The Power of a Critique

Juried Theme Shows For most artists getting accepted by a art jury is major achievement.  Years of study and work go into a painting and then someone recognizes the work and talent and decide to place the work on a wall.  Many times galleries are looking for talent and simply request submissions.  Other times, the Call to Artists will involve a theme.   Personally I like a themed exhibition.  There is a challenge to create something out of the norm or simply a chance to test new waters.  These

Welcome to my blog. You are here because you are an artist or are interested in art. This blog will talk about art from a practical point of view. Many art publications over complicate the techniques and processes involved. There are simple ways to enjoy art. There are practical ways to create art. Over the past 40 years I have learned many things and now I want to pass this information along to you as well as talk about art and artists. As a technology teacher one of the first things I learned

Paints and Palette Your palette is your working area. How you set it up will determine how effective you will work. How you place your paints is a personal matter but there are ways methods or set-ups that will help make your painting experience more productive. Color: There are many colors of paint made by many manufacturers. There are expensive paints and there are cheap paints. The quality of your paint should be determined by your budget. You should use the best that you can afford. You will

Surfaces Canvas:  Canvas usually refers to a cloth like material used by artists as a surface for paintings.  It can be stretched or mounted on boards.  You must be careful when selecting canvas material as it comes in different grades or levels of quality. Cotton duck is one of the most popular materials.  It is white and comes in different grades.  Cheap cotton duck can be easily torn and this is an easy way to determine the quality of the cloth.  Most pre-stretched and primed cotton duck can

There is a lot said about composition in artwork. Art scholars are diverse in their opinions about how a painting should be mapped and write books about the detailed compositions of the masters. While I agree that the great masters worked some very complex and detailed compositional designs I also believe that they kept a lot of things simple. It is easy to attach a compositional theory on a work after it has been painted and long after the artist has died. Most artist did not leave detailed

Beginnings “They will soars on wings…”   Isaiah 40 The Practical Artist Don Jalbert Welcome to my blog. You are here because you are an artist or are interested in art. This blog will talk about art from a practical point of view. Many art publications over complicate the techniques and processes involved. There are simple ways to enjoy art. There are practical ways to create art. Over the past 40 years I have learned many things and now I want to pass this information along to you as well as

Art is a passion for many people.  This passion can costs lots of money.  Keeping costs down is important for the survival of any business but especially so for the artist.  One of the costs an artist incurs is in subject matter.  Hiring models, buying still life objects, traveling to painting sites all costs money.  To save money many artists take photographs of their subjects and work in the studio. My process involves using photos.  I take hundreds of photos a week.  The photos include set

Creating Art -The Process – Editing I have not posted in awhile, forgive me.  Fulltime art requires the artist to wear many hats.  I have been wearing my delivery, framing and public relations hats.  The great thing is that since my last post I have been juried into two major shows and won Honorable Mention in both.  I also won an first place in landscape and a third place in cityscapes.  As an artist I find everywhere I look I see something interesting to paint.  I edit these sightings and