Overworking takes place when you lose control. As you fail in facility and freshness, you try to save the day with fiddle and fuss. The passage looks laboured... Read On

The heuristic process means achieving some desired result by intelligent guesswork rather than by systematic formula... Heuristic thinking generally results in reasonably close solutions. The benefits are speed and expediency... Read On

... that's why the current Orphan Works Act now being considered by the U.S. Congress is particularly baffling. Promoted by dough-head non-artists who are obviously listening to big-time lobbyists, this bill says that you the artist must now officially register every single work you wish to protect... Read On

When self-esteem is low, artists tend to give themselves a premature pat on the back. We all know of artists who are forever in a state of euphoric bliss about their essentially crumby art. These folks may rationalize that joy itself is enough, but it isn't... Read On

...One class seemed remarkably concerned with economics. "How much did you get for the first one you sold?" ($15.) "How much do you get for them now?" ($2000 to $50,000.) "What's the most you ever got for one?" ($100,000.)... Read On

When artists decide to go it alone, they have different stuff to think about. The ideal is to identify your particular and unique needs and then try to fulfill them. Nobody can much help you in this. Some artists need to shake off aspects of their art training, poisonous pedagogy or habitual methodology. Read On

Kerry Waghorn is one of the world's top caricaturists--his work syndicated in more than 400 newspapers, books and other publications... Likeness is a tough order. Caricatures present even more problems. Faces need to be simplified, yet personality and character still need to shine through... Read On

Most of our creativity takes place in the right back corner of our brains. In addition, many folks are able to toss the creative ball both fore and aft and port and starboard. One part of the brain can learn to do what another part becomes incapable of. We all have personal keys to developing our creative potential. Read On

...When we are overloaded with subject matter, we have an automatic tendency to neglect style and imagination. Subject matter is no match for spirit. Too much observation can change the creative event from one of spirit to one of rendering. Surprise, chance, illusion, personality, audacity, confidence and desire are the most affected. Abandonment and even desertion may have to be contemplated. Read On

It's been my thought that some juried shows need an appointed ombudsman to draw a line between copying and research. His or her decision needs to be final. Trouble is, copying other people's work and other people's subject matter is a traditional means of gaining proficiency. Read On

Door skin, or other thin plywood, is an excellent alternative to Masonite. I've seen no darkening or foxing on any of my panels over the forty-odd years I've been using them. Priming and preparing is a matter of personal taste. I like a couple of coats of clear acrylic medium so the colour of the wood is retained. Read On

While artistically sensitive folks may treasure paper art because of its difficulty and sensitivity, the general public often doesn't. Recently, the flooding of the market with inexpensive photo-lithos, photocopies and giclees has cast a negative light on all things paper. We need no snobbery or pecking order by media. We of the brotherhood and sisterhood need to go out of our way to praise and feature all works done with joy, integrity and quality. Read On

The creative life requires a steady progression of experimentation and discovery. First thing you know you'll feel refreshed and renewed rather than burdened with making a decision. Further, you will see a need for further refinement. Personal refinement of vision makes creativity worthwhile. Read On

When your studio work comes to a block or a problem, you need to put down your brush or send your laptop into sleep mode, and grab your hat. If you walk briskly, blood will soon be checking out the remote corners of your cortex. I've noticed that fresh ideas know no geographic spot. They merely appear, are there, and can go in a moment. Read On

The idea that specific colours have specific value has been around for a while. Universally, orange increases appetite. Blue relaxes patients after surgery. As wizards who stir the bubbling pot of illusion, we artists need to understand what power we have. Read On

Some of the other visual triggers on my list: Precious colour, Gradations big and small, Something personal, Something mysterious. The emotional brain readily and positively reads these and other indicators as they briefly but tenderly touch neural pleasure-points. Read On

Recently I had an opportunity to watch people buying my paintings. Many buyers appeared to me to just glance at a work and make up their minds then and there. This blink-of-an-eye was of course followed by the regular rationalizations that buyers go through when they're considering something. Neuroscience seems to indicate that advertising is most effective when some sort of desire synapse is triggered in a nanosecond. Read On

In his recent, remarkable book, 'America Alone,' Mark Steyn makes frequent mention of 'deferred adulthood.' Young people in their twenties and thirties are choosing to stay in their folks' homes and sidestepping responsibilities. The situation may not be helped by people like me who are always trying to get folks to access their inner child. Read On

Whether your work is in the National Gallery or in Heidi Fleiss's House of Ill Repute, your prices to the general public need to be the same. This means that only you control the final price. The percentage that various venues take is negotiated from your standard pricing. Wandering prices are most unfair to your collectors and spoil the steady upward progression an artist can enjoy during a lifetime of creativity. Read On

In my less palmy days I said yes to everything. I needed the money. Also, this had me do things I would not otherwise have done. But I soon realized that the customer's vision and my vision did not always match. As I became more confident, I adopted a compromise. I always said 'yes'--I never said 'when.' Read On

my daughter Sara and I were painting at the end of the Laniloa Peninsula, Oahu, Hawaii. From a parked car nearby, a young man in a white shirt and tie watched her out of the corner of his eye. he rolled down his window and said, 'That girl just took out a canvas and started painting. She hardly drew things out at all.' I told him the girl was my daughter and that she was working 'alla prima--all at once.' Read On

