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9 reasons to adore OIL PAINT1. FORGIVING - Oil is, even today, still one of the easiest and most forgiving mediums you can work in. Creating an oil painting is in fact relatively easy compared to other mediums such as watercolor or pastels.
2. EASY TO CONTROL - Oil paints are easy to put onto a canvas or panel. You just put some paint on your brush and rub it on the canvas or panel. The paint will generally not run or move.
3. SMOOTH BLENDING - Oil paints are king of the ring when blending colors together and creating subtle blends. Wet-on-wet is the sure fire way to get a smooth transition in your painting.

4. COLOR STABILITY - One great property of oil paints is that they don't change color when they dry as opposed, for example, to acrylics or watercolor. Oils stay pretty-much the same for a long period of time (however, in a very long period of time, oil paintings have tendency to yellow).
5. EASY TO REMAKE - It's simple, just scrape the paint off with a paint knife and repa

9 Reasons to PAINT WITH WATERCOLOR1. - Watercolors are FAST. They dry fast and you can finish a painting within one day. Given that you learn with every finished painting, you learn fast!
2. - Watercolors don't stink. No dangerous chemical fumes, no headaches, usable around little children. Isn't that a wonderful reason!
3. - Watercolors are easy to clean. You don't make a lot of mess, and if you do, what water fouled, water will clean.
4. - There is no need for white paints. All the lightness is already given by your paper.
5. - Watercolors are practical to use outdoors. All your tools will fit into a small pocket.
6. - Watercolors are RELAXING. It must be the flooding, but whenever working with water and brush, your mind is set on ease.
7. - Watercolors bring transparent, delicate and ethereal results. Sometimes even a few well-lead brush strokes deliver sightly accomplishment.
8. - Watercolors are DIVERSE. They can be used in many very different ways and are ea

PE: 9 ways to overcome (artistic) Frustration.9 ways to overcome (artistic) Frustration
Everyone has heard of it, everyone fears the very sight of it, but if you are an artist, there is a good chance it creeps at you regularly, more often than a flu, in various forms and intensity; in psychology, Frustration is a common emotional response to opposition / obstacle, is related to anger and disappointment and its strength depends on the size of the established challenge. When Frustration calls you more often than your mother does, it's time to take an action!
1. - TAKE A WALK
Try to get your feelings straight by walking it out of your system. Is it raining or snowing? Even better, get soaked and dry out.
2. - SHIFT YOUR FOCUS
Sleep on it. Make yourself busy with small repetitive tasks, watch a good movie or comedy, play a game, visit your family or a friend, cook a new recipe, get a haircut, tidy up your room or house, watch a documentary, have a chocolate, take a horse ridi

9 Reasons to LOVE YOUR INK!1. - Ink can be used for drawing, writing or painting, anything you chose! You can use it with a brush, cartridge pens or drawing nibs, even a goose-quill will do!
2. - Ink can be water-soluble or, unlike watercolor, waterproof. Once dried out, it stays where you left it, it doesn't run away from you!
3. - Ink can be watered down and used as washes, just like watercolor, but it can be used at full strength, achieving more consistent results!
4. - Ink, when dried on paper, results in a very appealing velvety surface.
5. - Ink is in many cases a lot cheaper than watercolor, even school quality (very cheap) inks bring lovely and very satisfactory results.
6. - Inks are colorful! Forget the black ink, you will be able to buy whole variety of colored inks. Also, you can mix them together to create many more colors & hues!
7. - White ink is a perfect assistant in many other techniques, use it to create highlights and special effects!
8. - Ink

PE: The Impact of Color1. - WHAT IS COLOR?
Color is the aspect of things that is caused by differing qualities of light being reflected or emitted by them, as received by the human eye and processed by the human brain. It is a function of light and biology, not an exact science, no two people can see it exactly the same.
The human eye and brain together translate light into color. Light receptors within the eye transmit messages to the brain, which produces the familiar sensations of color. Newton observed that color is not inherent in objects. Rather, the surface of an object reflects some colors and absorbs all the others. We perceive only the reflected colors. Thus, red is not "in" an apple. The surface of the apple is reflecting the wavelengths we see as red and absorbing all the rest. An object appears white when it reflects all wavelengths and black when it absorbs them all.
"Colors are the deeds of light, its deeds and sufferings."
(Johann Wolfgang von Goethe)

PE: The power of contextA picture is indeed "worth a thousand words", a complex idea can be conveyed with a single still image. This quote also characterizes one of the main goals of visualizations, namely making it possible to absorb large amounts of data quickly. In our perception of artworks we see every day, some get closer to our hearts than others. Imagine a painting, strong and powerful, technique showing an experienced, steady hand, needing nothing but a pair of eyes to enter one's sensitive soul. Are you satisfied with what you see? I wouldn't count on that, but I would be quite sure that after a while your head fills with numerous questions.
On the contrary, your favorite artist publishes their recent work and you, as always, immediately love it. If, however, you would allow your mind a little exercise, you could clearly see that if this work was shown to you at random, under different circumstances and you would not know the author, hardly would it catch your interest for a second.

