Artist Strong

Hi Reader,One of the most common things I hear from students in From Reference to Real is that they are: “desperate to move beyond copying and tracing.” They want to make artwork that feels like their own, but they're not always sure how to get there. Here's what I want you to know: you don't have to give up photo references, and you don't have to master every skill before you start making original art. But you might have to get comfortable with something else… In my new YouTube video, I'm...

Hi Reader, Have you ever looked at another artist’s work and thought, “I wish my art felt that distinctive?” I know I have! And when we’re trying to develop our own style, it’s tempting to look closely at an artist we admire and start asking: How do they use line? What colors do they choose? How do they compose their paintings? How do I make my work look more like that? But there’s another way to study an artist. Instead of asking, “How can I make my art look like theirs?” we can ask, “What...

Hi Reader, There’s a moment that can happen when you’re working from a reference photo. Your artwork is coming together. The composition is working. The colors are beautiful. You’re getting closer and closer to the photo. And then you have an idea. What if I cropped it? Combined it with something else? Let part of it disappear? Took it in a completely different direction? And then that little voice says: “But it won’t be as good as the photo…” I know that voice because I used to listen to it....

Reader, Have you ever looked back at the art you made as a child and thought, “What happened?” Maybe you used to draw without thinking too much about whether something was good. You could put a bunch of different objects together into a scene without worrying about whether they belonged there, you just made things. Somewhere along the way, expectations crept in. The sky should be blue. People should look a certain way. Your drawing should make sense. Your composition should be good. Your...

Hi Reader, Have you ever finished a painting or drawing and thought: “Okay… but how do I make this feel like MY art?” Maybe you’re actually pretty good at following a tutorial now. You can find a photo reference, work from it, and create something that looks good. But then you try to create without the tutorial or reference telling you exactly what to do… And suddenly, it feels like all that skill has disappeared. I know this feeling well. For years, I thought using photo references was part...

Hi Reader, I have a question for you: Can you draw something realistically from memory? If your answer is no, you’re in very good company. In my 20-something years of teaching, I’ve met maybe one or two people who could draw realistically from memory. I remember one student in particular who was incredibly good at drawing horses. She spent a huge amount of time around horses, drawing them from observation, studying photographs, and then drawing and painting horses from her imagination when...

Hi Reader, This summer is the first time I've allowed myself a real break. I'm playing with reusable water balloons, swimming at the Y with my little, and pulling out watercolors when little wants to do art. It feels good to let off the pressure I constantly place on myself: more videos, more art, more, more, more...I told myself I want a summer of less. Less online.Less time scarcity. Less distraction. And I feel something shifting. I have new ideas for video content, I have some headspace...

Hi Reader, One of the most remarkable examples in art history is Hilma af Klint. Years before abstract art became associated with artists like Wassily Kandinsky, Hilma af Klint was creating large-scale abstract paintings unlike anything being exhibited at the time. She believed deeply in the work she was making, even though she knew the art world wasn’t ready to understand it. In fact, she requested that much of her work not be shown publicly until decades after her death. Read that one more...

Hi Reader,In this new Style Study Session, we are exploring the work of Richard Diebenkorn, an artist whose paintings move between abstraction and landscape with a quiet sense of structure, space, and clarity. At first glance, his work can feel simple. But when you slow down and look closer, you start to see how intentional every decision is. In this video, I break his work down using the Six Qualities of Style, so you can understand:• How composition creates structure and flow in his...