videoA Walk through the 2012 Festival of the Arts in Paso Robles, California

The theme of the Paso Robles Festival of the Arts, 2012, is "Local Color: Celebrating Authentic Beauty." Truly, beauty was everywhere. There was so much to see and do and hear at the festival that one person cannot take in everything in one day....

How to Paint En Plein Air (Outdoors)

I didn't paint this En Plein Air. But if I lived near the ocean, I would have. "Waves on Rocks" by Robert A. Sloan  Especially if you are the kind of person who gets bored with exercise for its own sake, painting outdoors or "en plein air" as the...

Impressionist Artists: 5 Interesting Facts about Claude Monet

Claude Monet, I would say is the most well known and possibly most influencial Impressionist painter. He truly embodies the 'plein air' technique that is one of the main features of Impressionist painting. He painted with Renoir, Van Gogh and Manet to name just a few, as well as painting his future wife.

Painting with Derwent Aquatone Watercolor Pencils

Still rolling on my 100 Hubs Challenge... can I catch up for the three days I missed by starting late?  Derwent is a very wicked British pencil company, formerly called Rexel Cumberland, which has plotted for centuries to soak up as much of my...

Derwent Inktense Blocks

Derwent Inktense Blocks, photo by Robert A. Sloan Derwent, formerly called Rexel Cumberland, is an old, old UK company that more or less invented pencils and to this day creates more variety, inventiveness and sheer colorful weirdness in pencils and...

Art Through the Ages: Impressionism

People have made art for thousands of years, and from the beginning its style and purpose have been ever changing. The Egyptians used two-dimension pictures to record history and give information, and the Greeks and Romans used art to decorate their...

5 Tips for Using Derwent Graphitints Pencils

Oil Painting with R and F Pigment Sticks

"Oyster Creek" painting by Robert A. Sloan from photo by halthepainter on WetCanvas.com, done with R&F Pigment Sticks on canvas board. 5" x 7" Oil Sticks are not oil pastels or crayons or pastels. They're what...

Photo Gallery Featuring Some of the Artists Participating in Plein Air Coastal Delaware 2012

For 4 days in May, some of the best artists in the Mid-Atlantic region participated in the inaugural Plein Air Coastal Delaware Art Competition, Exhibition and Sale, painting and photographing southern Delaware landscapes, seascapes, churches, historic structures and boardwalk scenes. They worked outdoors from dawn to dusk regardless of the weather. Come see photographs of the artists at work and learn about the organizations that this event raised funds for.

How to paint like Thomas Kinkade: art secrets; the light in the window of the dream home

The Painter of Light - he of the sin-free world of religious fantasy - artist, Thomas Kinkade, born January 19, 1958 died suddenly at his home this month age 54. in California. He died alcoholic and bankrupt despite the extreme success of his work. Poor Thom. Like all of us, he dreamed of home. He needed a dream home more than others. As a child he came home to an empty house and his dream was a warm welcome light and a mother at home.