Dear Artist, Find something to paint and then find a good place to sit. That’s been my system. In the last while I’ve been favouring a system of the respected Canadian painter J. E. H. MacDonald. He recommended finding a…
Dear Artist, Painting and other creative activities are essentially solitary pursuits, but there’s something to be said for working alongside others. A companion can turn a wonderful experience into a fantastic one. With my friend Jack Hambleton, now passed away,…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, C.J. Fang of Indianapolis, Indiana, asked, “What do you think about the yearly fee of the Agora Gallery in Soho, NYC? It’s a 20-year-old, nice and fast-growing gallery that represents hundreds of artists from all over the world. I…
Dear Artist, If watercolour were a virginal harpsichord, and oil were a grand piano, then acrylic might be a mighty Wurlitzer organ. Modern acrylic technology has made possible a great fugue of capability and variety. Acrylics flow from watercolour-like to…
Dear Artist, One day, when I was four years old, I was riding in the back seat of my grandfather’s 1936 Hupmobile. Passing through Beacon Hill Park in Victoria BC, I spied a lone woman on a stool with a…
Dear Artist, Recently, Achola Rosario Odido of Uganda, East Africa, wrote, “Here in Uganda women are supposed to be seen and not heard — a kind of passive doll who only calls attention to herself to get a man and then…
Dear Artist, While it’s generally a good idea to move in the direction of successes and proficiencies, from time to time it’s also valuable to take a look at weaknesses. Pros try to understand and disarm them. Amateurs either deny…
Dear Artist, I do quite a bit of skulking around on West Coast Native reservations and in deserted villages. A variety of unique cultures formerly thrived nearby where I live. Ours is the land of totem poles. Demographics change and…
Dear Artist, A traditional art form has been greatly facilitated by the advent of the digital camera. The art of Miksang was begun as a meditational tool by Shambhala Buddhists, but it has implications for painters and other creative people. The…