Mcnee - Fine art tips with Lori McNee : painting techniques and professional advice

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Ketsia

Daniel Sprick

Oil on canvas

26" 18" (66cm 46cm)

With reverence, I dedicate this book to my biggest fans, my dad and dearly departed mom for their unconditional love and encouragement of my art spirit.

Curve in the Road

Kim Casebeer

Oil on linen mounted on Gatorfoam board

20" 24" (51cm 61cm)

Ive been an editor at Southwest Art magazine for more than two decades now, which means that Ive seen more paintings than I could possibly count. But for all of my experience viewing the finished products, I very rarely see the steps that go into the making of a painting. That process used to be a bit of a mystery to memy background and training is in writing and editing, you see, not in art-making. One day, though, a small part of the process clicked for me when I sat down next to an artist friend as she was about to start a still-life sketch of fruit on a table. She had already offered to teach me some of the basics of painting, assuring me that it wasnt as daunting as I might think. After she secured a piece of pastel paper to her easel, she picked up a neutral pastel stick, held it parallel to the paper, and made a light impression using a few circular strokes. There, she said. Thats the beginning of your plum. Simple as that. It was an aha moment for me, when I understood in a very concrete way what it means to begin with basic, broad, blocky shapes rather than with a perfectly accurate, detailed drawing.

The book you have before you offers page after page of insights that are a little bit like thatglimpses into the working habits of two dozen talented painters that can offer you new ways of understanding the creative process. Whether you favor landscapes, still lifes, portraits, or wildlife, theres something here for you. If you paint in oil or acrylic, watercolor or pastel, there are tips you can use. And these insights are coming from some of the top artists in todays representational art world: Many of them have been featured in the pages of Southwest Art, in prestigious invitational exhibitions, and on the walls of respected art galleries. Without a doubt, theyre the ones you want to learn fromand theyre all right here in one place, offering you a wide array of helpful advice from which you can choose the ideas and concepts that work best for you.

The artist who brought all this useful information together, Lori McNee, is perfectly suited to the task. For starters, shes an accomplished artist herself; I first saw her work more than a decade ago while visiting a gallery in Jackson, Wyoming, and she was featured in Southwest Art soon afterward. Since then shes gone on to create a popular blog, FineArtTips.com, where she shares advice and guidance from fellow professional artists on all kinds of topics. Now shes tapped that network of successful painters to share their secrets with youand Im sure youll find within these pages some aha moments of your own.

Kristin Hoerth

Editor in Chief, Southwest Art magazine

Broomfield, Colorado

Tea Time

Lori McNee

Oil on linen

24" 36" (61cm 91cm)

Have you ever been in the presence of a masterful painting and, with awe, wondered how the artist created it? What was the artist thinking? What mysterious steps did she take to execute this superb work of art? If youve ever had questions like these, this book is for you.

When asked to write for North Light, it seemed only natural to pattern a book after my popular art blog, FineArtTips.com. Honored, I wanted to use my new book as another opportunity to expand the minds of my fellow artists.

Since 2009, I have been sharing fine art tips, business and social media advice for the aspiring and professional artist. With this as my blogs mission, I have showcased valuable art tips, demos and business guidance by many of todays finest artists, up-and-coming talent, social media stars and business professionals within the art world and other niches.

Using social media, I have networked and made invaluable real-life connections with some of the top influencers in the art world and beyond. For this inventive book I have personally selected twenty-three highly respected, diverse, fine artists whom I admire and connect with using social media.

Working to complete this book has been both an honor and a challenge. This complex project has been like piecing together a beautiful mosaic. Professional artists are busy yet free-spirited people. Many of them work long but random hours, travel a lot and create in seclusion. Some prefer to be reached by email, others by telephone or texting and of course many prefer Facebook.

A project like this would have been nearly impossible only a few years ago. But because of the Internet I can connect with friends and colleagues from all over the world. Needless to say, I couldnt have done this alone. In the end, we all pulled together to create this exquisite book.

Now is your chance to peer into the brilliant minds of twenty-three fine art professionals and watch them paint! So please, sit back and enjoy this sacred journey behind the studio doors of todays finest representational artists, and learn their valuable fine art tips, painting techniques and professional advice with me, Lori McNee!