Paula B. Holtzclaw’s beautiful low country landscapes bring the marshes of North Carolina to the walls in Old Town Virginia. We’re so excited to be one of her few east coast galleries we immediately put her painting “Closure” in our window, where it is currently displayed. As expected, it draws in passersby seeking more information! … More Welcome Paula B. Holtzclaw!
What is it? Simply put, a nocturne is a painting of a night scene. James Abbott McNeill Whistler was the first to apply the term to paintings (it is originally a descriptor of a piece of music whose composition is evocative of nighttime) and in art circles, the word has come to refer to any … More Technique Tuesday: Nocturne
What is it? The technique we’ll be looking at today is a fun one: broken color. This term refers to a technique where an artist will apply colors to a painting in small strokes, but does not blend them, so that they blend optically rather than literally. The effect of this technique a life and … More Technique Tuesday: Broken Color
What is it? A long-time standard in the artist’s toolkit, the palette knife is a tool consisting of a handle and a blunt blade, and was originally used for mixing paint on an artist’s palette. Since the 1800’s, it has seen an increase in popularity as a painting tool as well as a mixing one. … More Technique Tuesday: Palette Knife
What is it? Today’s featured technique is the dry brush technique. Like last week’s technique, the multi-loaded brush, this technique deals with the way that the artist loads their brush before applying it to the canvas. With the dry brush technique, rather than using a brush moistened with oil or water (depending on the type … More Technique Tuesdays: Dry Brush
What is it? Most everyone would probably be able to guess what exactly is meant by the phrase “loading the brush” as it relates to painting–you dip the paintbrush in the paint! It’s pretty simple. There are all sorts of ways, however, that artists adjust the way that they load their paintbrush in order to … More Technique Tuesdays: The Multi-Loaded Brush
What is it? Today’s Technique Tuesday topic takes us on a trip to the great outdoors as we explore the world of Plein Air painting. The term “en plein air” is a French expression that translates to “in the open air.” It is used to describe the technique of painting outdoors, with the subject in full … More Technique Tuesdays: En Plein Air
What is it? This week we’re taking a look at a technique called “sfumato” (pronounced sfoo-mah-toh). This is also a word with its origin in -you guessed it!- the Italian language. The word is derived from the verb “fumare”, which means “to smoke.” The sfumato technique refers to a painting with no bold or harsh outlines. By blurring … More Technique Tuesdays: Sfumato
Welcome back to Technique Tuesday! Today’s post is going to take a look at a painting technique commonly referred to as “blocking in.” What is it? Several of our Technique Tuesday posts will discuss techniques relating to what is called “underpainting.” Underpainting refers to the initial layer of paint an artist applies to a canvas, usually … More Technique Tuesdays: Blocking In
What? A Studio Selfie Saturday post…on a Friday? Yes indeed, and for good reason! We’re posting about GC Myers today partially as a reminder about our exciting event tomorrow! Amidst the excitement of the Alexandria Arts Festival which will flood King Street this weekend, Principle Gallery will be holding an artist talk with GC Myers … More Studio Selfie Saturday (Early Edition!): GC Myers
Principle Gallery 