Author Archives: mickey150

Happy New Year!  I find that each new year seems fresh, like new-fallen snow.  It’s like a new canvas, at once blank and beckoning.  There are so many paths to take through the January snow and I am eager to put down my tracks.  But it’s easy to get lost in the opportunities.  So IContinue reading “Beginning”

The world seems to slow down in November.  Its a time of transition – for the seasons, for politics, and for people.  Leaves that were vibrant just a couple of weeks ago are now brown and shrivelled.  They litter the neighborhood, along with used campaign cards and candy wrappers.  Gone is the ruckus of littleContinue reading “Reflections”

This summer I went to Provincetown, MA for vacation with friends.  The first week I spent time  painting with Hilda Neily.  Hilda teaches the Cape School of Art method of New American Impressionism. New American Impressionism was started by Charles Hawthorne, who saw the paintings of Claude Monet as the seminal point of modern painting.Continue reading “Learn a New Way”

It is difficult to write lightly and brightly when all around us there is chaos and unrelenting darkness.  I was thinking about this when out with friends to paint en plein air.  We do this every Saturday afternoon and it seems we have had flat gray skies every single Saturday in recent memory.  Its hardContinue reading “It’s In Your Hands”

A line can be the entire drawing, showing the gesture of a figure, or a contour of a shape.  It can be the same value and width throughout, such as most cartoons.  A line can also be inferred, such as the horizon line, when no actual line is drawn, but colors and values change toContinue reading “Between the Lines”

There are many systems and methods for using color in our paintings.   One example, the Munsell color wheel, offers primary and secondary sets of colors that allow variety within families that are in harmony.  The old saying “Value does all the work but color gets all the glory” is sort of true.  If theContinue reading “In Living Color”

The value of a color or an object depends on what is around it.  If a light gray object is surrounded by white it will appear darker than if the same gray is shown against a black or very dark background.       You can try this yourself.  Divide a paper in two, half light,Continue reading “Value in Context”

     The human eye views shapes as abstractions, to which our minds give meaning.  For example, if we look at three cubes, our mind says the largest one is closest to us.  As artists we use tools such as size, placement, value and color like breadcrumbs, to help the viewer follow the trail asContinue reading “Shape of Things to Come”

    Over the years I have found that organizing my paints and my thoughts before starting to work is helpful.  Locating the paper, colors, brushes, and other tools I will need before I begin seems to quiet my self-chatter, calm my anxious heart, and focus my mind on the creative effort at hand.  ComposingContinue reading “Compose Yourself”

Light is the first thing to think about in making a painting. What direction is the light coming from? Sometimes it’s easy to forget the consistency that is necessary to make a believable form. Whether the light is bright or dim, whether you are painting an egg or a face, the shadows will fall darkestContinue reading “Light”