How To Price Your Art

This video provides practical tips and important factors to consider when pricing your artwork. Factors to consider are the type of venue where you sell your artwork, whether you sell in an art gallery or online can greatly impact your prices. Concrete details such as the art media used, and the size of the artwork […]

Sketchbook Prompts 1

How do you start a page in your sketchbook when you don’t know what to draw, or feel unmotivated? (or both!) See a drawing demo which provides several prompts for how to get your creative juices flowing. Contrary to the sketchbooks you see on Instagram, real artist sketchbooks are a mess, full of scraps of […]

What Should Be in a Sketchbook?

A lot of artists worry about what “should” be in their sketchbook, the answer is, ANYTHING! Contrary to the sketchbooks you see on Instagram, real artist sketchbooks are a mess, full of scraps of ideas, crummy looking doodles and drawings, and are rarely finished. See what your sketchbook “should” be: a glorious mess of whatever. […]

How Do I Know My Artwork is Finished?

How do you know your artwork is finished??? In every artwork, it’s never clear when an artwork is done! This video provides tips for signals in your creative process that you can look for. What are visual cues in your artwork that you can look for to determine whether your artwork is finished or not? […]

5 Tips for a Home Art Studio

Here are 5 tips for setting up an effective art studio at home, explaining methods for creating an alert, productive mindset in place for the home studio as well as practical aspects such as keeping your space clean and functional. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artists Lauryn Welch & Alex Rowe. […]

Artists & Imposter Syndrome

Imposter syndrome is an ongoing concern for many artists. All artists experience imposter syndrome at some point, no matter how accomplished or experienced you are! This video explores several solutions than can get you to shift away from toxic thinking patterns. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artists Alex Rowe and Eloise […]

5 Reasons Instagram Can Be Toxic for Artists

This video explains the ways that Instagram can have a harmful effect on artists. It’s easy to compare yourself to other artists you see on Instagram, see all of their success, their “perfect” artworks and feel like you are the only artist in the world who struggles. We all do! Solutions for how to combat […]

Accepted Yale & Hunter MFA Painting Portfolios

The process of preparing a portfolio for an MFA studio art requires a level of maturity and engagement with critical thinking. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu, Yale MFA graduate Leyla Faye and Hunter College MFA graduate (and Art Prof Teaching Artist) Lauryn Welch. 3 min. version ~ 44 min. version At the MFA […]

Art Major in College vs. Art School

What is it like being an art major at a university vs. attending art school? This video weighs the pros and cons of being at an art major at a university, how it affects how to approach the college admissions process, how to figure out whether studying art at a college is a better fit […]

Cold Calling & Emails for Artists

Cold Calling as an artist can be an effective way to create professional opportunities for yourself. This video explains how to research specific people to contact, the logistics of how to write an introductory email that is professional and succinct, and then how to follow up in a manner that is not intrusive or demanding. […]

Self Promotion Mistakes Artists Should Avoid

How do you promote yourself as an artist without being too pushy? This video explains what practices to avoid when promoting your artwork online. Factors such as appropriate online etiquette, fostering a professional relationship first before asking for help, will let you avoid the risk of coming across as pushy and self absorbed. Discussion led […]

Painting Curriculum

The complete Painting Curriculum for Self-taught Artists is a series of 2 videos. The Curriculum’s document is a complementary resource for both videos. Painting 1: Types of Paint Painting 2: Painting Prompts Painting 3: Painting Tools

Elements of Art: Color

Color is one of the Elements of Art that is essential to a work of art. Here is an overview of the various components of color to be considered: saturation, value, contrast, complementary color pairs, warm & cool colors, and more. This video provide examples of contemporary art and images from art history where texture […]

Natural Light vs Artificial Light

Lighting plays a huge role for artists and can dramatically effect the mood of an artwork. This video explains the differences between artificial light and natural light in illustrations, paintings, comics, films, animation and more. Examples in art show how natural lighting and artificial lighting create different visual affects, and how that can impact the […]

Painting Curriculum 2: Prompts

Part 2 of this painting curriculum provides painting prompts that will stimulate all areas of painting, and that can be done in any paint media. Including: color, brushwork, thumbnails, composition, and more in order to gain a well rounded skill set in painting. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artist Alex Rowe. […]

Painting Curriculum 1: Types of Paint

This video explains the various types of paint: oil, acrylic, flashe acrylic, encaustic, casein, mixed media, fresco, outdoor paints, egg tempera, air brush, ink, enamel, oil bars, gouache, acryl gouache, and watercolor. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artist Lauryn Welch, who outline part 1 of our painting curriculum for self-taught artists.  […]

Summer Pre-College Programs

New England Massachusetts College of Art & DesignSummer Studios Application Deadline: AprilDuration: 3 weeksDates: July-AugustEligibility: entering grades 11, 12 Boston UniversityVisual Arts Summer Institute Application Deadline: MarchDuration: 4 weeksDates: JulyEligibility: ages 15-18 Suffolk UniversityPre-College Program Duration: 5 weeksDates: July- AugustEligibility: ages Champlain CollegeArt & Design Portfolio Building Course Application Deadline: MayDuration: 2 weeksDates:  JulyEligibility: rising high school juniors & seniors Lesley University College of Art & DesignPre-College Program Duration: 2 weeks, […]

