A person who has not made his great contribution to science before the age of thirty will never do so. -- Albert Einstein The Washington Post published an article on Friday about older folks and creativity. In it, the author stated that many Nobel prize winners receive their award for work done early in their career. Even though it often takes decades for that work to win the … [Read more...]

The visual blindness of the majority of people is greatly to be deplored, as nature is ever offering them on their retina, even in the meanest slum, a music of color and form that is a constant source of pleasure to those who can see it. — Harold Speed (1917) You are walking down the sidewalk totally engrossed in thought. About to cross the street, you feel a tug on your arm … [Read more...]

We received a comment on one of our posts a day or so ago. A reader was confused about painting mountains and trees. The answer to his question was too long for a comment, so we thought we’d do a post about it since we believe a lot of other painters have the same problem. He touched on an issue I had when I started painting. Thick and Thin Bill says in many of his videos, “A … [Read more...]

Ding! Another notification in my email inbox! It’s from a friend who was commenting on a thread in a painting group on Facebook. A beginning painter asked a question about which paint was best to use when starting out. One of the members, who posts a lot (and also promotes his workshops and products), made a statement about how thick paint was a “crutch” for wet-on-wet … [Read more...]

In Part One, we discussed the importance of Subject as a starting point of great art. We also mentioned that it is, for many artists, a challenging place to start. Ever have “Painter’s Block?” You stare at a blank canvas and have no idea where or how to start. In many of Bill’s videos, he mentions that many of his early students experienced this problem. Just as there is no … [Read more...]