Dear Artist, It’s raining in Paris. The open-air book and print kiosks along the Right Bank of the Seine are clothed in plastic sheeting, their owners huddled in overcoats. They smoke soggy cigarettes, pull down their caps and complain to…
Dear Artist, My crit system for art clubs is to ask everyone to bring two or three paintings. We set them around the room and one by one I pick them up and put them on a well-lit easel. It’s…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, “Bill” was in my studio. That’s not his real name because he’s got some personal issues. Bill is thinking about leaving his wife, family, and stockbroker job to become a full-time painter. Bill is 45 and has…
Dear Artist, There are colourists and there are colourists. There are those among us whose colours are clunky and crude — and there are those whose colours are deadly, tasty, and “right on.” There are even some, like Paul Gauguin,…
Dear Artist, Back in medieval times I was conducting a workshop and pontificating about design. A man put his hand up and said, “When you use the word ‘design,’ I have no idea what you’re talking about. What are you…
Dear Artist, Yesterday, Mark Lovett of Potomac, MD wrote, “Due to my bad experience recently with trying to stretch some old, brittle, Claessens 13 double primed linen, I decided there must be a better way. I’m thinking of perhaps buying…
Dear Artist, The shaping of form is one area where many artists get into trouble. In the old days students were encouraged to paint and draw cones, pyramids, blocks and spheres until they were blue in the face. It’s no…
Dear Artist, Some weeks ago, an anonymous subscriber wrote, “The Painter’s Keys is not a website — it’s a vision. It’s a vision of a universal brotherhood and sisterhood, timeless and for all time. It’s a vision of solitary strugglers…
Dear Artist, It’s well documented that monkeys can paint and do other creative things. Less well known are the artistic elephants at various zoos throughout the world. You may have heard of The Asian Elephant Art and Conservation Project in…