Category: Uncategorized

A Science Based Look at CreativityBy Jacob Aguiar As an artist and a doctor, I tend to balance my creative approach with a fair bit of analytical thinking.  I enjoy thinking about the process of creativity, determining the conditions that allow for creativity to flourish.  I have a favorite podcast called the Huberman Podcast, and…

How to Win Awards! My Best Kept Secrets…By Kim Lordier I get asked frequently, “How do I get into a gallery?” How do I get people to buy my work?” “How do I get into the big shows?” Recently, an artist taking one of my workshops insisted he wanted to know the trick to getting his…

Finding Your Voice in Pastel Landscapes: Where Country Roads Lead to Personal Expression along the way, and choosing the road less traveled.By Alain J. Picard As artists, we’re all walking our own country roads—meandering paths toward unknown destinations, embracing beauty along the way, and choosing the road less traveled. Blue Country View, 6×12” pastel on…

Is it Done Yet?By Diane Fechenbach Remember road trips as a child (or parent of a child)? Remember asking “Are We There Yet?”, then thinking this is the loooongest trip ever, it will never be over, oh, look, there it is! – aack! that’s not it, what do you mean, another HOUR? Art is no…

Why Outdoors?By Lorenzo Chavez I am often asked why I like to paint outdoors or in plein air. The reason has evolved over the course of 35 years.  Initially it was a way to grow as an artist wishing to paint landscapes in Colorado. The best professional landscape artists I consulted with advised that I…

Some of you may remember, last year at IAPS, I was walking around with a sample of a pastel that I had sprayed with a new-to-me spray, which would allow me to frame without glass. I had a small painting of some Prickly Pear “Tunas” (their seed pods) which I kept in the pocket of…

Shapes Before SubjectBy Barbara Jaenicke When I choose a subject to paint, it’s almost never because I want to paint THAT particular subject. I don’t go outside thinking “I want to paint a Juniper tree” or “a clump of snow with grass coming out of it.” It’s usually something else that tugs at my artistic…

Rock and Roll or Country: Some Thoughts on “Categories”By Natasha Isenhour “What “kind” of artist are you?” “Ummm, well, the kind that paints, draws, plays dozens of instruments, and I’m told I really know my way around the kitchen, I’m that kind of artist.” Laughs, “well, I suppose I should have asked, what do you paint?” “Oh!…

How to be original. Or does it matter?Guest blog by PSWC member, Mary Aslin All artists since the beginning of time have the desire to be “original.”  I do.  But it would seem, given the unbelievable volume of visual information that I can instantly call up on my iPhone in seconds, increasingly unlikely. And what…

How to Paint Snow, Clouds or anything perceived as White Artists often use a variety of colors and techniques to create the illusion of white without actually using pure white paint. Instead, they may use values of blue, gray, yellow, or other colors to convey the subtleties of light, shadow, and texture that make up…