. Since this rose is in my own garden, I had enough time to really observe it and understand more about the colors.

I work only from my own reference photos.

I used a digital camera, Olympus C -750 Ultra Zoom to take the photos in this demo. It’s a great camera. I am able to see the details on the wings of a bee. I can zoom up to 40 times.

Now let us get started:

What do I need for a watercolor painting?

I need:

• watercolor paper
• brushes
• paints
• paper towels
• and of course water.

And I will show you later some helpfool tools.

I am using only hotpressed paper. Most of the time I use 300 g (140 Lb) Arches hotpressed watercolor paper, but I am also using Lanaquarelle, also 140 Lb (300 g) and also hotpressed.

I do not see a difference between both brands, only that one is more expensive than the other.
I like the surface of this paper, it is wonderful for describing the finest detail and it is possible to paint the whole spectrum of texture. Hotpressed paper allows you also to paint in layers without disturbing underlayers.

One thing: As you know, I am a german girl, so please be kind with me about my english. When I do not explain good enough or when you do not understand things, what I am saying, please let me know. Thank you.

Back to the first steps:

I always stretch my paper.

You will need: your paper, a board, stretching tape, jar of clear water and paper towels.

I wet my paper in the bath or shower , place it on the board and wet the measured pieces of tape by wetting them in the jar of clear water. I then place the tape around the sheet of paper (it is half over the paper and half over the board). With the paper towel I go along the stretching tape to absorb the moisture.

Do not worry if there are still some buckles in the paper. When the paper starts to dry they will disappear.

I have a lot of colour tubes in my paintbox, but I do not need them all. Also I work with different palettes.

In the next photo you see these small porcellain palettes. These are my favorite. I always use a small palette for my flower colours, one palette for the leaves and one for the background etc.

My favorite brushes are Da Vinci Maestro brushes. I have them in several sizes, but most of the time I work with sizes 2, 3, 4 and 6. The points of these brushes are excellent.

Before I start, I would like to show you some helpful tools. I am sure you know what masking fluid is. I prefer to not use it as I do not like the hard edges that you will get. Also it is easy to ruin your brushes with it. When you use masking fluid, use only old brushes. When I have tiny highlights in my painting, which are very hard to save, I prefer to use Masquepen. It has a very fine point applicator.

Another helpfool tool is Aquacover.

Here is the excact description: Aquacover is a revolutionary new product from Creative Mark! Aquacover is a versatile product that will provide new avenues of creativity and alleviate a problem that has plagued watercolorists since the beginning of time. It is available in 5 shades of white that perfectly match the most popular watercolor papers used today. Aquacover is the perfect cover up allowing you to fix small or large areas quickly and painlessly. Once applied it dries in seconds and is permanent, non-cracking and non-yellowing. You can then apply color directly over it without bleeding! Aquacover is sold in 1oz bottles with dropper caps and is sold with our unconditional guarantee of complete satisfaction. Get a bottle today. We know you’ll love it! (Due to its thick consistency, Aquacover is best applied with a brush. We do not recommend the included dropper for direct application.)

I use Aquacover rarely, but it helps me to get highlights back. You can use it with your brushes, it doesn’t ruin them.

The next helpful tool is an eraser from Faber Castell called the Perfection 7057. It is a very hard eraser, which helps you to get highlights back when you later decide to add dewdrops and you have not saved the highlights before. It is a great tool.

Follow this link to view part 2 of these instructions on how to paint a rose in watercolor.

Getting to Know Your Palette Part 1

These are the colors that are currently in my watercolor palette. I use mostly Winsor & Newton tube paints, and I squeeze them on to my palette and allow them to dry. This makes my palette portable, and shortens my prep time. I also find I waste less paint this way.

Click Image For Larger View

Some colors here look quite similar - for example, the cobalt blue and ultramarine. They are different, but similar enough that I could probably use one or the other. I use about 3x as much cobalt as ultramarine, but I keep ultramarine in my palette because it is a granulating color and so it has a different texture when dry than cobalt. But I use cobalt for mixing with burnt umber to obtain my favorite gray.

