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  We don't perceive reality like a camera does, especially when it comes to color. We unconsciously alter the colors in our world in subjective ways . For instance, we tend to increase the intensity of the colors of objects that interest us, and we end up painting them more vividly than they actually are. However, in the visual world...

Obviously with this stickman, its not the subject. Some artists paint portraits without referring to their subject, whether it be a live model or a photograph.  Creative? Yes. Spontaneous? Maybe. Smart? Well....not if you care that your painting actually resembles the person you are painting. Ok, time for a disclaimer: I'm not advocating becoming a slave to the photograph, but...

Lately, there seems to be a push towards a different type of airbrushing... the kind that involves speed. We've seen some prominent instructors advising young artists to paint as quickly as possible, with little or no regard for results, so we felt it's time to offer a message of our own.  Artists, do you want to compromise the quality of...

Distractions can bring a project to a complete stop, but only if you allow them to. Some artists let the smallest obstacle stop them dead in their tracks.In the worst cases, distractions can also prevent you from moving your whole artistic career forward. Don't become mired down in drama, criticism, negativity, worry, or other people's problems. Accelerate your goals, and...

  To the chagrin of many clean freaks out there, it must be understood that disassembling and reassembling your airbrush after every painting session will cause more damage than just about anything short of downright dropping it. The wear and tear of taking your airbrush apart between sessions will strip down the threads and result in loss of air-tightness around...

GIGO. It took me a over decade to learn this... I suppose it was because I thought at the time that I knew what I was doing. However, it finally dawned on me that if I start out with a bad reference, I will most likely end up with a bad portrait painting. It's far better to start out with...

Mistake 12:  Beware of airbrush gimmicks. It's a commonly held belief that simply throwing money at something will make it better. However, when it comes to airbrushing, this is rarely the case!The internet has made it easy for anyone to purchase a wide variety of items to trick out their airbrush. Artists will often throw money at a new product...

Putting lubricant in the air valve assembly. Just don’t do it! Nope. Never. Most lubricants will just leave a residue that will make your airbrush sticky in the long run. Dry is good. Residue is bad. If you feel that you HAVE to use a lubricant (and there really is no good reason that you would ever need to), use...