Compendium of free art lessons

Read an essay on art

Color Theory Slide Shows

The Third Dimension, an essay on how to get depth on the picture plane

Lesson 1 - Getting started. Learning to look. Do a small monochrome painting with emphasis on the big shapes.
Lesson 2 - Simplify what you see to only three values
Lesson 3 - The edges. Working in monochrome, explore lost and found edges.
Lesson 4 - What is the difference between oils, alkyds, acrylics. Values and grounds and the limited palette
Lesson 5 - Seeing negative spaces; warm and cool color palette, and exercise in mixing greys.
Lesson 6 - Creating effective shadows
Lesson 7 - Understanding Contrast and Key in a painting.
Lesson 8 - Finding the "Home Value"
Lesson 9 - Local color and using warm and cool to lighten/darken.
Lesson 10 - Seeing complementary color in shadows.
Lesson 11 - Color temperature: painting warm and cool.
Lesson 12 - Reflected light in shadows.
Lesson 13 - Figure-ground concept; composition.
Lesson 14 - Relative transparency -- an exercise.
Lesson 15 - Hue and chroma.
Lesson 16 - Exercise in black and white.
Lesson 17 - Compositional shape.
Lesson 18 - Using broken color.
Lesson 19 - Depth in a painting.
Lesson 20 - Using warm and cool greys.
Lesson 21 - Reading the "value" of a color.
Lesson 22 - Practicing composition.
Lesson 23 - Finding the "message."
Lesson 24 - Color value scale exercise.
Lesson 25 - Interpretations of a theme.
Lesson 26 - Observing and duplicating.
Lesson 27 - Varying intensity.
Lesson 28 - Interpreting a composition as either warm or cool.
Lesson 29 - Closure: suggesting a form.
Lesson 30 - Coming up with a Pricing concept for your art.
Lesson 31 - Line as a design element: Contour drawing.
Lesson 32 - Varieties of "contrast".
Lesson 33 - Juxtaposing complements of the same value.
Lesson 34 -Juxtaposing opposites.
Lesson 35 - Color "rules" from Charles Sovek.
Lesson 36 - The interpretive ability of the artist
Lesson 37 - Notes on composition basics
Lesson 38 - Some discussion about your color palette choices
Lesson 39 - Stretching a canvas
Lesson 40 - Green and Landscape Painting