When finishing a painting, I find that small, simple adjustments are all that's needed. This was the case with a painting I've been working on lately - it was almost done, but something about the composition irked me. Then I made a simple change and suddenly...

I've been working on a painting and for some reason it just wasn't coming together...something was off. And then, the solution hit me! Click on the image to watch the video, and see how I solved the issue with my painting. In gratitude, Nicholas

Wandering through the northern Italian town of Tirano, I am struck by the very old, stonewalls. They circumscribe every property, miles of village roadways and impossibly steep hillside terraces. They are simply beautiful. Utilitarian but incredibly artful, their...

In the beginning it really helps if that beginning is totally new for you. The stakes are low but the potential is high. It can be really exciting to begin something new. The way you start is a big reason why. How do you start your work? In gratitude, Nicholas

Do you ever notice when you are creating your art how often a small section of your art will look especially better than all the rest? If you could magically crop out this one part it would be possibly the best thing you have ever made? This happens to me all the...

It's an issue that's all too common with creatives: you're working on a painting and you like what you have so far, but you don't know what to do next. Watch the video to see what I do when I encounter this with my work. What do you do when you are having trouble...

Sometimes you just get stuck. You are painting along fine and then you reach a point where you don’t know what to do. It might be because you have fallen in love and have lost objectivity. It might because the color is off somehow. But usually you stop and pullover...

We all experience ups and downs - it's part of the nature of life - but I've found that making art during the up times is much easier to do than during the down times. I realized however, after going through a bit of a down time myself recently, that getting into the...

It is not clear exactly who said “Good artists copy, but great artists steal.” It might have been Picasso. The poet TS Eliot wrote something very similar in 1920. Regardless, the quote brings to the forefront an idea, a concept that I am consistently highlighting in...