A Ham and Some Caterpillars to the Power of Why.

Thoughts on evaluating the many art “rules” and traditions that continue to thrive in the studio and classroom. “Art ‘rules’ are often personal opinions shouted loudly with a big stick.” -Kara Castro McGee. American Author Hilary Hinton “Zig” Ziglar is often credited with the popularizing of a clever story about blindly following tradition and dogma…. Continue reading

A Few Thoughts on Natural Patterns

A recent study from Jiao Tong University in China has been making some waves (pun intended) with a careful investigation into an often-encountered, but relatively under-examined bit of ornamentation—decorative wallpaper (Fu, Zhang, & Lin 2019.) Using a test that is designed to assess the strength of cognitive associations by examining latencies in classification tasks (Implicit… Continue reading

A Few Thoughts on Complementary Colors and Color Opponency.

I came across a very good article last night exploring the benefits of working with a limited palette. The article was written by Courtney Jordan and is available on the artist daily blog here: http://www.artistdaily.com/blogs/artist-daily/sharpen-your-ability-to-judge-color-tone-and-value/ Within this article, one very knowledgeable artist shared his strategies for extending his palette’s color gamut as far as possible… Continue reading

Proximity Alert!

One of the more insidious pitfalls that can plague both the novice as well as the seasoned observational representationalist is a failure to adequately consider the role of observational proximity. This issue is especially insidious in that it can pounce even when an artist has successfully communicated every measurement and observed proportion with great accuracy,… Continue reading

WVIA’s ArtScene with Erika Funke (CR2017)

Anya Dribas, general administrator of the Ani Art Academies, and artist Anthony J. Waichulis talk about “Capturing Realism 2017,” on display July 8 through August 26 at the Pauly Friedman Art Gallery at Misericordia University in Dallas. There will be a “Meet the Artists” reception from 5 to 7 p.m. July 8. Complete information can… Continue reading

A Short Point on Deliberate Practice…

One common argument against the potential contributions of deliberate practice is: “I have been doing such and such (insert any activity) for many, many years and I am nowhere near close to anything I would consider expert-level performance.” The short rebuttal to this is that engaging in an activity (no matter how often or for… Continue reading