Category: tips
This collection of articles provides some discussion on different aspects of painting and my own art journey. Some of these posts are longer and more in-depth than my typical content.
Older posts are shown first.
Tips for Taking Better Photographs of Your Dog
by Simon Bland / 18 Jun 2013
The biggest limitations to using a customer's own photos as a reference for a painting are usually quantity and quality. Here are some suggestions for taking better photos of your favorite family members....
Painting Tip #1: A Simple Way to Improve a Sky Painting
by Simon Bland / 12 May 2017
For an artist there is nothing better than having good paintings on hand, ready to sell. And turning an old painting into a better one will make you happier than finding money in an old coat pocket....
Painting Tip #2: Simplify the Landscape
by Simon Bland / 15 May 2017
This is an older plein air painting that I reworked in the studio. I simplified the composition and added a few sheep for added interest....
Painting Tip #3: Add Light to a Painting to Make it More Interesting
by Simon Bland / 19 May 2017
Some revisions are made to a plein air painting of a fishing boat....
Painting Tip #4: Move the Center of Interest
by Simon Bland / 24 May 2017
In this blog post I discuss the concept of a center of interest and the way it can be used to improve a painting....
Painting Tip #5: Let the Paint Transform the Landscape
by Simon Bland / 31 May 2017
This painting was inspired by a blog post by the artist Anne Kullaf and the work of Philadelphia artist Mashiul Chowdhury...
Three Alternative Ways to Paint a Green Background
by Simon Bland / 21 Sep 2017
In this blog post I present some options for handling the bright green backgrounds that often occur in reference photos of animals....
Painting Animals in the Landscape
by Simon Bland / 30 Sep 2017
Throughout my painting career I've painted both animal and landscapes. Yet, combining the two has always been difficult. Over the summer I spent some time on a series of paintings with animals in them. In this blog post I talk about what I learned and my experiences in painting these pieces....
How to Paint Green Landscapes
by Simon Bland / 18 Dec 2017
In this blog post I show some ways to paint landscapes without using out-of-the-tube greens and some strategies for using greens more effectively. I will try to answer the question: "What are the best oil colors for landscape painting?" ...
Extended Block-In Method for Landscape Paintings
by Simon Bland / 14 Mar 2019
This article describes the way in which I've enhanced my block-in techniques to create a more fluid and abstract base for my landscape paintings. ...
Three Lessons I Learned About Seascape Painting
by Simon Bland / 10 May 2019
A look at some new seascape paintings and a brief discussion of some of the basic principles involved in creating them....
An Easy Way to Rescue Failed Paintings
by Simon Bland / 19 Jul 2019
One advantage of painting on panels is that you can occasionally salvage a painting by removing part of it with a saw. In this blog post I show some of the pieces I recently created by cropping down old paintings....
Working From Photos: New Paintings Summer 2021
by Simon Bland / 25 Jul 2021
This article shows some of my recent work—all painted from reference photos—with a description of how I tried to get beyond the photo in each case....
Using Blender to Create Artist's Reference Images
by Simon Bland / 03 Nov 2022
In this article, I set out to examine whether models created in Blender can be used as reference images for traditional artwork....
A Short Guide to GIMP 2.10 Plugins
by Simon Bland / 29 Jan 2024
This article provides a brief guide to getting started with automated image editing in GIMP. ...
Increasing Your Exposure—Studio Safety for Professional Artists
by Simon Bland / 31 Mar 2024
Did you ever wonder if there was a single thing that could differentiate professional artists from amateur artists?...
Data Analysis of My Art Business
by Simon Bland / 21 Jan 2025
For the entirety of my career as a professional artist, I've kept detailed records of all the work I've created. This is a basic analysis of the data....