Resources

This section will eventually build up into a collection of all the interesting and/or useful stuff I've found on the Internet whilst I've been attempting to teach myself to draw and paint. It's a little slim at the moment, consisting only of a few sites I like for one reason or another. I'll be expanding it as I go along.

Web Sites

Information Web Sites

The Dimensions of Colour by David Briggs

This what David has to say about his site:

"This web site presents an account of the dimensions of colour and light perception, written for painters using either traditional or digital mediums."

That's possibly the most unassuming description of a site I've ever read, considering that this site has more information than any site should really be allowed to have in one place.

David's site is nothing short of incredible. There's so much information there, and it bears such careful and close reading, that I can only take it in bite sized chunks. I read half a page and have to think about it for a week. This the best site about colour I know of. The relevance of all of it to painting may not be apparent to you straight away, and it may appear too scientific for 'feeling' types. But I find myself mulling over things I've read there as I work, and it always results in deeper insights into the way we perceive light and colour. Very highly recommended.

Artist's Web Sites

I make no apologies for this list, it's highly partial and consists largely of my friends and the sites of contemporary artists I admire.

Julian Merrow-Smith - Still Life Paintings

It's appropriate that Julian's daily paintings site should be at the top of this list, since he supplied a lot of the early inspiration for me when I first got back to painting. An early adopter of Duane Keiser's 'painting a day' format, Julian has been running with the idea for over three years now.

He has a wonderfully natural way of painting that looks effortless, but I'm sure it isn't. What's always fascinated me about Julian's work is how convincingly he translates a feeling of light, from bright Provençale sunlight to quiet, lyrical indoor light.

You can also see some of Julian's larger still life paintings here.

Jacob Collins

Where to start with this man? I don't know Jacob personally, but to do him justice I'd have to give him a page of his own. Jacob's figurative work has to be among the finest anywhere, in my opinion. His still life paintings are a constant source of inspiration to me, for obvious reasons. He also produces some of the most beautiful contemporary landscape work I've seen, if jpegs can ever be enough to judge by.

Jacob also teaches, at his own Water Street atelier. If he wasn't on the other side of the world from me, I'd be camping outside his door till he let me in. He also founded The Grand Central Academy of Art in 2006, and teaches at the Hudson River School for Landscape, a school which carries on the tradition of, obviously enough, the Hudson River school. He may have found a way to clone himself, either that or he never sleeps. If the current return to representational art continues, and if it becomes the cultural force for change that I hope it will, then I suspect that the name Jacob Collins will be gracing the pages of many future art history books when we're all dead and gone.

Kate Sammons

Do yourself a favour and have a look at Kate's sublime charcoal drawings. Her technique is superlative and she has supplied the inspiration for much of my recent value study work. In addition to technical virtuosity, her work has depth, intimacy and mystery. Never has the word 'beautiful' been more fitting.

Gurney Journey: James Gurney's Blog

One of the best art blogs out there, the scope James' of subject matter is impressive for both its breadth and depth. His posts are always interesting and informative. This is one of the few sites I visit religiously every day.

Richard Murdock

My old mucker Richard paints rich, intimate and delicate still lifes and landscapes. We've kept company with each other along some of our respective learning paths, and it's wonderful to see him achieving the success he deserves now. An artist with a full heart and one of the most generous people I know.

John Cheall - Landscape Paintings of the British Isles

John and I grew up together in a small town in the north-east of England. He paints evocative landscapes of the few remaining wild places in the British Isles, including the area we grew up. He's concerned with translating what he sees as honestly and faithfully as he can, and communicating the grand sweep of the British landscape. His work has a special place in my heart.

Linda Tracey Brandon

Linda is an American figurative artist of great sensitivity, and I love her to bits. Her work is full of character and she has a great empathy with her sitters. She also has a blog which she doesn't update nearly often enough.

Sadie Valeri's Blog

The best art blogs don't just show pictures, they give you an insight into the artist and their working processes. Sadie's blog is fantastic. As well as producing wonderful paintings and drawings, she posts fascinating time-lapse videos of herself at work, and has some very interesting notes on the teaching Ted Seth Jacobs, who she did a 12 week drawing workshop with. This blog is packed to the gunnels with interesting information and lovely work.

William Whitaker

I think Bill Whitaker is a superb painter. His work speaks for itself.

Online art forums

Over the last few years, I've found art forums to be an invaluable source of information. But they should be treated with caution. Not all the information contained therein is useful. Some of it is just plain wrong. But much of it is excellent, and the job of the autodidact artist would be considerably more difficult without them.

Rational Painting Forum

Due to its classical and academic agenda, the RP forum is not for everyone, but it has more good, useful information per square inch of screen space than any other forum that I've yet come across. In particular, there is much useful and informative discussion of techniques and materials. The signal to noise ratio is good, as is the skill level and the contributions of much of it's membership, which includes a high proportion of professionals. Run by Graydon Parrish, Dave Corcoran and Richard Murdock, it's a private forum and you need to apply for membership.

Art and Artistry

A very nice and helpful forum run by Dave Corcoran in the UK. General chat, crit sessions and resources. Art and Artistry has a friendly atmosphere. Dave is an excellent moderator and does a great job of keeping it that way. Recommended.

Art Quorum

More of a friendly hang out for artists, ArtQuorum is nonetheless an interesting and informative forum. Amid the general banter and joking some very good threads come up. Recommended.

Concept Art

Whenever I've visited Concept Art I've found it fascinating, and I keep meaning to spend more time there. It's an interesting blend of traditional and digital, with some high profile contemporary artists and illustrators as active members.

To be continued...