Brushstrokes.tv Blog

Welcome Dee Teller

Brushstrokes.TV is proud to welcome Dee Teller, internationally-recognized Asian brushwork artist, to our family of talented presenters. Dee shares her expertise in the fine art of calligraphy and brushwork in an upcoming series.

In the first episode, Dee discusses an introductory approach to Asian brush painting and calligraphy, covering proper stance, brush placement, materials, and technique of this ancient art form.  She shares her personal stories and travels along the way.

Coming soon to Brushstrokes.TV is an in-depth interivew with Dee herself, as well as continued tutorials on collage work and the painting of The Horse--one of her prize-winning specialties.

Look for the first episode of Dee's series in the "Let's Explore" channel at www.brushstrokes.tv!

"Urban Cityscapes" DVD Out Now!

Join watercolorist Dick Graves in five lessons on abstract watercolor, using the energy and pulsing life of an urban cityscape as your muse.

In the Urban Cityscapes DVD, Dick walks you through the techniques needed to achieve a striking watercolor piece, from sketch to completion. Working in full sheet, you will learn how to use your body in the painting process. And Dick shares his expert advice in such crucial watercolor topics as value and color balance, perspective, and composition. (approximate running time: 1hr 50mins)

Dick encourages his students to have fun with color and design—and to have fun with the painting experience. For more watercolor lessons with Dick, visit www.brushstrokes.tv.

Order your copy today at www.hobbyworld.tv!

Spooky Specials at HobbyWorld.TV!

Save $10 when you spend $75 at HobbyWorld.TV!

There are lots of tricks and things that go bump in the night on Halloween, so why not treat yourself to something that makes you smile instead? 

This week only, treat yourself to a spooky special on anything in our store. When you spend $75 or more, you will receive $10 off your order!

Visit us at www.hobbyworld.tv and enter in the special coupon code SPOOKY11 at checkout to receiveyour special savings. (US customers only)

Happy Halloween!

Drawing an Eye with Caitlin

How do you draw the perfect eye? Caitlin shows you how on this latest release from Brushstrokes.TV. Click here to watch!

Introduction to Pastels

New to Brushstrokes.TV is an exclusive series on introductory pastels, taught by experienced pastel instructor Marcus Moller.  

Marcus teaches the basics of pastel drawing, including underpainting, composition, blending, and other crucial application techniques.

Log on to Brushstrokes.TV for three episodes with Marcus: Beginning Pastels, Foundations of Pastel Application: Episode 1, and Foundations of Pastel Application: Episode 2. Marcus demonstrates his techniques while completing a lovely pastel landscape.

Taught from his home in Morristown, Minnesota, the segments offer a unique perspective on the delicate art of pastels.

Stay tuned to Brushstrokes.TV for more pastel demonstrations with Marcus this winter.

 

New Series Starting This Week

We have three great new project series starting this week on Brushstrokes.TV.

First, another mixed media by Tine Donahue.  She shows you how to paint intricate detail in a stunning watercolor seahorse complete with textured pencil background.

 

Next, join Dick Graves in painting a simple, rural town in his iconic colors in Valley Town: Episode 1. He offers lessons in highlighting and composition here.

 

And lastly, explore the use of copic markers with Caitlin Donahue in A Meadow in Copic Markers: Episode 1. She shows you how to get fabulous watercolor-like results from these Japanese, alcohol-based markers.

 

Look for these episodes under the Latest Films section and check back in the coming weeks for more in these great series.

Bead Artist Turned Painter

Tine Donahue, a talented artist of many mediums, is a regular on another of our TV sites, Bead.TV.  On this station she makes anything from gorgeous beaded jewelry to creative pieces made of metal wire.

We recently learned however that she is also a talented painter, specializing in watercolor and pencil mixed media paintings.  Coming from a background in mural painting (Tine has painted several wall-size murals for the Southeastern Minnesota school district for which she works), she recently started dabbling in watercolor with astounding results.

We invited Tine to share some of her work in the Brushstrokes.TV studio, and her 16-year-old daughter Caitlin happily came along.  During their visit, Tine demonstrated a soft and realistic horse portrait (horses being one of her passions) that had a watercolor foreground and a pencil background.  This film is not yet released, but you can see a sneak preview of the finished result here:

Caitlin, a talented artist like her mother, demonstrated the use of and techniques for copic markers, a specialty medium from Japan.  Caitlin has a wonderfully modern and fantastical style to her drawings, and she expertly shares them with the viewers of Brushstrokes.TV.

To view Tine and Caitlin's videos and to learn more about their techniques, visit www.brushstrokes.tv.

Watercolor Cityscape with Dick Graves

We love watercolor artisan Dick Graves and his vibrant, modern watercolor scenes. Dick recently visited the Brushstrokes.TV studio (a couple of times!) to share his techniques with us.  In one series, he paints a beautiful cityscape, and in another, a "Walk to the Beach" scene.  Visit the Watercolor Channel on Brushstrokes.TV to see all in his series.

Dick will be sharing more of his paintings with us on Brushstrokes.TV in the future, but if you can't wait until then, visit his website to see more.  Dick even sells his designs on great items like tote bags, aprons, cutting boards, even shower curtains!  Visit www.richardgraveswatercolors.com for more.

"Solitude" by Jeff Bolin

"Solitude" by Jeff Bolin, May 2011

In the latest acrylic series on Brushstrokes.TV, Jeff Bolin shows you how to paint an elderly gentleman, paying specific attention to the deep wrinkles and delicate expression of age.  Jeff recreates the painting from a photograph, but you can use his advice and techniques in the recreation of your own portraiture.

To see the first in Jeff's Age and Wisdom in Portraiture series and follow along as he paints this portrait, visit www.brushstrokes.tv.  To see more of Jeff's work, visit his website here.

A Studio on the Hillside

Brushstrokes.TV is out and about today, visiting the home studio of Joan Finnegan, a plein air oil painter who hails from the picturesque countryside of Southeastern Minnesota.  We've been blessed with sunshine and warm weather--little bit of wind though--so we'll be filming outdoors, following along as Joan paints the hillside overlooking her studio space.

Here's just a sneak peek of what we're seeing today--Joan's garden and acreage.  Gorgeous, no?

And you'll get to see it soon too, as we'll be releasing our films from today within the coming weeks.  

Looking to learn with Joan before then?  Log on at www.brushstrokes.tv to watch our many films with Joan, including discussions on plein air painting, oil painting from nature photography, and much more.  

Follow along as Joan creates the painting above in her recent Nature Painting series, available exclusively on Brushstrokes.TV.  Click here to watch.

To see more of Joan's beautiful artwork, please visit her website at www.jonifinnegan.com.