by Mindy Lighthipe | Dec 4, 2014 | Drawing Tips, Graphite, How-To, Videos
There are so many drawing pencils on the market and it is often difficult to know which type to buy. If you are looking for a pencil that has the ability to give you the sharpest point I highly recommend a Mechanical Pencil Holder that fits 2 mm size leads. You will...
by Mindy Lighthipe | Dec 2, 2014 | Art Exhibits, Gallery
I recently decided to collect art from other artists. Why collect someone else’s art when I can make it myself? I once heard only 2% of the population buys art and of that 2%, a high percentage of them are artists! This may not make sense if the artist can...
by Mindy Lighthipe | Nov 17, 2014 | Animal Rescue, Art Books, Invasive Species, Watercolor Tips
As an artist I have to say that I am not a purist. I tend to work in whatever medium will get the job done and easily produce the results I am looking for. I have been known to combine mediums and some organizations frown upon this. Watercolor societies often require...
by Mindy Lighthipe | Nov 5, 2014 | Pen & Ink, Videos
I have been teaching Pen & Ink at the University of Florida to my Intro to Scientific Illustration Class. The feedback I usually receive before I teach Pen & Ink Techniques is the following: Difficult medium to work in. Mistakes are not correctable. Not sure...
by Mindy Lighthipe | Nov 2, 2014 | Graphite, How-To, Surface Contour, Uncategorized
I recently posted a video of an artichoke which demonstrates how I do an armature drawing to show the surface contour. One of my enthusiastic blog readers sent me a drawing that she did of a pumpkin and was having trouble understanding how she could improve the...
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by Mindy Lighthipe | Oct 25, 2014 | Drawing Tips, Surface Contour
Good drawing skills are essential if you want to depict nature realistically. I can not stress this enough. Too often artists solely work from photographs. Unless they have a good foundation of drawing skills the finished work of art falls short. Adding paint never...
by Mindy Lighthipe | Oct 8, 2014 | Colored Pencil, Conservation, Environmental Concerns
Should I donate my artwork?This is a question I think all artists should carefully consider before giving away their art. I am frequently approached by numerous organizations to donate a piece of my artwork for a fund raising campaign.There are so many charitable...
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by Mindy Lighthipe | Sep 15, 2014 | Gouache
I just got done done doing a 6 week commission for a client. It is a very detailed 60″ x 40″ painting of a male Wild Turkey in full strut. It has tons of detail and as you can imagine it took lots of time! I will post more details on this later. After a...
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by Mindy Lighthipe | Aug 20, 2014 | Bird Art, Pen & Ink, Watercolor Tips
Never stop learning! People are often surprised to see me in a classroom situation as the student, rather than the teacher. When I taught at the New York Botanical Gardens I had the good fortune of taking a class for every class I taught. This was great because I...
by Mindy Lighthipe | Jul 19, 2014 | Animal Portraits, Art Books, Paintings, Uncategorized, Watercolor Tips
I am thrilled to share with you the new book from North Light Books- The Best of Watercolor: Splash 15, Creative Solutions. About 2 years ago I saw a call to enter for this book on Artist Network. They were looking for watercolor paintings that may have caused...
