Pablo Picasso, Expressing Social Concerns by Sharon Himes
Pablo Picasso, the famous Spanish artist, was born in 1886. He became a dominating figure in art of the twentieth century. Picasso was the son of an art instructor, and studied at various art schools between 1892-1897. His exceptional talents in drawing were apparent at an early age. [...]

Tabby Cat A step by step with Colin Bradley
Cats are favorite pets and popular subjects for sketching. Here, UK artist, Colin Bradley presents a step by step demonstration, drawing a portrait of a tabby cat with pastel pencils. For this cat portrait I used six Faber-Castell Pitt Pastel Pencils. The colours are 101 white, 184 [...]

Twigs Painting Nature’s Basics by Sharon Himes

When a landscape has too many horizontal lines in the composition the addition of trees and limbs can make the scene more active. Nature provides many interesting textures and twigs and branches themselves can be the subject of art.
Pick up a twig and notice that it is represents the [...]

Monet Impressed by Nature by Sharon Himes
Monet spent his childhood on the coast of Normandy, France, and nature was his first influence. “I was born undisciplined. Never, even as a child, could I be made to obey a set rule. What little I know I learned at home. School was always like a prison to [...]

World Art: Animal Fetish
Fetishes are carved figures, usually animals, believed by many indigenous peoples to hold something of the essence of the animal it represents. The Zuni people of the Southwestern US have been carving fetishes for about 1400 years! Generally the fetishes are carved out of stone: marble, coral, black jet. The color of [...]

Brush Notes by Sharon Himes
A favorite brush is an artist’s best friend, always comfortable and dependable for the job at hand. Watercolor artists can use many painting techniques with a single round sable brush. Here are ten basic brush techniques using this style of brush.
While these comments primarily relate to watercolor paints and brushes, many [...]