Last week, we broke down the chaos of color mixing into a simple, practical formula: Base + Tone + Nuance. With that approach, even beginners can achieve precision and avoid the muddy, frustrating results that come from guessing with pigments. Download last week's BASE-TONE-NUANCE Resource Sheet But as with all artistic methods, once you’ve mastered the basics, there’s always a deeper level. In today’s article, we’ll explore three advanced ideas that build on the Base–Tone–Nuance method....
11 days ago • 4 min read
One of the most frustrating challenges for beginners is color mixing. The problem is that most people mix randomly, adding one pigment after another without a clear method. Stop Guessing with Pigments Mix Any Color with my “Base + Tone + Nuance” Formula The solution I want to share with you today is what I call the “Base + Tone + Nuance” method—a practical way to mix colors with precision, every single time. The recipe is simple: Base (60%): the weaker pigment that forms the body of the...
18 days ago • 3 min read
Take this from someone with years of drawing experience : Relying too much on precise outlines is like building a house of cards. It feels secure, but the slightest inaccuracy can easily make everything collapse. It just take a fraction of a millimeter to make your subject squint, have a lazy eye or a displaced nose. So you erase, and correct and erase and correct and it’s still off. What if the solution was actual to stop chasing the perfect line? It's a very different approach from last...
25 days ago • 3 min read
Every beginner knows the frustration: you make a preparation drawing, draw your outlines carefully, transfer them to canvas, and then start applying paint but… “Catastrophe! The lines slowly start to disappear! It’s like loosing your safety net!” What’s next? Two types of reactions : 1) accept that the lines are gone but take the risk of loosing the likeness or 2) artificially try to keep a sharp outline within the paint, even when it ruins the realism and make the figure look more like a...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
As this is the start of Season 2 of "the Atelier", there's going to be a little bit of change in the way the Newsletter is presented. The idea this season is to study a Masterwork and try to understand one key concept that is interesting, relevant and useful to artists of all levels. This week, we start with Joaquín Sorolla (Spanish, 1863 - 1923). Why Your “Whites” Look Wrong (And How Sorolla Got Them Right) White isn’t really white Every painter faces this problem: painting light is so...
about 1 month ago • 4 min read
I have a saying : “Beautiful Model, Beautiful Painting!” and it doesn’t just mean that you need to only hire attractive models, it’s much more general than that : a beautiful vase, a beautiful jewel, a beautiful photo, a beautiful flower… For realism, having a good model to look at as a reference makes it a lot easier to make a successful painting. So what’s the best model to place next to your easel? With modern technology, the options have multiplied. You can paint from screens, prints,...
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Great portraits are not just about capturing a likeness, they are about sculpting the illusion of life. Lines and shapes are important. And by the way, the word portrait comes from the French portrait, which means "lines for" or "in favor of". So lines are indeed important, but lines and shapes alone aren't enough for a good portrait. A portrait needs to convey the illusion of form, and that's what we'll be talking about today. The Secret to Instantly More Lifelike Portraits 1. Planes vs....
about 2 months ago • 4 min read
Every time you draw or paint, you’re making decisions based on how you perceive what you’re seeing. But perception isn’t a single thing. In fact, Harold Speed—one of the most respected voices in classical art—believed that artists must train two very different modes of perception: one based on line, the other on mass. Understanding this duality can transform not just the way you draw, but how you see the world altogether. Source : The Practice and Science of Drawing By Harold Speed Line vs....
3 months ago • 4 min read
Today, we'll see why saturation matters more than hue in realistic paintings. Mastering chroma - or color intensity or "saturation" - is one of the biggest turning points in an artist’s development. And yet, it’s one of the least understood aspects of color theory. Let’s fix that. Chroma Control: The Key to Realistic Color 1. What is Chroma, Really? Most painters are familiar with hue (red, blue, yellow) and value (light vs dark). Chroma, however, often gets skipped in early training. Chroma...
3 months ago • 3 min read