theory

Do you know what to do when you make a mistake? How do you manage your expectations? Here are three essential things you need to take your brushwork to the next level.

Phi Divine Proportion and the Golden Spiral Pleasing shapes, interesting coincidences, existential ramifications, and some mathematics reality... using this unique set of mathematical concepts can create an innate linear balance when used formally for composing your artwork. This is one of those weird places where science interacts with visual aesthetics, philosophy, and the meaning of life. Maybe. : Phi = 1.618033988749895... The Golden Number, prounounced "fi" as in "fly." In the Golden Rectangle with A as the height and B as the width, the ratio reveals itself: A is to B as B is to the sum of A and...

The Stuff of Paint Watercolor: What it is. Traditional transparent watercolor is finely ground pigment in a water-soluble binder such as gum arabic. Gum arabic is water-soluble gum produced by a species of the acacia tree and is available in crystalline form or in prepared solutions. The gum arabic crystals or granules are transparent when pure, but less highly refined varieties can be yellowish to honey colored. Gum arabic is also used in inks, adhesives, pharmaceuticals, and confections (it's non-toxic and tasteless). Other binders used for watercolor paint have included Tragacanth, a gum optained from various asian shrubs, and fish...

Paper: a little history, a little trivia The variety of surfaces used to paint, draw, write and tally on have run the gamut from cave walls, clay tablets (Sumerians 5000-2000 BC), wood planks, papyrus (+-2500 BC), to parchment (1500-250 BC) and vellum, a finer variant of parchment. Papyrus was a woven mat of reeds, pounded together into a hard, thin sheet. Parchment and Vellum are make from specially processed animal hide (calves, goats, sheep) that are smoothed to a fine finish. The word "paper" actually comes down to us from the word "papyrus". According to contemporary Chinese records of AD...

What are you going to use for your palette? If you're like most artists you'll end up with several palettes including one special one that is your favorite. I happen to have aquired 8 ro 9 in my 35 years of painting. Are you a student or beginner on the cheap? For a basic palette use a plate, preferably white. Just something that is white, non-porous, and can hold some water. Ceramic, plastic, or metal, it doesn't matter in the long run, it's just a means to an end...making art. You can use recycled margarine containers, styrofoam meat trays, ice...

Matting and Framing Your Work Matting your watercolors protects and enhances the look of your paintings by cleanly defining the image edges and isolating your image in a uniform neutral or complementary background. Mats are made from mat board which should be made from all cotton acid free fiber. How to make a mat 101 As a start, choose neutral off white mats either warm or cool depending of the overall hue and value of your painting. After you've been at it a while and have seen what others are doing with colors and bevels and layers feel free to...