An artist retreat is a multi-day art class that allows attendees to restart their creative process and dive deep into an art medium, style, and/or technique.  Art retreats are usually multi-day classes offered consecutively so that students have concentrated focus on the topic at hand. Huge leaps in progress can be made in retreats: some students who have never picked up a paintbrush will leave the workshop knowing intermediate skills and the confidence to create sophisticated work, others leave knowing how to refine their work and pursue gallery and art showings, while others leave refreshed with new techniques that inspire innovative pathways of working.  Therefore, an artist retreat is extremely effective for any level of artist, and will surely result in learning a lot of new techniques, skills, confidence, and a connection with other artists who share a passion of painting. 

Creating a sense of deep space in a painting is a great way to add sophistication and drama to your artwork. Regardlesss if you are a realistic or abstract painter, do portraits or landscapes, these general rules will help to create instant depth in your artworks.

First, we need to feel that we DESERVE the space to make art In addition, we need to feel worthy of taking up space on living room, gallery and museum walls, and worthy of taking up space in the world. So this idea of needing space is not just about the space in which art is made; it’s the space we allow ourselves to exist as people and artists. Giving ourselves space to make art is a gift, and one that I think is well worth giving.

Knowing when you a painting is done can be tricky, especially if you are doing abstract work. While painting a landscape from a reference image provides the artist with a roadmap, abstraction is open-ended and the end point is often a bit subjective. After painting for 28 years, 18 of which have been in abstraction, I have developed the ability to know when my work is finished, and it’s based on these principles below.

Have you ever felt overwhelmed with the many options of colors you can buy in the store? Have you ever wondered why there are 5 different choices of red and 4 different types of blue? In this article I will break down color for you so you will be familiar with the few colors you need to make almost any color under the sun. In my years of working with students, I find that many don’t spend time studying color theory, and they often get frustrated when their colors turn to mud, or they waste alot of paint trying to achieve that perfect color. Below you will find some crucial color mixing tips, and a list of what paint colors you need to buy for the results.