Draw Often and Paint Wildly
One of the best ways to get started painting is to draw or sketch. Sketch ideas. Sketch simple compositions. Draw often. Do simple studies of the same composition but make slight adjustments to try out different versions. Try five or six different variations. This will help you find the best solution, the strongest composition. It will be helpful later to use it as the reminder for your painting. Decide what would be the best medium to capture your subject. Decide on size and medium. It is often a good idea to take the sketch a step further and try it ...
About
Welcome to Paintmorenow.com I enjoy encouraging friends of mine to paint so it is a natural fit to be encouraging others on this website. I am going to share ideas on what inspires me to paint more and I hope you share ideas too. The goal is to paint every day. Draw often and paint wildly! Never get discouraged. If you aren't able to paint, then you are gathering experiences, you are gathering color for your palette. Jan Stitt I am a painter and I sign my paintings Raven. Alaska is my home. My husband and I live in Fairbanks when we aren't enjoying the panorama ...
Gather Color for Your Palette
Everyday experiences can be the fuel for your creativity. Watching the colors in the sky or the silhouette of trees and feeling the sunshine on your face can give you inspiration. Have you ever studied how many different blues there are in the sky on a clear day? The softer lighter yellower tints near the horizon and then clear cerulean blue above that and as you look higher there appears to more and more red in the blue until it is an intense dark brilliant ultramarine blue. It is fascinating to see and study. A hammock will work well for ...
Paint More Now
Every artist needs to paint more often. It is essential to your growth and development. You won't have any successes until you take the risk of putting the brush in the pigment and on the paper or canvas. The more you do it the more it will work for you. It will become increasingly rewarding. That isn't to say it will be easier. I've been painting for many years. It might be easier for me to pull out the paper, paints or canvas because I've done it so many times. I still look at the blank canvas and have that ...
Painting Journal
White Nights of Summer in Alaska8 p.m. Beautiful summer evening. Warm. Clouds dance on the horizon between the patches...
The Story Behind a Painting
I start this painting with a sketch using bold colors. I put in the main elements....
Spring Mountainscape
Spring in Alaska. There is more sunshine. Warm sunshine. Snow is still on the ground...
It is Four Below Zero, Time to Think About Warm Ocean Sunsets
It’s four below zero at my studio. Seems like a good time to be painting an...
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Art Supply Reviews
Get on the Iditarod TrailRunning with Champions by Lisa Frederic takes you to the Iditarod trail. You are...
Capture Your Adventures
My favorite journal has a black cover and elastic band to hold it closed. Compact...
It’s Important to Invest in High Quality Tools
There is a lot to see in Alaska. Much of it is far away. Be glad some of it is...
Excellent Books on Painting: Carlson’s Guide to Landscape Painting & Hawthorne on Painting
These two books are inexpensive but they are a ‘must read’ in my opinion...
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Painting Plein Air
Painting Plein Air with the PochadeIt’s April and it’s spring! The small pochade box makes it easy to grab and do a quick watercolor of the landscape. There is still a little snow on the ground but it is warm in the morning sun. It’s great to be able to paint outside easily again without the watercolor freezing on the brush. The snow is melting fast. The trees haven’t... [Read more of this review]
How to Make a POCHADE BOX for Painting Plein Air with Watercolor in 14 Easy Steps
Pochade means `quick sketch’. Plein Air means `open air’ and refers to painting on location outdoors. A pochade box is very useful for plein air painting because it is lightweight, portable and convenient. 1. Cigar boxes come in all sizes and shapes. Find a cigar box that has room for holding a small watercolor block in the lid. It needs to... [Read more of this review]
Why Plein Air?
“Life isn’t about waiting for the storm to pass. It’s about learning to dance in the rain.” Susan Ryan. Plein air is a lot like dancing in the rain. The conditions are never going to be perfect. It is either going to be too hot or too cold or too windy or clouds will be threatening a storm or….. But the plein air artist... [Read more of this review]
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