Speaking of burnt umber, I really don’t like Winsor & Newton’s burnt umber. It is lighter than I am used to (not sure what my previous brand was) and also more orangey. I bought a tube of sepia recently, in search of a darker brown, but I need to make space for it in my palette. Maybe I’ll get rid of the Winsor Yellow light - I rarely use yellow, and when I do I use Gamboge or Raw Sienna. Not sure if Raw Sienna counts as a yellow.

My quinacridone and permanent rose magenta are also very close in hue. I will remove one from my palette, but I’m not sure which yet. I’ll check the labels to see which one is most lightfast, and which one is most staining, and decide from there.

I’m planning a part two of this post, showing a sheet where I’ve mixed all the colors. And a part three comparing staining & non-staining, opaque and transparent might also be a good idea.

If you are starting out in watercolor and aren’t sure what to purchase, don’t feel like you need to copy my palette. Get some basic colors and familiarize yourself with them. Make some swatch charts, one of pure colors like the one above, one showing gradation of each color from dark to light, and one mixing each color with the other colors in the palette. Then paint a lot and get used to the colors you have.

The paint colors I would recommend for a beginning watercolorist are:

Raw Sienna

Gamboge Hue

Burnt Umber

Sap Green or Hooker’s Green

Cobalt Blue

Cadmium Red Med. or Dark

Quinacridone or Permanent Rose

From these you can mix nearly every other color you might desire.

Getting to Know Your Palette Part 2

Click Image For Larger View

Color Mixing Chart for Watercolor based on Angela Fehr’s palette

Part two of getting to know your palette is all about color mixing. In part one you used water and paint to lay down a block of each hue, and if you did as I recommended, you went a little further and varied the ratio of water to pigment to gradate each color from dark to light, and are now familiar with the pure colors in your palette.

However, in watercolor (and perhaps in all painting disciplines), the artist almost never uses pure color - at least not in representational art. While pure Hooker’s Green will look phony and plastic for foliage, when mixed with a little red or brown, it rings much truer and more natural.

In order to know what colors to mix to get the hues you desire you need to experiment and get familiar with the results of different color combinations. With only a few colors, the combinations are vast, and I have used only six colors from my palette for the sample color mixing chart above. Click on the image to enlarge it.

I painted each of the six colors twice, once along the left side of the paper, and once along the bottom. Then I mixed each color along the bottom with the colors along the left, stopping before I started repeating mixtures or mixed a color with itself.

As you can see, some of the hues are pretty predictable, or are not too visibly altered. Some colors (like cadmium red) are opaque and dominant their more transparent companions. The interest is in the colors that dramatically change - like the browns created by mixing hooker’s green with the two reds. Used in its most saturated form, cadmium red and hooker’s green would make a great black, don’t you think? Like many watercolorists, I prefer mixing my darkest (black) values from two opposite colors, making a richer, deeper, more “alive” hue than using black paint.

Also, look at the green created by mixing hooker’s green and new gamboge. Another example of a color brought alive by adding another hue. Hooker’s green is a gorgeous green anyhow, but when combined with other colors it just gets better.

My standard gray is also here on this chart - the combination of cobalt and burnt umber. I’m not overly enamored of my Winsor & Newton burnt umber - it’s too light and orange-y, in my opinion, but it still makes a rich grey shade that I use frequently. By varying the proportions of burnt umber to cobalt blue, I get a wealth of grays, and when I have a little purple in my palette, I throw that in, too!

You can expand this exercise by mixing your palette’s colors in a variety of saturations. Try increasing or decreasing the water in the mixture to see the resulting color when lightened or intensified. Increased familiarity with color mixing and what each color can do will increase your confidence as a painter.

Artist Bio:

Julie Ann Crawford Lamons was born on March 25, 1953 in Newport Arkansas USA. She graduated from Bradford HS in 1971.Her interest in art began in her teens after drawing members of her church. She set aside her love of art for a few years after the birth of her twin daughters. Several years later she picked up her paintbrushes and began again a journey to bring her art to life in the world around her.

Julie graduated from a two-year art program with Penn Foster Schools in 2005, and is participated in workshops and working with the local artists. She enjoys working with acrylic and oil. She has a studio and small gallery located in Pleasant Plains, Arkansas. You will see a wide variety in her gallery from inspirational to landscape and still life.

