Colored pencils are ideal for mixed media work of all types, but can you use oil paint over colored pencil? If you’ve been following this blog for any length of time, you know I’ve experimented with combining colored pencils and a number of different mediums, including watercolor, India ink, and graphite. But what …
Let’s talk about style today. More specifically, finding your artistic style. Have you ever wondered how to find your artistic style? Maybe the following reader question echoes your own. I am 67 and my life became so much more adventurous due to colored pencils. I would very much like to …
There are a number of ways to combine graphite and colored pencil. (name of article) features the use of graphite as an underpainting (or under drawing if you prefer) for colored pencil work
Today’s colored pencil questions concern blending, color matching, and Prismacolor alternatives. Following are today’s questions. Remember that if you have a question, you can always email it to me. I try to answer every email I get personally. Your question could be the inspiration for a blog post! Answers to …
So what’s the biggest mistake I made as a beginning artist? I cannot tell a lie; I made a LOT of mistakes as a beginning artist. Some of the mistakes were the normal trial-and-error stuff every self-taught artist encounters. After all, if someone isn’t teaching you, helping you avoid certain …
Have you ever worked and worked and worked on a piece, but it never quite seemed done? I know I have. As long as I’ve been an artist, I sometimes wonder how to finish art that never seems finished. I’ll bet you have too. Part of the problem can be …
For any artists working in realism, an accurate line drawing is essential. There are many ways to produce accurate line drawings. Today, I’d like to share a few benefits of using a drawing grid. The post is written in response to a reader, who asked: I want to ask you …
Welcome to May, and another May Question-and-Answer month! Today’s question is from a reader who wants to know how to draw like an expert. That’s a good question, and one we all want the answer to, right? We’re all also looking for an easy way to draw like an expert. …
Here’s a question I’ll bet every colored pencil artist—beginner and advanced—has asked at one time or another. Why do every layer if you draw over them anyway? What’s the point? Am I right? Colored pencils are such a slow medium to begin with. Yes, there are ways to speed up …
Every artist wants to see progress. Whether it’s from one drawing to the next, or from the beginning of a drawing to the end, it’s vital to know how to judge your own work if you really want to improve. No one knows that better than an artist who has …
