Welcome to my online studio! Just a few words to describe my plans for this section of my site: I plan to add more art instruction, art history and other things art-related. As I build the site, it will take some time to construct these lessons. There are now six drawing exercises: Contour Drawing, Mass Drawing, Gesture Drawing, Mechanics of Drawing, Perspective for Artists, and Figure Drawing; six Design lessons; Painting I: Stretch Canvas, Painting II: Materials, Painting III: Limited Palette Still Life, Painting IV: Possibilities, and Painting V: Color Mixing; a Pastel Lesson, and twenty-one Artist Profiles (Paul Cezanne, Martin Puryear, Berthe Morisot, Louise Bourgeois, Pierre Bonnard, Robert Rauschenberg, Arshile Gorky, Christo & Jeanne-Claude, Henri Matisse, Joseph Cornell, Faith Ringgold, Claude Monet, Agnes Martin, Nam June Paik, Helen Frankenthaler, Fiona Foley, Joan Miro, Janet Fish, Robert Irwin, Caio Fonseca and Lin Tianmiao) are also now finished, as well as a separate Glossary of Art Terms, descriptions of Modern Art Movements, a FAQ, and five essays, What Is Art About?, Getting Discouraged, Artmaking I and II, Self-Critique of My Work and The Correct Way to Make Art. Most of these lessons are free; a few of them are available for a small fee, to help support my site.
I've been an artist for many years, and I feel that art is a vital part of our lives. My hope is to share that love with others, to try to make art as accessible as, for instance, music is to us. I don't offer many shortcuts, or techniques, here. What I try to do is show ways to learn. This may not be the MacFastest way - but it is the most genuine, and gives the most sense of accomplishment and satisfaction. So, the bad news is that to learn to draw and paint takes time - quality time. But, the good news is that the entire process is guaranteed to raise the level of endorphins - in fact, I should warn you that art can be habit-forming!
- Art is a process, not a product.
- Learning art is learning a new language, a visual
language, where the vocabulary consists of colors,
forms, marks, and other visual elements.
- Art is not a place for fear, but rather, freedom. It is one
of the few things we can do that cannot hurt anyone.
- The experience of making art is a creative (as opposed
to destructive) process. At its best, we lose ourselves,
become absorbed, unself-conscious.
- The "goal" of art should not just be to create a good work
but to express what we are trying to express.
- Art needs to be more than "just visual." It needs ideas,
feelings - and meaning.
Introduction to Drawing:
Drawing is a great way to learn to "see." But,
seeing is not an end in itself, but a means to another
end - that of expression. To achieve a likeness, correct
proportions, proper perspective, etc. is the beginning of art-
making. By learning to see the objective world, we can then
transfer our newfound visual skills to create our artwork - to see its
"formal" values - composition, color relationships, spatial properties,
etc. And ultimately, we use our new visual skills to see the inner
world, the world of ideas, feelings, etc.
As Kimon Nicolaides wrote, when we make art, we are not creating a product. We are having an experience, and the artwork is a result of that
experience. As we develop our own sensitivities, that experience becomes
richer, and the resultant work will reflect this richness. Having said this,
remember to relax when drawing - wear comfortable clothes, play music
that inspires you, sit in a comfortable chair. Work when well-rested
and fresh, if possible, and hopefully without a time limit. And most
importantly, draw as much as you can - quick sketches and
