Landscape to Paint: Colorado's Hill Country

In today’s edition of New Art!, I’m always impressed with some of the spectacular scenery the state of Colorado has to offer, from the flat Eastern plains to the sharp cliffs of Ouray and Telluride. In the middle of teaching a landscape painting class, I painted this piece as a class demo from a photo…

Read More

Stop Motion Easter Animation – Matthew 26:31

Part of the core of what we do at Painting for Life is our faith. As the Easter season approaches, we do occasionally like to bring attention to our belief in a loving God who sent His Son to redeem a cursed world through a cruel sacrifice. In Matthew 26:31, Jesus predicts His death by…

Read More

The Future of Children's Literature: The Story Behind the Art

This new piece, co-illustrated by both Benjamin Hummel and Cherish Flieder, tackles the question, what role does children’s literature have as we move full steam into the 21st century? We certainly live in a changing world. Book sales nationwide continue to drop–magazine and newspapers are going out of business left and right. We are in…

Read More

Pikes Peak with Wild Lavender (or Purple Mountain Majesties)

I am reminded of a few lines from one of our most beloved patriotic songs. “O beautiful for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, For purple mountain majesties Above the fruited plain…”The song was first written as a poem titled, “”Pikes Peak,”” written in 1895 by Katharine Lee Bates, inspired by a trip she…

Read More

Right Field: The Story Behind the Art

The phenomenon of little league sports can be pretty humorous at times. Attending many such outings with my younger brothers, there were always two or three (usually my siblings among them), who would find interest in anything other than the game in which they participated. It was easy to spot the casual player compared to…

Read More

A Dragon Named Trouble

This piece was co-illustrated by Cherish Flieder and Benjamin Hummel according to their acclaimed Been Cherished style. The story is simple. There is a dragon named Trouble who would love to come inside the kingdom. So he makes his appeal to the children guarding the gate. The boy thinks he remembers this dragon being here…

Read More

After The Cattle Drive: The story behind the art

It’s the end of the 1800s and cattle ranching is a good profession into which a young man can invest his life. This isn’t to say that it’s easy living. For months on end, the elements of outdoor nature pound brutally against him as he tries to make sure not a single head of cattle…

Read More

Montauk Point Lighthouse original oil painting

Out on the tip of Long Island is a quaint little town called Montauk. Soft, sandy beaches churn up the Atlantic and the vegetation and humidity is thick. Take the road all the way past the town and to the end of the island and you’ll end up in a parking lot, and at Montauk…

Read More

Perspective Drawing Made Easy!

“There’s something wrong with my drawing!” You recognize it. You can’t quite pinpoint what it is. The chances are good that the perspective is off. Many great artists find their work lacks professional polish because of one reason alone. They do not have a good understanding of perspective. Perspective drawing is one of the few…

Read More

Fireworks Craft

This simple craft is perfect for your middle school art students. It’s very easy to do, and I have found that even non-artistic adults have enjoyed doing this. However, one word of caution, this is a hands on project… you will get messy. Supplies Paper –You can use either pre-colored paper, such as a construction…

Read More