Category Creativity Inspiration

Isn’t it a dream to travel the world? I’m fascinated by the people who have the guts to pick up and go for it. While I’ve had my share of journeys in the states (and in one case, hopping over to Canada for a couple of nights), I know that one day I’ll go international. I’ve even already secured my passport, so when the moment presents itself, I can just grab my suitcase and be off.

Although Father’s Day will come and go this weekend, our parents deserve recognition beyond designated holidays. At ArtistsNetwork.com we’re celebrating how fathers have inspired artists by sharing a small selection of stories today, and I encourage you to consider your own: how has your father inspired your art?

Sometimes, as we talk and write, and communicate in general, magic happens. Handfuls of words come together and land in the right places, giving us nuggets of inspirational gold. I’ve been the online editor of ArtistNetwork.com long enough to have seen many of these treasures, provided mostly by our expert art instructors.

I wish I could say that I always had the words to describe what I see and how it makes me feel. But, there are times when I look at a painting that’s on a gallery wall or my computer screen, and language fails me. My sight is the only sense that I’m aware of for a few moments as I lose touch with my surroundings, my past and my future.

While we all find a certain amount of relaxation and therapy in our art, a little extra zen in our lives does the mind good. Zentangle® is an ultra relaxing art form that entangles artful and meditative focus, with the peaceful pursuit of unique, self-expressive, mosaic-like art.Zentangle® has roots in calligraphy and meditation and was developed to give folks a means to experience a state of well-being and relaxation.

Today’s blog post features my exclusive interview with colored pencil artist Kristy Ann Kutch, who has taught more than 200 workshops. She’s the author of The New Colored Pencil and has just come out with three new DVDs as well. Enjoy!CH: In your artist’s statement, you say that you look for “subjects that are beautiful, vivid, and realistic, yet sometimes a bit bizarre or thought-provoking in that realism.

Editor’s note: Visit Timothy Jahn’s website at TimothyWJahn.com. To learn more art business tips, check out the eMagazine The Business of Art: Make a Living From Your Passion, available for only $3.99 exclusively at North Light Shop.Periodically I receive wonderful emails from people inspired by my artwork asking for career advice.

Overcome the Post Holiday Blues and Launch a New Art Adventure in 2015 – Art Journals Personally, I experience the post-Christmas blues because I so enjoy getting ready for the holiday season, creating holiday art, and spreading holiday cheer. It was great to have Helen share how she celebrates Christmas through her art.

How many of us fall into our comfort zonesand never try to leave them? Have you ever thought to yourself, “I’d like to try ‘XYZ’,” only to follow it with a mental “but…?” Mary Todd Beam is here to help us bolt out of that circular thinking so that we can find more satisfaction with our art. Her book, Creative Edge: Art Exercises to Celebrate Your Creative Self is newly available in paperback.

We’re manic for Mandalas and hope you’ll join in the fun. On Tuesday, February 24 at 1pm-2pm EST join this FREE Network Online Event with Tiffany Lovering. There will be tons of tangles with Tiffany. She will share some tangling tips and give you a preview into her new Artist’s Network University course, Mandalas for Beginners and a peek into some of her video workshops.

Sometimes I think I’m smart. And then I spend some time with a much older person and realize that there’s a difference between being smart and being wise. Not to say that I don’t have wisdom; I’m old enough to have been around the block and gained my own experiences. I “know better” now. But it’s reassuring to hear the words of someone like watercolor artist Milford Zornes (1908-2008), in the interview he did with Sylvia Megerdichian and Bill Anderson for Magazine on the eve of his 100th birthday.

If you read the recent ArtistsNetwork newsletter titled See the Story in This Landscape, then you’re already at least a little familiar with Rachel Rubin Wolf’s Splash 16: Exploring Textures. The new news, if you will, is that whereas Splash 16 had been available for pre-orders in the previous newsletter, it’s now available in the North Light Shop, ready to be shipped to you right away.

What draws you into your favorite pieces of art? Is it the use of color? The composition, perhaps? For Julie Gilbert Pollard, it’s the texture of the paint itself, specifically, in watercolor and oil paintings.“When I’m looking at paintings in a gallery or museum, the ones that cause me to stop in my tracks because I can’t bear to look away, are those in which you can see the painterly brush marks and fluid, yummy paint,” Julie says.

Editor’s Note: Today we bring you a special guest blog from David Dunlop, an artist who you may know from the award-winning PBS series Landscapes Through Time with David Dunlop. His new ArtistsNetworkTV video on painting skies is now available, so click here to preview it today. Enjoy! ~CherieLuminous Atmospheres, Turner vs.

When you think of paintings with texture, what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of thick layers of paint with visible brushstrokes; perhaps it’s the subject of the painting, such as the coarse beard of a weathered man or the smooth glass of a beautiful vase. I think it’s safe to say that we all love texture in its various manifestations, including the way artists are using it today to express their visions through acrylic painting techniques.

The following is part of a series of guest blog posts on painting from expert artist Jane Jones, who often contributes to Magazine (read her feature articles here).Create More Energy for Paintingby Jane JonesMaking a good painting is hard work, and requires a lot of energy from the artist.

The following originally appeared as a TEDx Eureka talk on drawing by Brent Eviston. Sign up for his online drawing course at Network University today!by Brent EvistonImages are the native language of the imagination. This is why most people don’t dream in text. Making images is not only an art, but a visual form of communication that is as rich and as complex as written language.

Wouldn’t it be nice to skip the difficult stages of first learning how to draw? Those face-palm moments when you make a mistake might come more often than not at the beginning, and it’s humbling to struggle. But those challenges are good for the mind and, in my humble opinion, good for the soul. It’s how we continue to grow as individuals and as a culture.

It’s time for Inktober again, and that means it’s your chance to share your ink drawings with us for a chance to win some awesome art supplies! What is Inktober? Artist Jake Parker began this drawing movement in 2009 to motivate artists of all skill levels around the world–including you–to practice art every day for the month of October.

News flash: We can’t always do what we want.It’s a shock, I know. Most of us would choose to spend the bulk of the day making art, reading about art and talking about art–maybe pausing just a few minutes here and there to eat a snack or refill our coffee mugs. But alas, the interferences we have are truly endless.