DrawingAcademy

The role of women in art – Henriette Ronner

April 10, 2014September 26, 2018

Article from Chris Crombé

We all know, almost without thinking, famous male painters like, Rembrandt, Rubens, Van Dijck, Cézanne, Van Gogh etc. But if we have to cite a female one our memory fails. And still they were there. In one of my articles I will try to explain the raison of this phenomena. But I start as a trigger with one of an not very well known, but exceptional talented animal painter. Cats have been a favorite subject of artists for many decades, and many big names in the art world have produced impressive works. One of them is Henriette Ronner-Knip. HENRIËTTE RONNER-KNIP (1821 – 1909) Henriette Ronner, born KNIP, was born on the 21st of may 1821 in Amsterdam. Her father, grand-father , uncle and one of her aunts, where fine artists too. All four of them had…

The Innocence

April 10, 2014September 30, 2018
75 Comments

From Litsa Raftopoulou

I love to draw and paint all day and all night.

I want to win to learn more and more new things and new techniques. I am trying to find my own personal way. I have been trying to teach myself from books and you-tube videos and now I would like to teach me your Art Academy. I love hours and hours studying all famous painters and I am studying the history of art.This course would be invaluable to me. This course will be moral victory for me. I live in Greece with my husband and I have two children.

Thank you for giving me this opportunity to take part in competition…

A Celebration of Color!

April 9, 2014September 30, 2018
20 Comments

From Sophy Laughing

Shhhh… I have a secret. I have two impediments to becoming a great artist: One, I am technically colorblind; two, I am a new “rightie” ~ due to a slight accident, I am now teaching myself to switch from my left- to my right-hand.

Living in a color-sighted world, I quickly learned that roses are red and violets are blue, socks come in pairs and are easily matched and, most of the time, clothing is labeled. If I accidentally pair an article of clothing that is not traditionally paired together, color-wise, I am often credited with making a bold statement: to which I respond with a big smile.

It wasn’t until I was given an eye test that my colorblindness was discovered. “What number do you see in the circle?” the technician asked me. “Which circle?” I responded.

The entire circle was made up of colors and apparently there was a number inside it made up of differing colors so as to see a contrast. It is contrasts and hues that I do not “see”. As much as I would love to see what others view in an impressionist painting, for example, I’m sorry to say that most of the composition fades from my view. I do not perceive light colors, and often times confuse reds and blues and purples and grays, but I am of the opinion that I imagine them in my mind’s eye. ..

Be patient

April 8, 2014September 26, 2018
3 Comments

Article by Luca Molnar

We as human beings often would like to have everything right away. We want to be successful, happy, we want to draw and paint like Michelangelo, be thinner or prettier and we want all of these things by tomorrow. If it doesn’t happen quickly enough (and it doesn’t), we loose faith and move on to our next goal. However things take time in this universe of ours…

Greatness is not given easily or quickly. Salvador Dali or Hieronymus Bosch didn’t become the artist we know them to be today overnight, nor did they paint their masterpieces in 2 hours. They studied and practiced, failed and tried again more times than anyone could count. What they did differently from most of us is that they kept trying and believed in themselves even when no one else did. Just remember how Dali barely had something to eat for years and no one seemed to like his paintings. Or look at the earliest works of some of the most talented artists, those paintings simply aren’t good, in some cases we can even say that they are terrible. However these artists were patient with themselves and kept studying until they became the very best of their time…

How to express emotion and character through portraits

April 8, 2014September 26, 2018
2 Comments

Question from Jasmine

Dear tutors,

I am very interested in figurative art. There are works of Art that have a great deal of emotional impact, you can almost see the soul of the model(s). They make you wonder who they are or what their story is. And there are other works that just leave you cold, no matter how skillfully they are done.

What makes the difference? Is it merely in the facial expression or is there more? How should an artist convey emotions in his or her work without being too obvious?

What about narrative portraits? How many clues should you give the viewer about what is going on without killing the mystery?…

John Singer Sargent’s Chiaroscuro

April 7, 2014September 26, 2018
3 Comments

Question from Erica

What colors and techniques should I use for the beautiful, rich, dark backgrounds – like Sargent’s chiaroscuro look?..

April 6, 2014September 26, 2018
1 Comment

Article by Luca Molnar

If you are an art lover, just like me then you have probably realized that having a great technique has somehow became an old-fashioned thing. At the same time everything that is ‘shocking’ or ‘strange’ has been labeled as ‘creative’. One may find oneself confused and lost about which way to go as an artist and it is surely a reasonable question. In order to find answer to our question, let’s take a closer look at ‘creativity’ and ‘technique’ and what these words really mean.

Through centuries and probably ever since humans started painting and expressing themselves through arts, artists have been thriving for a greater knowledge regarding technique. This was the main reason why painters were also scientist for hundreds of years. The old masters were restlessly searching for more vibrant colours and were perfecting…

How to Hold a Pencil

April 5, 2014September 26, 2018
2 Comments

Question from Yuri Magalhaes, Drawing Academy Student

Dear Vladimir,

In the video “How to Hold a Pencil“, you talk about the “writing grip”. That’s what I use, since I focus more on small pieces. For the rendering, should I hatch with bent fingers like you show, or is it acceptable to make each stroke from the wrist?

I notice my rendering gets too dark right from the beginning of the work, and I don’t know if it is because of the hand-finger movement that I haven’t been able to master the line weight.

Is there any exercise other than filling up an entire sketchbook with hatching practice to master the technique?…

“Dove Totem”

April 4, 2014September 30, 2018
8 Comments

From Jayada

Hello, I’m an Intuitive Artist and I use Art as a channel to connect Superior Dimensions and Cure. For me Art is Medicine :D

I’m an Art Therapist graduated by the Anthroposophic school line and I help people’s Healing and Self-Knowledge processes.

Graduated also as a Graphic Designer and passionated by Sacred Geometry, I use it as tools for Creation of Sacred Symbols, Logos and more.

I always had a very naive drawing style and enjoyed to play with my inner child drawing a lot that way.

Last year I had only 3 private drawing classes and I jumped to a completely new level…

I love to draw and paint

April 4, 2014September 30, 2018
1 Comment

From Svetlana Vukmirica

I love to draw and paint all my life. Realistic painting and drawing is for me as interesting as abstract, and I think that is good to try all techniques to find my own personal way.

Thanks for this course no matter who will win and thanks to all who will vote for me…