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  Gouache vs Watercolor: The Key Differences Artists have been using different types of paints for centuries to create art. Two of the most popular types of paint in modern times are gouache and watercolor. While both are water-based paints, they have distinct differences that artists should understand before choosing which medium to use. In this article, we will explore the key differences between gouache and watercolor. 1. Opacity The first (and most obvious) difference between Gouache and Watercolor is the opacity. Opacity, for our sake, is the ability of a layer of paint to completely cover another. Watercolor is known  for its transparency. When you use watercolor, one layer can still be seen under another. This is often responsible for that unique quality that watercolor paintings have. On the other hand, gouache can be used both transparently and opaquely depending on how much water is used. Because gouache can be used opaquely, mistakes can easily be covered up by pai...

 5 SIGNS YOUR PAINTING IS DONE Although a lot of people think it is hard to get a painting started, what most artists really struggle with is bringing themselves to stop painting. This article will cover five ways to recognize when you can call it quits.  1. You keep repainting the same areas One thing you'll begin to notice when you start coming to the end of a painting is that you keep going back to rework the same areas. Whether it is that one clump of grass in the corner, or the left nostril, if you continually find that you just keep going back to one area, it may be time to stop. There is a difference between working until you get an area perfect and going back to repaint an area just because you don't know what else to do.  2. You can't tell if the painting is getting better or worse You've been painting for hours on end, and you start to realize that the more you paint the less you even know what you're looking at. This is a great sign that you should stop p...

 Highest ROI Activities for Artists  If you are unfamiliar with the term ROI let me explain. ROI stands for return on investment. When the word investment is brought up, most people think of money, but it this case, time and effort are your investments. Before any responsible investor is willing to give their money (or in this case time and effort) they want to be sure that their investment will have a worthwhile return. In this article, I'll outline some activities for artists that are sure to be worthwhile in improving art skill in the long-term.  1. Drawing As a painter with a weak drawing base, I can honestly say that the one thing that I wish I put more time into learning is drawing. Drawing is the foundation upon which all visual arts are built. Drawing is the single most important skill for a fine artist to have. And the best part is that there are so many ways that you can improve your drawing. Still life drawings, self-portraits, and even figure sketching are all...

 I Want To Paint But I Don't Know What     So you've finally got the time to paint, your supplies are out, and then...blank. You can't think of what to paint. This list will give you some tips for working out of this mental block that so many artists deal with.      1.  Just Get Started Although this is harder said than done, it's still some of the best advice I can give. If you sit around and wonder what to paint, eventually time will pass you by and you won't even be in the mood to paint anymore. So, it's best to just get started. The first idea wont be good, the second probably won't be much better, but eventually (after you get the bad ideas out of the way) at least one good idea will come to you. And when it does, capitalize on it.     2. Look Through Old Art One way to get yourself over the mental block of not knowing what to paint is to take a look through old artwork that you have already finished. Looking back through your artwork ca...

     When you go out for a Plein Air painting session, you might intuitively be inclined to look for the most 'classically beautiful' scene you can find. You'll look for mountain ranges, flowing creeks, and fields of flowers. But what you're more likely to find is grocery stores, littered streets, and park benches. Although you might be disappointed to see that the world around you isn't as pretty as what you see in master's paintings, there is another way to look at it. Is it possible to make the average world that surrounds you beautiful? Enter James Gurney's Idea of the 'Non-Motif'. In issue #149 of the International Artist Magazine he defines the 'Non-Motif' as "...a scene from our everyday world that is familiar but rarely interpreted by artists. Unlike a picturesque motif, a non-motif us unconventional, unexpected, but also commonplace and recognizable." By painting what you see in your everyday life, you gain a new appreciati...

In every community, across all time, there exists a trait or a set of traits that  that  community holds to high regard. Aside from these traits being a point of social credibility, they also served as a mechanism to create a society that was better specialized for a certain task. These traits are what are known as virtues. Whether it be the Ancient Spartans and the virtue of courage making them better warriors or modern-day Architects and the virtue of abstract thinking that allows them to create wonderfully beautiful buildings, one's adherence to these virtues is an easy metric to predict how successful one will be in any given group. I am here to say that being an artist is no different, Artists, as a community, have virtues that are well respected and stand to make anyone who lives up to them, a more successful artist. In this articl,e I will list multiple, the first of which is... 1. Conviction Conviction is the ability to hold a belief to not be easily swayed, dismissed,...

 HOW TO GET OUT OF ARTBLOCK 1) RELAX, TAKE A BREAK      Your immediate thought when going through Art-Block may be to keep painting and just trudge through the feeling. But, I propose that instead of dragging your feet and forcing yourself to make art, just take a step back and relax. One of the worst things you could do to the creative part of your brain is to force it to be creative when it's tired and worn out. Instead, take time away, allow boredom to sink in. After all, boredom is often times the father of the best ideas. Just like American author Robert M. Pirsig said," Boredom always precedes a period of great creativity." 2) EXPLORE YOUR OTHER HOBBIES      It can be very alluring to dump all of your time and energy into your favorite hobby, but it can be more rewarding to allot some time doing or finding other activities you love. After all, art is about expressing who you are and how you see the world. So by finding your other hobbies, you fur...