What is it? This is an easy one! We’re all very familiar with the wonderful medium of colored pencil, due to its frequent use in schools and for children’s play as well as the enjoyment of adult artists of all skill levels. Colored pencils don’t have a very clear history, but we can definitely see … More Technique Tuesday: Colored Pencil
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? The topic of today’s post is a medium that many folks (and certainly anyone who had a childhood art class!) are familiar with: watercolor. One of the very oldest types of paint, watercolor consists of pigments suspended in a water-soluble solution. The brush is prepared with water, which thins the paint enough to … More Technique Tuesday: Watercolor
What is it? If you read last week’s Technique Tuesday post about Realism, you already got a sneak peek at the fun that is trompe-l’oeil! A French term which translates to “deceive the eye,” trompe-l’oeil is a technique that creates an optical illusion that what is painted or drawn is actually three-dimensional. Even very realistically … More Technique Tuesday: Trompe-l’oeil
Realism….Hyperrealism….Trompe l’oeil….There are many terms we use in the art world to describe the style in which something is painted, and even for those of us who work in the field, it can get a little confusing at times. The nuances of these styles and movements can be very subtle, but today we’ll just cover the … More Technique Tuesday: Style and the Spectrum of Realism
What is it? Metal leaf is the term for metal that has been hammered into very thin sheets. Gold leaf has been created and used for thousands of years as a decorative element in painting, sculpture, furniture, architecture, tapestry, jewelry, and more. Other metal leafs often seen as decorative elements are silver leaf and copper … More Technique Tuesday: Using Leaf
What is it? The concept of positive and negative space is a fairly simple one. The subject of a work of art occupies the positive space, while everything else is considered negative space. Nearly every piece of representational art contains positive and negative space. The way that artists make use of positive and negative space … More Technique Tuesdays: Positive & Negative Space
What is it? This week’s Technique Tuesday subject is not a new concept for anyone (particularly in today’s “selfie” filled world!). But not only is the self-portrait is an important exercise for an artist to undertake, it is also significant to view as well, and provides fascinating insight into an artist’s mind or mood. These artists, who spend … More Technique Tuesdays: the Art of the Self-Portrait
Welcome back to Technique Tuesday! Here’s the last part of that series looking at what artists use for reference (we’ve already looked at painting from photographs and from the imagination). Today’s post will be a bit different, as it’s a guest post written by Principle Gallery still life artist Elizabeth Floyd. As a still life … More Technique Tuesdays: Painting from Life
What is it? Arbitrary color refers to a choice of color in an artwork that has no basis in the realistic appearance of the object depicted (think purple cows, yellow sky, pink sun, etc.). When painting, many artists choose their colors with the intention to portray the realistic appearance of their subject. However, sometimes an … More Technique Tuesdays: Arbitrary Color
Principle Gallery 