Category Archives: Painting How To
From concept to finished painting, in this oil painting demo, Michael Lynn Adams explains why and how he captures a peony’s soft, luminous texture by placing it on hundred-year-old art books.
I often use a harmonic symmetry armature to check and refine my compositions and as a guide for drawing my composition onto a canvas. Here, I explain with text and video, what it is; and why and how I use harmonic symmetry.
Michael Lynn Adams shares how Richard Schmid’s color chart exercise saved his art career.
Andres Leonard Zorn (1860-1920) is known for using a limited palette. It is believed that Zorn reduced his palette to as few as three rather earthy colors – Yellow Ochre, Cadmium Red Medium, Ivory Black plus White. There seems to be some disagreement over the exact number of colors on his palette. Some lists add Vermillion, Viridian, and/or Cerulean Blue.
Recently old photographs of my family have fascinated and inspired me to reinterpret them in paint. Its a special way to connect to some really wonderful people. Here, for example, is my aunt Lolo, and my father, Richard in 1927. They were Americans both born in Paris, France during the 1920s when my grandfather, Lewis Adams, was studying architecture at the École des Beaux Arts.
From concept to finished painting, in this oil painting demo, Michael Lynn Adams explains why and how he captures its soft, luminous texture and intoxicating aroma by placing it on hundred-year-old art books.
We picked the lemons, and placed them on a wooden tray bathed in the warm glow of our kitchen window. We intended to craft margaritas, this spontaneous moment ignited my creative spirit, leading me to explore the world of art. In this step-by-step guide to painting Meyer Lemons, I’ll share my inspiration and the creative process behind this painting.
Step-by-step oil painting tutorial. I walk you through my process of painting White Roses.
I painted Plums after harvesting them at a friend’s farm. This tutorial takes you step-by-step through my process of painting, Plums.
Creating beautiful oil paintings without poisoning myself and the world is important to me. I have been oil painting for nearly four decades and have never been happier than when I paint with M. Graham & Co. walnut oil based paints. Over the years I have tried nearly every high-priced professional art oils on the market and I keep coming back to M. Graham.
Meyer lemons are wonderful. They have a magic balance of tart and sweet. Perfect for making all manner of tasty treats. My favorite? Margaritas! The bounty of lemons arrives in late fall to early winter. I love that summer sunshine is packed in these beautiful fruit. These lemons were picked from a tree in our back yard and sliced in front of our kitchen window. The window faces south inviting the sunlight to flood in.
Fresh bread glistening and warm, the centerpiece of an perfect breakfast in Saint Remy de Provence. Savoring a gorgeous June morning with these treats, large cups of cafe au lait and hours of conversation is a wonderful time to remember.
This is the view from the Lafond Winery’s picnic area in Santa Barbara wine country’s Santa Rita Hills. Lafond is hands down our favorite Santa Barbara County winery. The tasting room manager and staff are good friends as is the winemaker. Plus, many items we have purchased from their wonderful gift shop that have found their way into my paintings.
The theme of this little painting, Peeled Lemons, is a favorite of mine – peeled fresh fruit with old books. This book is a prayer book dated 1715. I love the mix of textures. The intertwining of old and new intrigues me. The fleeting freshness of the lemon’s peel and juicy meat dried within hours of being peeled. The peel almost embraces the prayer book, a treasured possession of a now forgotten man or woman whose notes, written nearly 300 years ago, can be discovered on its pages.
The copper bowl used in Sunshine Bowl is usually on our mantle. We filled it full of ripe Meyer lemons from a backyard tree. I am always amazed at the bounty of fresh citrus we get in the winter. Lemons often make an appearance in my paintings. They symbolize life. Storing energy from the summer sun and the nutrition from the earth, they are the perfect, healthful fruit.