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; some of these new courses will be part of a membership program). As I build the site, it will take some time to construct these lessons. There are now four drawing exercises: Contour Drawing, Mass Drawing, Gesture Drawing, and Mechanics of Drawing; four Design lessons; Painting I: Stretch Canvas, Painting II: Materials, and Painting III: Limited Palette Still Life; a Pastel Lesson, and twenty 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, and The Correct Way to Make Art. All of these lessons will remain free to everyone, and I'll continue to create free pages on the site. It will be a work-in-progress for some time to come.
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
I have also added lessons in Charcoal, Figure Drawing, Perspective, Painting: Possibilities, Design Principles, Design Sources, and Color Mixing to the site. They are the first in a new series of courses which can be accessed by password for a small fee. Click on the new links in the left column to find out more about the Charcoal, Perspective, Figure Drawing, Design Principles, Design Sources, Painting: Possibilities and Color Mixing lessons. I have created a membership program where members can access all of the new fee-based lessons. (The cost of whatever individual courses they have already purchased will be deducted from this membership fee.) Members will also have other benefits such as displaying their work on this site, with viewer feedback if desired; receiving constructive critiques of their work from myself, if they would like, and other benefits. After this first series, a second series of courses will be added to the site. All of the original courses will remain free to everyone on the Net, and I will continue to create new free pages, as well.
We currently have 13 full members and 14 partial members; please visit our Members Gallery. (Full members have web space to display their work.) I would like to create a web community of artists, art students, and hobbyists, to support and encourage one another - because we are all still learning. Purchasing art lessons and the other fine art items on this site will also help to keep this site alive and growing; I appreciate your continued support.
