Learning to See

Inspiration and practical advice for aspiring realist artists

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Warm, cool and the middle way

June 1, 2018 By: Paul17 Comments

When Prince Siddhartha Gautama decided to renounce his privileged position and search for enlightenment, he started by attempting to starve himself to his goal. When that didn’t work out, He changed tack. He tried the middle way, neither self-indulgence nor self-mortification, and achieved nirvana. Personally, I know next to nothing about Buddhism, despite being attracted

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How to get better at colour design

May 18, 2018 By: Paul26 Comments

Of all the aspects of colour, design is the one that is generally assumed to be something you have, or you don’t. Personally, I’ve never accepted that point of view about anything. Any skill can be learned, can be taught and can be practised. Including Colour design. But how? Perhaps the best known treatise on

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Why I abandoned this painting! (and what I’m going to do about it)

April 20, 2018 By: Paul16 Comments

Here’s a quick video I recorded live on facebook earlier this week. It’s 16 minutes long, and it’s all about why I’ve decided to abandon the painting I’ve been working in this week. I’m sharing this because I think it’s useful to know that this happens to all of us sometimes. Mostly artists just share

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The Secret Ingredient of Beautiful Compositions: Hidden Connections and Implied Lines

February 13, 2015 By: Paul17 Comments

Beautiful composition affects you, even when you don’t know how it’s been done. I’m going to describe for you a very practical technique for improving your compositions that you can start applying right away. Today, if you want. And I believe it’s relevant to you no matter what kind of art you create, from intricate,

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Hidden Patterns: How to design pictures like Veronese

February 5, 2015 By: Paul15 Comments

Whether you like Veronese’s pictures or not, there’s no arguing with the fact that he designed beautiful compositions. I think you can feel that compositional beauty, even if you’re not aware of how it’s been created. I think you feel beauty in your soul. You resonate with it. And in a sense, it doesn’t matter

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How to Make More Beautiful Compositions With Positive and Negative Space

January 30, 2015 By: Paul10 Comments

For many of us, returning to art after a long period away can be daunting. Our appreciation of art outstrips our ability. Our work falls short of our expectations, and most of the time we don’t know why. Does that sound familiar to you? It might be that your art education was sorely lacking, neglecting

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Three Uncommonly Effective Ways to Improve Your Compositions

October 3, 2014 By: Paul24 Comments

Composition can make the difference between a technically skilled piece of work and a beautiful one. Design and composition is what allows us to take our visual impressions and make them into art. Composition is where you create, where your personality comes through the most clearly in your work. Good Composition is Rare So you’d

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How To See Like an Artist

April 15, 2014 By: Paul9 Comments

Artists see differently. Someone who sees in this special way that artists see can look at a collection of buildings and see a design, become entranced by a pattern of light and shadow. The greater your ability to see in this way, the more you will be able to look at something and see a

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The Only Composition Rule You’ll Ever Need to Learn

April 25, 2013 By: Paul37 Comments

Any fool can make a rule, and any fool will mind it. – Henry David Thoreau, author, poet, philosopher. Composition makes or breaks a picture, so we often hear. I wouldn’t disagree. The more I practice composition and the more I become sensitive to it, the more I realise the truth of that. But frankly,

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Designing Nature: A Series of Composition Exercises – Part Two

December 31, 2012 By: Paul4 Comments

“Man’s mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions.” – Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr, American poet and author. When we learn something new, our brains change. They physically change. Every time we practice, new connections are formed between neurons. Existing connections are strengthened. So we want to make sure we’re building

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Hi, I’m Paul

I'm a (mostly) self-taught artist. I paint realism in oils, mostly still life. I share my work, my evolving process and what knowledge I've gained on my own learning journey here, in the hope that it might help you on yours.
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