The article provides a concise guide to stretching watercolor paper, a crucial technique to prevent buckling and ensure even paint absorption.

An Artist Statement is an important and necessary part of your body of work. You'll need one for submissions to colleges, exhibitions, galleries - even on your website. It's a way for the viewer to get to know you, separate from your visual work. You may find it difficult to write one, so we've created an exercise that will help.

Sometimes a question may sound so ridiculous that you may feel it doesn’t deserve an answer. You may have experienced that yourself: hesitated to ask a question for the fear of not looking good. Do you know that Einstein’s teachers were annoyed with him for asking “silly questions”? Wouldn’t it be cool to know what he asked? Our teachers believe that if you have a question, you must ask it; at Prima Materia, we applaud those brave enough to ask - because it can open up an interesting conversation that otherwise wouldn't happen. Read this blog article, where Olya Losina has a surprising answer to a similarly surprising question.

Composition is the invisible, integral foundation to a well-designed artwork. Learn about this underrated but crutial aspect of any art piece.

It’s no secret that the world of education has changed dramatically in recent years. In this article, we talk about why we decided to close our physical studio for the first time in 30 years and focus on our online curriculum.

Learning how to look at art in a museum will give you a more meaningful experience - for art lovers, art students, and beginner artists.

Have a few drawings made with charcoal or pastels? If you haven’t sprayed them with fixative yet, you’re probably worried about smudging them. In this tutorial, we’ll show you how to use fixative spray correctly so you can preserve your pencil, charcoal, or pastel drawings.

One of the cardinal differences between a Great Master and a mediocre artist is the tonal awareness. It's easy to identify if a painter was aware of tonal values by looking at their artwork. Understanding tonal values is important even for a sculptor. Sculpting, too, requires learning to see. In art, “looking” requires a specific technique!

How can you stand out among tens of thousands of applicants? It seems impossible with the sea of college students, all hoping to be accepted to the same school with a limited amount of spots. One way that we know is tried and true is having a strong art portfolio. In this article, we’ll talk about the five top topics to keep in mind while putting together your portfolio.

Titles can bring a new quality to an artwork that, without it, would be less interesting. A title can be connected to what you see literally, but it can be suggesting another story, other than what is depicted. Titles are a great way to add another layer to an art piece, without having to illustrate it on the piece itself.

Rachel Dinwiddie is one of our College Portfolio Students that has recently blossomed into an audacious artist. When Rachel first came to our studio, she comfortable with small paintings - her largest piece was the size of a sheet of paper. After a year of classes, she was painting large scale and began winning awards.