Dear Artist, Every year about 900,000 North Americans buy brushes and paints for the first time. Every year, often after a prolonged bout of frustration, about 800,000 folks decide painting is not their thing. These figures are confirmed by the…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Fred Hulser of Houston, Texas wrote, “I recently agreed to do a small landscape/plein air workshop and I now realize I may not be prepared. While I’m more experienced than many students, I have never taught an…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Ryan Foster of Tampa, Florida, wrote, “Between my Bachelor’s degree and my Master’s I’ve spent the last 7 years in school. Now that I’m done I feel pressure to get a job (to pay rent), but all…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Loretta West of Spokane, WA, asked, “Is art somehow diminished when the artist doesn’t actually do the work? These days, some artists have others doing their work for them. I’ve always believed that ‘Heart to Hand’ was…
Dear Artist, Some recent experiments with four and five year olds have confirmed what we have always known. A strange new toy was presented individually to 85 children. It was a conglomeration of coloured pipes and knobs specifically designed to…
Dear Artist, It may just be that workshops are the main source of traditional art education. I’m talking about the acquisition of academic technique and realistic, perhaps impressionistic methodology. Augmented by books, websites and personal mentoring, the torch is passed.…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Janet Badger of Bangor, Maine wrote, “You speak often of your dog, your faithful studio companion. We’ve owned several dogs over the years but I’ve found them to be like having a toddler around — you have…
Dear Artist, My friend Jack Hambleton and I were in the town of Sao Bras de Alportel in southern Portugal. Stepping out onto the spacious flat roof of our three-story hotel one evening, we saw potential. Before sun-up the next…
Dear Artist, These days everyone and her sister is reading Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother by Amy Chua. Guys are reading it too. It’s an in-your-face description of the draconian methods Chinese women who live in Western cultures use…