Art by Simon Bland


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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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....