Dear Artist, When buying art materials, it’s almost always wise to get the best you can afford. This is particularly true for supports — the surfaces you work on. Nothing is as disappointing as paper that yellows after just a…
Dear Artist, Jack Shadbolt was one of those artists who never flagged in his pursuit of variety. A great reader, writer, speaker, teacher, wanderer, visitor to museums and observer of nature, he had more periods in a lifetime of painting…
Dear Artist, “You don’t understand, Mr. Genn,” said a tall, acerbic gentleman who rustled a chocolate wrapper as he spoke. He had the full attention of the auditorium. “Art is not about light and shade any more, or drawing, or…
Dear Artist, On a boat there can be a cargo of wisdom. I’ve brought along some marvelous books. Samuel Adoquei’s How Successful Artists Study is an up-to-date, practical guide for the transition from art school to the professional world of art.…
Dear Artist, If it’s drizzling, I paint on the fantail. If it’s a nice day, I paint forward, by the focs’le. At sea or at a safe anchorage, forward is the best place. Sometimes I get tea or something brought…
Dear Artist, Recently, Judith Meeks of Toronto, ON, Canada, wrote, “I’ll soon be chairing a panel discussion called ‘Finding Your Voice.’ In your understanding, how do we translate our life experiences into our paintings and express who we really are?…
Dear Artist, In 1856, Royal Navy Sub Lieutenant Edward Hawke Genn was surveying the West Coast of Canada and happened to have a couple of small islands named after him. The Genn Islands lie in Malacca Passage in the inner…
Dear Artist, Back in the good old days, a select few youth were chosen to work in the studios of active and proven masters. After a few years of grinding pigments and other grunt work, they may or may not…
Dear Artist, These days I’ve been rededicating myself to less overworking and more understatement. In other words, trying to leave my work fresher, even at the expense of being incomplete. I believe it’s an idea that a lot of us…
Dear Artist, As everyone knows, I’m interested in systems that might refresh and reboot creativity. Right now I’m thinking about a short walk in a fresh kimono to the communal bath and then a Reiki massage to soft shamisen music.…