One of humanity's persistent habits is to colour ourselves with pigments and coloured objects. Interestingly, it's the colours black and white that have the most differentiating variations in the vocabularies of the world's languages. Next to black and white, red is the most popular colour. It's safe to say that with the advent of modern dyes and pigments, there is more colour around these days. Read On

What makes some of us better at our work than others? The answer lies not in over-control, or even trying to understand the mystery of the creative process. Each and every player needs to simply try to improve, a little bit here, a little bit there, as it comes. The secret is 'tweak.' Both Thomas Keller and Brad Bird say you can't force creative ideas. You build the creative environments that produce a creative state of mind. Both cook and film director aim at spontaneity. Read On

While preciousness of original art is a factor, there are many reasons for duplication, not the least of which is the potential extension of financial return. I've also talked to disappointed potential buyers who were sad to report an overabundance of prints. Somehow, there's still something pure about an original. Read On

I was at my easel when a courier delivered an envelope from a friend. The letter stated that in 1974 I had brought some of my work to his office, and he had never paid me for them. Over the phone, Lorne and I had a good laugh. I put his mind at ease by disclosing my own sloppy billing and sieve-like mind. I then ran them by my current price list, cut that in half, and he cut me a cheque. Read On

Sometimes it's a good idea to cruise your work to see if a few soft edges might improve things. Soft technique comes naturally to some. For others, the soft-hard push-pull has to be worked at. While feathered edges and soft transitions can give the feeling of speed and painterly freshness, achieving these effects can be time-consuming and fiddly. Read On

Edward Vincent wrote: "No matter what type of painting I do, my work looks infinitely better in half or reduced light." There are several significant deceptions happening when you view your work in half-light. Like buying a car in a dark alley, you're inclined to miss the flaws. Invite yourself to look at work in all lights, and Above all, take every work for a walk--outdoors. Read On

Gustav Klimt wrote little, avoided cafe society and shunned other artists. The love of his life--women. Klimt's "mood landscapes," cleansed his palette like Austrian sherbet. Telescopic and well-cropped subjects stack up and reduce material to two-dimensional designs and patterns. Read On

When we think of Chinese art, we generally think of pirate factories and their websites cloning Western artists. We need to think again. China is collecting and buying art big time and its emergence as a major art player is going to affect us all. Read On

Of all the ologies, Reflexive Relaxology is one of my favorites. Speed itself unlocks the imaginative mind, increases idea turnover, aids facility and goes a long way toward avoiding dull disasters. While it may be necessary to start slowly to understand and negotiate the banks and chicanes you will eventually take at speed. Read On

On a small beach in Baha, Mexico, I set up, shaded and alone except for an occasional beach walker and the skimming pelicans. A 20" x 24" proceeded, not bad, I thought, considering the wind and the blown sand. Leaving my easel, I joined our friends on their grander beach. When I returned the painting was gone. Read On

What technology, what storage, what's best? Some experts recommend CDs over DVDs. As both these formats can also degrade, top quality discs are recommended. Also, be careful to store them away from other electronic devices, moisture and heat, and check them every few years for signs of degradation. Read On

If I had to do it all over again I would have been archiving from the get go. On my recent visit to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles I attended an exhibit of the photographer Andre Kertesz. Kertesz attracted the help and advice of young archivists. These connections were to prove valuable, both for the historical understanding of photographic art and for his own rising star. Read On

I returned to my old school. The Art Center College of Design is now located on extensive acreage above Pasadena, California. Discipline is big at Art Center. This is no place for the sloppy. Make it tough, grind them down, squeeze the good juice out of the best, discard the others. Looking back, it's not a bad system. Read On

Houdon was a man of simplicity, high spirits and openness of mind. A witty conversationalist and raconteur, he'd go anywhere at any time for a mask of life or death. He even knew the gods, goddesses and saints, and found time to sculpt Jefferson, Washington and Franklin. Read On

Acupuncturists here in California claim results in cases of "high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, chronic and acute pain, fatigue, headaches, menopausal symptoms, pregnancy, infertility, weight and immune system issues." Read On

While it's possible to create interesting work without attention to order, for most of us it's difficult. Consciously or unconsciously, our personal sense of order is vital to both style and creative satisfaction. For example, painting from foreground to background rather than background to foreground creates differing effects. While practical logic might suggest one, creative logic might suggest the other. Read On

In good times and bad, galleries are always opening and closing. It's been my experience that it's not so much the times, but the mission of the individuals running the galleries. For those who merely hang acceptable pictures on walls and who wait around until people come in, a downturn in the economy can close them. On the other hand, many dealers, including those in out-of-the-way and depressed places, seem to weather all storms. Here are a few current and timeless qualities that keep them in business... Read On

Brigitte Nowak of Cambridge, Ontario, Canada, wrote, 'Is there any chance that you might reprint the original letter sent to twenty friends that you mentioned in your book Love Letters to Art?' It was written on a vintage Spanish computer in an Internet café in Galaroza in the Sierra de Aracena, Huelva, Spain. There was no Esoterica, no clickback to follow, and no expectations. The first name on the list was Carolyn Millard. She's still accepting them. 'A Chance of Success' was sent on July 22, 1999. Read On