May 2021: Abstract Art à la Carte

Submissions are closed. Art Dare Prompt Pick 1 tool + 1 surface + 1 shape and create abstract artworks from your own visual “menu”. You can only use 1 tool in 1 artwork. Inspiration The following artists are also a good source of inspiration for this prompt: Torkwase Dyson Dorothea Rockburne Elliott Hundley Tauba Auerbach […]

April 2021 Winners

This video shows the results of the 2021 April Art Dare: “Selfie Self-Portraits,” where participants were asked create artwork in any medium based on a selfie! The art dare challenged people to play with distortion, exaggeration, point of view, foreshortening, and more in their self-portraits. Discussion led by Art Prof Clara Lieu and Teaching Artist […]

How to Write an Artist Statement

A complete guide Artist statements often feel like a contradiction for many artists, and it’s a process that most us dread as artists. Asking someone who is used to expressing themselves visually to write a statement feels unfair, if we were good at writing we would have been writers!  However, artist statements are an important […]

Art Commissions Guide

Most artists are not prepared for how dicey commissions can be. This page is a complete guide to every facet of doing commissions so you can see the entire process from beginning to end. Commissioned artwork can be anything: a portrait, a wedding gift, artwork for a hotel, etc. Unfortunately, there are no universal rules […]

Why Did You Light Your Painting on Fire?

By: Monika Hedman I often get asked why I use unconventional materials in my artwork. I paint with instant coffee grounds and sand, and I sculpt with recycled pallets and plastic shopping bags.  Seventeen years ago, Heinz released a line of brightly colored ketchup called “EZ Squirt.” As much as I loved drawing on paper, I loved […]

Art Supplies on a Budget: Get Away With Paying Less

By: Olivia Hunter Buying art supplies for my classes at Parsons School of Design can be quite an ordeal. All art and design students have to endure many trips to the nearest art supply store for their classes; it’s just a part of life at an art school. Whenever I take a trip to Blick, I’m usually pleasantly […]

Multi-Color Linoleum Printmaking

This video shows multi-color linoleum block printing techniques from beginning to end, in order to create an editorial illustration. The process begins by brainstorming ideas from an article in the New York Times, and then transitions into drawing a mind map and into drawing thumbnail sketches. Techniques for carving into the linoleum are done, showing […]

BBQ Squid: Mixed Media Acrylic Painting

Teaching Artist Lauryn Welch demonstrates techniques for creating a mixed media acrylic painting that is inspired by a taste of a texture. Inspired by her experience eating BBQ squid at a Japanese restaurant in New York City, Lauryn creates a thumbnail sketch using Copic sketch markers to plan for the acrylic painting. Lauryn explains different […]

3D Design: Chipboard

Art Prof Clara Lieu presents a basic 3D design project using chipboard and glue guns to construct a sculpture which is an abstract representation of the artist’s personality, with Annelise Yee. Prof Lieu begins with a brainstorming activity as a starting point for generating shapes and designs that will visually show an artist’s personality. Cutting […]

Creative DIY Home Art Supplies

There’s a lot around the house that students can experiment with and incorporate into art projects. Here are some of our favorites. Paint materials • Drawing tools • 3D • Collage Paint materials Flower PetalsMost colored flower petals can be rubbed into paper to make lovely patches of color. TurmericMix turmeric with a bit of water and […]

Set up, Equipment & Software to Live Stream

Essential equipment Blue Snowball iCE USB Mic Most people don’t realize that good audio quality is MORE important than good video quality. Poor audio can cause people to stop watching, whereas most people are willing to tolerate moderate quality video. Logitech C922x Pro Stream WebcamUse a rubber band to attach the webcam to the mic […]

OBS Studio Tutorial for Art Demos

OBS Studio is free software that can be used to create a customized layouts for an online, hands on art demo. This video explains how to organize and set up scenes in OBS in a manner that is streamlined and efficient. Topics covered include the variety of sources OBS provides, how to add multiple camera […]

How to Set up a Live Stream Art Demo

With many schools teaching art remotely, Art Prof Clara Lieu explains how to do an art demo online. Prof Lieu explains the pros and cons of doing live demonstrations vs. pre-recorded demonstrations. This video provides detailed information about options for equipment to purchase and how to create a set up including light, a mic, a […]

Art School Portfolio Examples

Join us LIVE Tues Oct 21 @ 8pm EST Lauryn Welch RISD 2010-2012, Purchase College 2015 “I don’t think I was technically very skilled, but I liked to be cheeky with the concepts in my work, and that made people laugh.  I think it’s really important to go beyond making art that looks pretty or […]

Intro to Oil Painting: Part 2 – Step by step

Part 2 of this intro to oil painting tutorial walks you through every step of the process to paint a lobster in a still life. Watch Part 1. Prof Lieu talks about how to premix your colors with a palette knife, lighting & shadow, brush techniques, how to layer your oil paint, the differences between […]