Cheap Art Supplies How to Cut Costs Cheap art supplies? I know it sounds crazy. In fact, I’ve even written a post on why art supplies are so expensive. Some art supplies are so expensive that there is a very real temptation to buy student grade art supplies. They are definitely cheaper, but for the […]
Texture It Makes Life Interesting So, let’s briefly discuss our last basic art element, texture. In a nutshell, texture is the way things feel, or the way things look like they might feel if touched. Texture is all around us. The smooth polish of a granite countertop versus the smooth, soft surface of a leather […]
Tints, Shades, Tones Value – Part 2 Tints, shades, and tones. While we’re still on the subject of value, I’d like to very briefly cover a few words you may have heard and maybe even used in the past. You may have even used the words tints, shades, and tones interchangeably, but there is a […]
Value – Part 1 What’s the Big Deal? Value is an incredibly important element of art and with good reason. Simply put, it is the lightness or darkness of hues (colors). When dealing with black and white for example, white is the lightest value and black is the darkest. The value halfway between these extremes […]
Shape, Form, and Space What’s the Difference? Shape is an enclosed two-dimensional geometric or organic shape that has height and width, but no depth. Form is a three-dimensional space that encloses volume, includes height, width, AND depth. Like shape, it can be geometric or organic. Space refers to the areas around, between, and within things […]
Line in Art It’s More Than You Might Think Line, by definition, is a dot that creates an identifiable path by moving in space. It is one, two, or three dimensional and can vary in width, direction, and length. They often define the edges of a form and can be vertical, horizontal, diagonal, curved or […]
A Brief Note on Color In a Nutshell… I am going to touch briefly on color in this post. In last week’s post, I shared the link for a free Skillshare class I did a couple years ago called How to Draw: The Very Basics. In it, I started off by covering the basic elements […]
Learn to See Like an Artist The First and Most Important Lesson Before you put pen, pencil, or brush to any canvas (or stylus to tablet), you must first learn to see like an artist. For this first and very crucial lesson, I’m doing a repost of How Artists See. Yes, artists see things differently […]
I Wish I Could Draw! There’s No Reason Why You Can’t Oh, if only I were paid a dollar for every time I heard someone say, “I wish I could draw” I’d be a millionaire by now! But seriously, if you want to draw, then draw! There’s no reason why you can’t. I can guess […]
Picking Art Supplies Which Ones Are Right For You? I’ve spoken before about picking art supplies, one brand versus another, how they compare, how they perform, etc. My general rule when picking art supplies? Don’t go the cheaper route and avoid anything labeled student grade. Why? Consider the old adage, “You get what you pay […]
Our pets become part of the family. “Keo-boy”, my siamese, was just a month shy of 20 yrs old. It was very difficult when I had to put him down. It was so hard that I even had him cremated. Myra surprised me with a picture of him, which sits in my bedroom til this day. “Babe” followed “Keo” & if you know a bit about Maine Coons you know they have long beautiful hair with striking patterns. She surprised me one Xmas with a portrait of the big boy. I can’t believe it is done with only pencil. She captured every detail perfectly. I have known Myra all her life, as I am her auntie. She has always had a knack for drawing. At 4, she even placed her artwork on my white leather chair! I have seen her develop into a fantastic artist. I will treasure my works of art forever.
- E. Naito
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