PE: 5 reasons to believe in yourselfSuccess is not a measure of how much money you earn or how popular you are, rather, it is being able to find your passion - one that makes you happy and ultimately, one that you would be happy to leave as your legacy. To make a step forward to reach your dream takes smarts and guts but why couldn't you? Here is five reasons why you can.
1. Everyone was born equal
More-less, this is true, some people are born more challenged than others but we all possess skills and ability to learn. It is possible to build something out of nothing if we really want to. It all comes down to our preferences and decisions.
"Nobody can make you feel inferior without your consent."
Eleanor Roosevelt
2. Overcoming your fears
By constantly challenging yourself, you can get rid of fears that used to follow you. You will no longer be worried, you'll know you can count on yourself.
"If you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you're right."
Mar

PE: Dealing with a negative feedbackPE: Dealing with a negative feedback

:iconprojecteducate:

"To escape criticism - do nothing, say nothing, be nothing."
Elbert Hubbard
Everyone wants to be praised for their work. It's the extremely rare individual who creates things and doesn't care how they're received. Dealing with criticism can be painful, but at the same time enormously helpful.
Let's begin with understanding the function that positive and negative feedback serve. Positive feedback (pointing out things you did WELL) increases commitment to the work you do, by enhancing your experience and your confidence, white Negative feedback (pointing out things you did WRONG), on the other hand, is informative - it tells you where you need to spend your effort, and offers insight into how you might improve.
With that being said, positive and negative feedback are affective and motivate differently, their impact varies from different peop

Fan Art Fridays - Baten KaitosHello and welcome to the 3rd edition of Fan Art Fridays

I'll be featuring 10-15 pieces of fan art, by fandom each week. This week will feature fanart from the series Baten Kaitos as suggested to me by $wreckling

Deadly heat scythe by *Getsuart AT: Folon by ~Marsuministeri giro by ~oblako2606
Past Features
Wheel of Time
Phantom of the Opera

How to: Make thumbs big in features?I get this asked a lot!
Back when they introduced sta.sh, I didn't really use it. Because it seemed hard to get used to. I always wrote my articles in the old way.
Then I toyed with it a little and noticed that is is something really awesome!
Not to mention that the only way to make articles and journals is through Sta.sh Writer.
So I assume not so many if you know that there is a way to make thumbs big!
That is actually pretty easy. All you have to do is add big in front of a thumb code!
For example:
: thumb159252268 :
This is the "regular" size

: bigthumb159252268 :
This is the big size
Of course: without the spaces between the colon ( : )

But this is not what I wanted to show

Fancy Features with sta.sh Writer
Go to your Sta.sh!
After that, hit the

Diary of Jane #8Thank you for all your Bday wishes and drawings I received, it was quite memorable this year, even though collecting memories is a depressive hobby. I turned 29 which means I have one more year to deal with the fact that I won't ever be any of the following: master of Slovakia in Latin-American dances, professional actress nor a movie director, lead singer nor microbiology PhD. I will never grow taller than 165 cm and won't end up married to Timothy Dalton (I would never have disqualify such possibility a year earlier!). Still, the list of things to be deeply thankful for is too long to fit into my journal.
Valentine's Day is here! For me it means its Coldplay & "The Notebook" time, but you should enjoy sending gifts and cards to your loved ones. You can also attend a couple of DeviantArt events, read more here: Announcing the 2013 Valentines Day E-Marriages! .
Happy Feb

Photography Troubleshooting: PetsPhotographing pets whether for yourself or as part of a job, is becoming increasingly popular and the demand for tips and tutorials is ever on the increase. Within this weeks article we hope to give you a few pointers and answer a few queries that might have come up. ^Talty asked us this...
"My camera has a pets & kids setting but they still come out blurry.
I've tried every setting, so far I've had better results with the "EASY"
setting, but they still come out only decent."
^Talty is using a high end Canon Powershot which is fantastic for things like still life photography, landscapes and working up close with static options and scenery. But when it comes to photographing animals and in particular as ^Talty is attempting - kittens, it doesn't compensate for the difficulties such a subject poses. For example kittens are incredibly wriggly, and as ^Talty has found, getting them to stay still in any one place is a nightmare! So naturally you need a camera that can al