In 2006 Julie was a member of the gallery walk committee of Heber Springs, Arkansas which worked to promote the arts in the area. She has been featured in Local Newspapers, and The Arkansas Newspaper magazine Three Rivers Edition. She is a member of the Arkansas Artist Registry and The Eureka Springs Artist Registry.

One of her paintings, Hay Bales was exhibited at the Clinton Presidential Library (July–August 2007, sponsored by the Clinton Foundation and the Thea Foundation), from where it moved to the El Dorado High School for the school year 2007/8 with Art Across Arkansas. She continues today to work with her local community to bring her love of art to others.

Visit Julie’s Website: http://www.jlamonspainting.net

Painting a Mural for a Church

The Commission

I was asked by the pastor of a local church if I would be interested in painting a mural. Despite some doubts (not least of which was the practicalities of working on scaffolding up to ceiling height), I said yes and before I knew it I was presenting a slide show of ideas at a church meeting.

My brief from this first meeting was to present three scenes in one: the cross, the tomb, and the ascension of Christ. I began evaluating the mural space – a 9×23 feet rectangle with a peak at the center — to find the appropriate style and approach to fulfill the church’s needs.

I sketched out my composition onto two sheets of paper I’d stuck together. (Later I gridded it up into inch squares to help me transfer the design to the wall.) I wanted to put some landscape (trees or shrubs) between each scene to make it look more natural. I did some research on the Internet to see what the landscape in the area in Israel actually looks like, then mixed in a little artistic license.

In order to place the emphasis of the mural the ascension, I deliberately placed dark clouds over the crosses, used medium tones over the tomb, and light tones over the ascension. The crowd looking up initially looked a little unnatural to me and I needed to make the figures feel as if they belonged. I feel I achieved this in the final mural through the placement of the tree and the landscape receding behind them...

Please follow this link to view the rest of this mural painting demo...

Jo Knoblock Castillo has always had an interest in art and working with her hands. Whether it was cooking, sewing or making gifts, she was happy to be “doing”. While living in Bolivia, she finally rediscovered her love of painting. Her interest is in landscapes and paintings that have connections to her life.

Jo works in most media, but has discovered she really enjoys the special luminosity of pastels. They are tactile, immediate and long lasting. Other than smudging if touched (they should be framed under glass), they are very durable. The colors are clear and vibrant. “I enjoy painting from life and use my own reference photos just as a reminder of shape or lighting,” says the artist.

Winters find Jo and Gene, her husband, living in Bastrop, Texas. It is near family and offers a mild climate and plenty of golf courses and opportunities to paint. Jo looks forward to plein air painting in New Mexico each summer. “It is a challenge to set up an easel and paint a scene in just a couple of hours,” Jo says, “The light is very fleeting and you have to get down large sections of light and dark very quickly to establish your painting. Weather doesn’t always cooperate and uninvited visitors like mosquitos or snakes are not uncommon.”

Please take a moment to visit Jo’s websites to learn more about her and to view more of her work:

http://www.jocastilloart.com/

http://jocastilloartblog.blogspot.com/

Plein Air Painting Demonstration - City Of Rocks

My equipment for plein air:

1. A carrying bag I bought at Academy Sports for about $10.00. In it I put:

• A box with two trays, (A box that originally held Rembrandt pastels) I filled those foam lined trays with an assortment of pastels, in color, value and hardness. (Rembrandts, Daler-Rowney, Art Spectrum, and others)
• A set of Unison darks
• Nupastels
• Paintbrush
• Watercolors and water
• Apron
• Towel
• Paper towels
• Liquid gloves
• Handy wipes
• Sketchbook

2. Camera

3. Surface for my painting. I tape the board or paper to foam core and cover with another piece of form core taped on one edge to make a folder. I just fold it back, paint and then close it and tape or clip it closed to avoid smearing in travel.

4. A lightweight folding easel and table for the pastels. (Sometimes I use a French easel and use the drawer as a partial table.)

5. A small folding stool

6. Sunscreen, hat, bug repellent

7. Snacks, water, etc.

When possible I use the tailgate of my pickup as my table. I recommend being as comfortable as possible when you are out. This puts you in a better mood to paint and make the session enjoyable.

