Watch Me Paint: World-Class Art, World-Class Instruction
Trees have limbs, so it’s no surprise that you draw them much like you do the human figure. Old barnyard tree, by Carol L. Douglas. 6X8, oil on canvas. All drawing starts with careful observation. Start by observing the branching structure and overall shape of your tree. Opposite branching means that side branches, twigs and …
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Angels are devilishly difficult to draw, even though we all âknowâ what they look like. Choir of angels from the Ghent Altarpiece, early 15th century, by Jan van Eyck, courtesy Sint-Baafskathedraal, Ghent The Bible is notorious for its lack of description when it comes to celestial beings. The Archangel Michael appears to Daniel and all the prophet can …
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Work big shapes to little shapes, and don’t perseverate on the details. Skeleton, by Carol L. Douglas. Most of the time, our teeth are concealed behind our lips. Iâve been in Buffalo this weekend. My son-in-lawâthe one who discovered Line-of-Action, the online figure-drawing classâshowed me his sketchbook. One page was of human mouths. âHow do …
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Angels are devilishly difficult to draw, even though we all âknowâ what they look like. Choir of Angels from the Ghent Altarpiece, early 15th century, by Jan van Eyck, courtesy Sint-Baafskathedraal. Ghent The Bible is notorious for its lack of description when it comes to celestial beings. The Archangel Michael appears to Daniel and all the …
Continue reading “Monday Morning Art School: how to draw an angel”
The South sure loves its Greek Revival pillars, doors and windows. Hereâs a little trick to draw them evenly. My painting of Siloam Baptist Church from last week. The South also observes Blue Laws. That meant I wasnât able to get a replacement sketchbook at Hobby Lobby yesterday. I drew these on tissue paper; the …
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This exercise is like learning perspective. Youâll never draw this way in the real world, but practicing it will improve your harborside skills. Cadet, by Carol L. Douglas I tell my students that itâs best to paint a boat from the deck of another boat or a floating dock. If you canât, then keep your …
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There’s now a Facebook group for you to post your homework, folks. Youâve all seen artists holding a pencil up like the clip art below. What theyâre doing is rough measuring. Itâs simple. Just hold the pencil up like a ruler in front of the object youâre drawing. Move it around to see the relative height and …
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Along the Bridle Path, by little ol’ me. Early spring in a place I used to ride, a long time ago. We tend to see trees as silhouettes instead of three-dimensional objects. This is because the branches that move toward us in space become smaller as they get closer, obviating the primary visual clue of …
Neko-nabe, or fat cat in a dish, 8X6 oil on canvas An ellipse is a plane curve with two foci which is symmetrical on both the vertical and positive axes, and intersects with these axes perpendicularly. I recently heard a student tell another one, âShe means not a racetrack and not a football.â Works for …
âWhatâs the difference between sketching and drawing?â a student asked me. Thereâs no hard line separating one from the other.