Is The Munsell Color Matching System The Best System For Painters?

THE SHORT ANSWER IS NO. Color Matching is the key here; a few Realist painters adhere to the Munsell system to match colors. Practitioners of Munsell use his ten basic hues: Yellow (Y), Yellow Green (G-Y), Green (G), Blue-Green (B-G), Blue (B), Purple-Blue (P-B), Purple (P), Red-Purple (R-P), Red (R), and Yellow-Red (Y-R). Lighting and […]

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The Other Nicolai Fechin

Nicolai Fechin’s figurative works are so influential that one rarely considers his prowess in other genres. The landscape and still life paintings are masterpieces in their own right; his palette knife technique is both brutal and superb. His orchestration of color sets the stage with analogous surrounds highlighting the lead singer. His painting philosophy and […]

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Get Some Skin in the Game

Fleshing it out, from traditional to transitional Odd Nerdrum works with a very traditional limited palette. He premixes and very seldom goes back to white after he starts. There are no Cadmiums, or Lead White. One should take note that there is no Cadmium Yellow in any of the color strings, there is also no […]

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Branded

THE BRANDS OF OIL PAINT WE USE AND WHYIn alphabetical order, our go-to oil paint brands are M. Graham, Michael Harding, Rembrandt, Schmincke Mussini, and Sennelier. We have used M. Graham for over two decades and have found them to be a top-tier brand that rivals the best. Since they are only a few decades […]

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What is the point?

How To Sharpen Your Way To Dull Insipid Drawings. We realize the many venues spend a great deal of time showing novice practitioners how to sharpen their pencils and crayons to beautiful long fragile needle points. Sharp pencils have their place, but it is not the first order of business in learning to draw. Unfortunately, […]

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4-Day Drawing into painting Workshop: Heads, Faces, and Features

In this 4-day workshop Michael Mentler will go over classical mediums and substrates used in Renaissance Bottegas’. Michael will also cover in-depth head construction using the proprietary CSI proportion system and the best Aspective views. Additionally, he’ll demonstrate the construction of the eyes, ears, mouth, and nose. Attendees will learn how to develop Sanguine Velatura’s; starting with dry media on linen panels and transforming drawings into paintings seamlessly. This workshop goes beyond drawing what one sees by revealing what to look for and sets forth the needed skill-sets to proceed on one’s path to mastery. Enroll today to attend this workshop on November 11-14, spaces are limited.

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Durer&Detail

When one looks at Albrecht Durer’s works, particularly his drawings and engravings, it is easy to become overwhelmed. Albrecht never met a detail he did not like. His works are some of the best lessons in using hatching to describe form if one takes the time to dissect and analyze them. The master engravers, in […]

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The Nude in Art_Leo Putz

Leo Putz _B. 18 June 1869, in Merano_ D. 21 July 1940, in Merano He began his studies at the age of sixteen at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, where he studied with the history painter Gabriel von Hackl. From there he when to study at the Académie Julien in Paris. His work encompasses Art Nouveau, Impressionism, and the beginnings of Expressionism. […]

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Munich School_Louis Frederick Grell

Louis Frederick Grell (November 30, 1887 – November 21, 1960) was an American figure composition and portrait artist based in the Tree Studio resident artist colony in Chicago. He received his formal training in Europe from 1900 through 1915 and later became an art professor at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts from 1916 to 1922, and at […]

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The Goodall Artistic Legacy

Starting with Edward Goodall 1794-1870, there is a linage of Goodall Artists in England until 1982. Edward Goodall was born near Leeds, Yorkshire, where his Quaker uncle raised him. He went to London in his early teens and began as an apprentice to a printer and learned the art of steel line engraving. He became Edward […]

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