I ventured to the City of Rocks State Park, near Silver City, New Mexico, for a plein air painting session. I knew I would find a picnic table in the shade so I did not need my table. I usually work standing up so that I can step back and evaluate my work as I go. I painted sitting down this session, knowing I would get up to take photos, allowing me to “step back” occasionally.

I found a table in the shade and set up my equipment. I took some photos and picked out my subject, using the camera to crop the view with good composition and light.

Jo painting

Reference photo

When the composition and light is not so obvious, I do several value sketches in the sketchbook. This time I sketched right on the board. (I used a Richeson’s Unison Gator Foam Pastel Surface in white. A new surface for me. When I took the first photograph, I noticed a fault in the board, with a little blending, that disappeared. That happens with shipping and storing and you have to be very careful if you are doing a portrait or some very detailed work to check the surface. For landscapes it usually can be covered up)

The next step was to add an under painting with watercolor. I sometimes use the complementary color to add sparkle to show through the pastels. In this case I chose to use basically the colors themselves to cover the white surface. I put in the darks and basic design.

Watercolor added

I then worked on the sky. I put in the sky first in a landscape to keep it fresh and clear. I used several different blues to give depth and life. It is lighter near the horizon because of the atmosphere. I blended a little with my fingers and a Nupastel, but did not blend the final layer. There was a sprinkling of clouds so I added some with a pale gray, lavender and blue and made the white part with a very light yellow-white. That looks brighter against the blue of the sky and more lively than pure white.

Sky and start laying in rocks

I started laying in the pastels on the rocks with a base color similar to the colors I was seeing. Mauve and cream colors in the light area with some blue-gray and purple for the shadows in the rough rock. For the shadow side of the rocks I used similar shades with more blue and a very dark red that is toward a dark brown.

Middle layers

I scumbled (dragging one color lightly over the other) the colors on with a light touch for an assortment of colors. There was a little green moss on the largest of the rocks adding interest. I rarely use pure browns, typical earth colors or black. This is a personal choice.

End of plein air session

I can always add the bright highlights with the softest pastels on my return to the studio, using the very soft Sennelier and Ludwig pastels for the finished product.

City of Rocks Finished

Follow this link for more free art instruction and demonstrations....

How to paint water drops on a horizontal surface in four easy steps. By Karin Wells

The following oil painting lesson is part 2 of Karin’s oil painting technique for creating water drips. This second part demonstrates how to paint water drops on a horizontal surface...

Follow this link to view part 2 of Karin's Oil Painting Technique...

Everybody looks for a label. I would like to be known as a painter one who painted what he saw while wandering around on his journey.

Don Sahli made the decision to become a professional artist at a very early age. By the time he was 17 years old, galleries in Texas and New Mexico were selling his paintings. Sahli has earned his living as a professional artist all his adult life. Presently, his work is represented by galleries in Colorado, North Carolina, New Mexico, Wyoming and Texas.

When I look at a painting, I want it to bring me back to when I was on the scene. I want it to convey the drama and emotion that first captured my attention, the atmosphere, and the soul of the place.

Sahli’s work contains stylistic echoes of the Russian masters, particularly evident in his uninhibited use of color, his stern originality and unique vitality. As the last apprentice to the Russian colorist, Sergei Bongart, Sahli sustains an important artistic legacy, one passed from Ilya Repin, the fountainhead of all modern Russian painting, to Nicolai Fechin, to Peter Kotov, to Sergei Bongart to Don Sahli.

My teacher taught, his teacher taught, and I wanted to keep this tradition alive and give something back.

In 1995, carrying on the legacy of his teacher, Sahli opened Sahli School of Art in Evergreen, Colorado. He lives with his wife, Cindy and their two sons, in their mountain home near the school.

Q - What medium or mediums do you work with?

A - I am an oil painter - on canvas or board - depending on the size of the painting and where I am painting - studio or plein air.

Q - How long have you been an artist? How did you get started?

A - I have been an artist all my life. I sold my first painting at age 14 or 15. When I was 17, I took my work to a gallery in Taos, NM, the gallery director accepted it and sold my work for several years. I have continued to show in galleries around the country since that time....

Please click here to read the rest of this Artist Interview....