I was recently commissioned to do a painting. Now, commissions bring a particular set of challenges to the table, but in the case of this most recent painting, there was an additional caveat: the client wanted the piece to look like an older painting of mine.

Of course, I don’t want to just make a copy of an older painting – doing that wouldn’t be interesting to me, and the end result would be boring.

Watch the video and let me know what you think. What challenges do you encounter with commissions?

In gratitude, Nicholas

PS I’m starting a private Art2Life Facebook group soon, and I would love for you to be a part of it! It’s totally free, and in it I’ll be sharing more content like this, as well as some other cool things!

It’s not ready just yet, but in the meantime if you want to register, click here and my team will get in touch with you when the private group opens!

PSS Here is a photo of the painting the client wanted me to copy:

Oil paint has always been a part of my practice, but recently I’ve been using drawing materials as well.

The combination of these two mediums has led my work in some exciting new directions, and as such I thought I would take a moment to share what I use.

Watch the video and let me know what you think – have you started using any new materials with your work, and if so, what are they? I would love to know!

In gratitude, Nicholas

PS I’m starting a private Art2Life Facebook group soon, and I would love for you to be a part of it! It’s totally free, and in it I’ll be sharing more content like this, as well as some other cool things!

It’s not ready just yet, but in the meantime if you want to register, click here and my team will get in touch with you when the private group opens!

Hope to see you there!

Often times inviting change into one’s work is a deliberate process.

Case in point is my current body of work: lately I’ve found that I am creating pieces that look too familiar to what came before,
and as a whole they lack a certain freshness or spontaneity that is crucial to my practice.

So, the question becomes, how to get around this? How to ignite that creative spark?

Click on the image to watch the video and let me know what you think – how do you deal with artistic roadblock?

In gratitude, Nicholas

PS I’m starting a private Art2Life Facebook group soon, and I would love for you to be a part of it! It’s totally free, and in it I’ll be sharing more content like this, as well as some other cool things!

It’s not ready just yet, but in the meantime if you want to register, click here and my team will get in touch with you when the private group opens!

Hope to see you there!

I recently started 2 new pieces and for a moment I had a bit of anxiety, trying to figure out where to begin! And then I remembered the secret to getting started.

Click on the image to watch the video and share your thoughts and comments. What is the first thing you do when you have a new piece?

This year has definitely been one of changes for my art practice. For example, when it came to mixing color, I used to just make tiny little puddles. Now however, I’ve started mixing much more pigment at one time – almost enough to fill a bucket! This has had a positive effect on my practice, as it has allowed me to work on multiple pieces at once with even more ease.

Click on the image to watch the video and let me know what you think – what is your process for mixing color?

In gratitude, Nicholas

Recently I’ve been trying to adjust the way I start my paintings. Specifically, I’ve been postponing analyzing the marks I put down for as long as possible. By doing this, I’ve found that I am not only able to work faster, but also with greater success.

Watch the video and let me know what you think – what is your process when you start a new painting?

In gratitude, Nicholas

I thought I would take a moment to share with you some of the materials I use most often while painting. They’ve really helped improve my practice.

What tools do you use while working? I would really like to know!

I wanted to share with you a little about my painting process, and the importance of working on multiple pieces at once.

Watch the video and let me know what you think. Do you work on several paintings at the same time?

In gratitude, Nicholas

I was working on a painting today and was having a bit of difficultly figuring out where to go next…and then the solution hit me!

Click on the image to watch the video and let me know what you think – how do you get past potential roadblocks in your art?

Best, Nicholas

I’ve recently had a change in how I think about my work when it is not going as well as I want it to. This change has helped me regain control of my creative process and has made it so much easier to paint.

Take a moment to watch the video, and let me know how you stay in control of your work.