Category: How To Techniques & Materials
Find great articles, content and more to enhance your art. Learn how to use certain media, create more art and get tips and tutorials on art supplies, framing, painting, drawing and more.
Improve your art skills and knowledge with our How To tutorials and guide to creating better art.
How to choose the right canvas
Fresh art canvases are like a new landscape to build upon, an open road of new possibilities and a staple in any artist’s creative arsenal. Some painting novices may assume that all canvas is the same and made from… well, canvas… but there are different types to choose from. Unfortunately, many of these artists just…..
Jerry's -- 26/09/2013
How to Pronounce Gouache
Gouache, did I say that right? What Is It? If you’ve never heard of it, Gouache (pronounced gwaash) is the slightly misunderstood paint that essentially works as an opaque watercolor. It’s made of ground pigments and binders (such as gum arabic, ox gall, and preservatives), giving it velvety opaque, brilliant color– but what makes it opaque…..
Jerry's -- 18/09/2013
Practice Makes Perfect – Tips For The Art of Practice
Effective practice is one that strengthens your weakest points Very few and very rare human beings in history have been enormously talented in one area by means of a seeming natural ability. As for the rest of us, to become skilled at our desired hobby, we must practice. And as they say, practice makes perfect……
Jerry's -- 03/09/2013
How to Draw a Self-Portrait
5 Tips to Improve Your Self-Portrait Drawing! Self-portrait drawing can be a great way to practice sketching techniques as-let’s face-it-there is no shortage of material when you draw yourself! Sketching or drawing yourself. Sketching or drawing can be a great way to learn a lot about sketching, shading and proportions. And, when you sketch, your…..
Jerry's -- 10/08/2013
Tips to Travel with Plein Air Painting Supplies
Tips on how to bring your supplies with you in the field! Thus far, we’ve covered what plein air painting is, where to go to paint, and what paint to use for plein aire painting it. We’ve got one last problem though: how do we bring all our materials out into the field for…..
Jerry's -- 29/03/2013
An Introduction to En Plein Air Painting
Spring into plein air season! Weather notwithstanding, spring has nearly sprung! Soon the days will be warming up, the sun will be out longer, and painters will be heading outdoors in droves for a bit of plein air painting. Over the next few days, we’ll be discussing the ins and outs of painting en plein…..
Jerrys Blog Squad -- 19/03/2013
What Type of Paint Should I Use? : Part 1
Comparing watercolors, oils, and acrylics..Which paint is right for you? How to Decide What Paint to Use People often ask: What’s the “best” or “most popular” type of paint to use? This is a question that virtually has no definitive answer. Not what you wanted to hear? The fact is that the “best” paint to…..
Jerrys Blog Squad -- 05/03/2013
How To Prime Ampersand Wood Panels
How To Prepare Ampersand’s Unprimed Wood Panels with Oil Painting Ground or Acrylic Gesso Ampersand’s collection of unprimed wood panels, the Natural Wood Panel™, Ampersand Unprimed Basswood Artist Panels and Hardbord™ are excellent substrates for all types of oil primers and acrylic gesso grounds. When properly sealed, a wood panel is a better painting substrate…..
Jerry's -- 01/08/2012
How To Mount Canvas Onto Ampersand Boards
Art Project: Learn how to mount canvas, paper, and other flexible supports onto Ampersand boards! Do you love the texture of canvas or paper, but prefer the stability of painting on board? You can get the best of both worlds by following along with Ampersand’s Andrea Pramuk as she outlines an easy and archival method…..
Jerry's -- 15/06/2011
Don’t Forget to Protect Your Artwork
You’ve just finished a piece of art and it’s fantastic and you can’t wait to display it or sell it. You haven’t applied a protective coating because you love what you have done and are not sure what a coating will do to your art. So you think you are better off doing nothing. Here’s…..
Jerry's -- 22/06/2010
How to use Krylon® Gallery Series Quick Dry for Oil Paintings
Spray varnishes, fixatives and other art coatings are very easy to apply to your artwork, but before you point and spray, don’t forget to read the directions. Fine art spray coatings can vary a great deal in how they are applied because they can vary dramatically in how they are made and what they do……
Jerry's -- 22/06/2010
Painting and Selling Dog Portraits
Painting and Selling Portraits-the Family Dog by M Theresa Brown Two of my five dogs think they have achieved stardom because they are featured in a 2 hour DVD!. There’s Louie, a shaggy little cockapoo rescued from an uncertain fate, and DaVinci, an impressive looking Rottweiler who, in truth, is a little dog trapped in…..