News
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5 Oil Painting Tips for Beginners
If you’ve never learned how to play music, sitting with a group of musicians using technical terms to describe their work can be a whirlwind of confusing, beautiful language. A similar situation can occur when speaking with artists who paint with oils: suddenly you’re in a conversation where the...Read more -
The Elements of Painting
The elements of painting are the basic components or building blocks of a painting. In Western art, they are generally considered to be color, tone, line, shape, space, and texture. In general, we tend to agree that there are seven formal elements of art. However, in a two-dimensional medium, fo...Read more -
Featured Artist: Mindy Lee
Mindy Lee’s paintings use figuration to explore changing autobiographical narratives and memories. Born in Bolton, England, Mindy graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2004 with an MA in Painting. Since graduating, she has held solo exhibitions at Perimeter Space, Griffin Gallery and ...Read more -
Spotlight on: Ruby Madder Alizarin
Ruby Mander Alizarin is a new Winsor & Newton colour formulated with the benefits of synthetic alizarin. We rediscovered this color in our archives, and in a color book from 1937, our chemists decided to try to match this powerful dark-hued Alizarin Lake variety. We still have the notebooks ...Read more -
The meaning behind green
How often do you think about the backstory behind the colors you choose as an artist? Welcome to our in-depth look at what green means. Maybe a lush evergreen forest or a lucky four-leaf clover. Thoughts of freedom, status, or jealousy may come to mind. But why do we perceive green in this way? ...Read more -
Material Matters: Artist Araks Sahakyan uses Promarker Watercolour and paper to create vast ‘paper carpets’
“The pigment in these markers is so intense, this allows me to mix them in improbable ways with a result that is both chaotic and elegant.” Araks Sahakyan is a Hispanic Armenian artist who combines painting, video and performance. After an Erasmus term at Central Saint Martins in London, she grad...Read more -
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham: how her life and travel formed her artwork
Wilhelmina Barns-Graham (1912-2004), a Scottish painter, one of the main artists of the “St Ives School”, an important figure in British modern art. We learned about her work, and her foundation preserves boxes of her studio materials. Barns-Graham knew from a young age that she wante...Read more -
Featured Artist: Mindy Lee
Mindy Lee’s paintings use figuration to explore changing autobiographical narratives and memories. Mindy was born in Bolton, UK and graduated from the Royal College of Art in 2004 with an MA in Painting. Since graduating, she has held solo exhibitions at Perimeter Space, Griffin Gallery and...Read more -
Spotlight on Azo Yellow Green
From the history of pigments to the use of color in famous artworks to the rise of pop culture, every color has a fascinating story to tell. This month we explore the story behind azo yellow-green As a group, azo dyes are synthetic organic pigments; they are one of the brightest and most intense ...Read more -
Keeping solvent odours to a minimum in oil painting
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Choosing your brush
Walk into any artist’s store and the sheer number of brushes on display at first seems overwhelming. Should you choose natural or synthetic fibers? Which head shape is most suitable? Is it best to buy the most expensive one? Fear not: By exploring these questions further, you can narrow dow...Read more -
The oil painter’s guide to protecting yourself and the environment
Awareness of health and safety practices may not alwaysbe an artist’s priority, but protecting yourself and the environment is critical. Today, we are more aware of hazardous substances: the use of the most dangerous substances is either greatly reduced or eliminated entirely. But artists s...Read more