Author Archives: bigrburto

Experimenting With Different Drawing Styles

When selecting certain drawing styles, you can use several pencil choices in as many ways as a painter uses a brush. For example, a lively linear approach allows every pencil stroke to show. If you wish to have a smooth … Continue reading →

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Artist For More Than Half a Century and Still Going Strong

“I never saw a good artist I could not steal from.”~Pablo Picasso “I never steal another artists work. I just take it to my level.”~Lynn Burton I recall as a young teenager (fifty-five years ago!) watching my artist brother, Lynn … Continue reading →

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Thanksgiving and the American Dream

In the fall of 1621, the Pilgrims of the Plymouth Colony shared the first Thanksgiving with the Wampanoag tribe of Indians. There are few of us that were taught correctly about the landing of the Mayflower, the settlement of the … Continue reading →

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Art Tip: Think in Terms of Shapes and Value Masses

If you eliminate all details and color in your future painting, you can see how the composition is expressed as three value masses — black or darkest, mid-range (gray), and light or white. This works especially well when considering landscape … Continue reading →

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Experimenting With Color

“There are just so many notes in music and just so many colors, but it’s the beautiful combination that makes the masterpiece.”~Charles Hawthorne Exercise 1: I like to think of a color wheel to not be a wheel at all, … Continue reading →

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An Artist’s Path to Simplicity is Wrought With Complications

An artist’s path to simplicity is often wrought with complications. The more I try to think of an interesting and simple composition, the more it trends toward a complicated one. Usually, these become quick sketches set aside to become a … Continue reading →

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Painting Color Shapes With Deliberate Brushstrokes

As Artists, we sometimes lose the ability to paint as deliberately as normal when confronted with something appearing difficult or confusing, something we’re unable to interpret as shapes of color. For example, think of sunlight shining through a crystal vase. … Continue reading →

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Tax Tip For Artists~For Profit or Not For Profit

When considering taxes for artists, there are differences in the tax treatment of art businesses and art hobbies. One particular difference is that on an individual return businesses losses can offset other income, but hobbies can not. Therefore it is … Continue reading →

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