PE: 9 tips to be more creativeCreativity isn't just an artist's concern. Creativity is about using your imagination in every endeavor. Believe it or not, you are a creative person already. However, these tips might inspire you to get the best of what you already have.
1. GET OUTSIDE

This comes as a very first tip for a reason. Whether it's outside your house or outside your mind, changing your perspective will help the ideas flow.
2. DRINK ENOUGH WATER
Your brain functions much better when well-hydrated. Symptoms of mild dehydration include tiredness, headache, muscle weakness, and dizziness - these are certainly not going to help you to think straight.
3. EXERCISE
Exercise produces endorphins that might as well be responsible for your next brilliant idea.
4. DAYDREAM
Dreaming is very important, inside a dream nothing is impossible. Use that to your advantage.
5. STOP WATCHING TELEVISION
Or better yet, get rid of the damn thing. TV is a mind-killer. Turn it off. Even if th

Diary of Jane #6Hello there, this is my first entry from Slovakia, small town called Modra (in my language it means "Blue"). My studio is in my parent's house basement while my new apartment is late with being ready for me to move in. I have about 1 square meter of personal space, sharing room with my brother (oh lord), who watches horror movies behind my back as I write :/ I have to "suffer" these conditions for 3 more days before being able to paint.
It's December, isn't it wonderful? Probably the most peaceful month (or not?), when you drink warm punch, listen to carols, getting everything ready for Christmas Eve.. Still, trying to keep in mind that Christmas isn't about presents and not to waste this gracious spirit inside a shopping center

Best thing in the world is my parent's old piano, I haven't played in years!
Don't forget to send your loved ones a Christmas card & enjoy this feature

~selma-todorova SELMA TODOROVA / Bulgaria
Selma's portraits paint

PE Interview with =jane-beataI won't even try figure out how to present Jana, because, as her friend, my opinion only may not impress you, so i'm going to present to you what others think of her and her art:
~13-realpeople-42-333: "She makes some of the best art pieces I've ever seen. Really inspiring."
~Marts-NZ: "Her work is just amazing, i love coming back to see the immense beauty she creates."

=PandaLannee: "Her art makes me feel like I've been kicked in the face by a unicorn dancing in a meadow of pansies and fairies. What I meant to say is: really excellent art!" (this is the most original comment i've ever read!)
Aside from praising her amazing skills and works, i will add that she's also a wonderful person, kind and involved with the community, always wanting to spread the dA love to everyone she meets.

First, please introduce yourself to those that might not know you yet.

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Submitted: November 26, 2012
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9 reasons to appreciate ACRYLICS

Journal Entry: Mon Nov 26, 2012, 4:42 AM

1. UNIVERSALITY - Acrylic are probably the most versatile of paints. You can thin them with water and use as watercolor (they will remain permanent upon drying, unlike watercolor), apply them in full strength, create textures.

2. COMBINABLE - This medium is very suitable to be combined with anything you wish - watercolor, ink, pencils, oils... Free your imagination and experiment!

3. NUMEROUS SUITABLE SURFACES - Acrylics can be used on paper, canvas, wood, metal and many more surfaces (this is true, even though they don't adhere towards some surfaces as promptly as oils). This is a great advantage, when you get used to this medium, you can paint at whatever material you've got available.

4. DON'T STINK - That's right, all of you that have experienced headaches caused by oil paint might just appreciate an acrylic vacation!

5. FAST DRYING TIME - Composition doesn't seem right after you put down your first layer? This is not a problem, wait half an hour and you can repaint it completely, acrylics dry really fast. On the other hand, make sure you don't waste your paint, keep you palette wet and rather squeeze less paint from tubes. In case you don't consider this fact an advantage, there are long drying time acrylics available as well as numerous retardant agents that can be used to regulate drying time.

6. EASY CLEANUP WITH WATER - Not just your hands and floor will appreciate this fact, but also your clothes and tools. Make sure you take a good care of your brushes, though, once you let acrylic dry between brush hair, you won't get it off!

7. CHEAP - At least compare to oils they really are cheap. Just like every medium, even acrylics can be purchased in artist quality, those get expensive but blend nearly like oils, pleasure to work with such.

8. VARIETY OF COLOR - You will find numerous colors and shades available, and will probably take advantage of pre-mixed colors, since they dry oh-so-fast!

9. FUN & CHANGE - Acrylics are tremendous fun! Also, if you don't work in this medium often, it's a delightful change, something to try out that will surely enrich your skills. Chop chop, music on and dance while you paint Boogie!