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This tip was the number one lesson that I learned from The New Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards If you want to make a drawing from a photograph, just turn the photo upside-down and then copy exactly what you see. Try it. This sounds really stupid but it actually works! The idea here is to confuse the left (rational) side of your brain and prevent it from taking-over your drawing process and making you draw things as the symbols that it sees in. If you leave the drawing or photograph the right way up, the left side of your brain will dive in there and say "Ah! An eye! I know what an eye looks like...!" and then you end up drawing an eye or a face or whatever as you think it should look - rather than the way that it actually looks... There is really nothing very difficult about drawing. Almost anyone with a functioning hand and reasonable eyesight, fingers, paper and a pencil can do it! No special fingers are needed - ordinary ones will do just fine!!!!! And the only skill you need to master is the ability to condition your mind into drawing what is there and not the symbols that the left side of your brain rationalizes in. Just go ahead and give it a try... You'll be amazed at the results! Once you have done this a few times and you start to build your confidence, you'll find that you are able to just copy exactly what you see - (rather than what the left side of your brain thinks you are seeing.) Once you have conditioned yourself in this way, you will find that you no longer need to turn your subject upside down... Ha ha! The drawing on the right-hand side of the below, shows the results of my first attempt at upside-down drawing...

Although Rembrandts are generally classed as soft pastels - I'd put them at the very hard end of "soft." However, when you look at the extremely high standard of Jennifer Blenkinsopp's work, you can tell that they obviously work for her! Personally, I much prefer Schmingke and Senellier soft pastels. These are in a different class of softness - a bit like comparing glass with butter!!! I can't find either Schmingke of Senellier pastels in the Philippines, so I buy them every chance I get when I am abroad. Otherwise, I order these very soft pastels online from MisterArt.com - and have them delivered by FedEx. (Mister Art's prices are very reasonable but I find that I get stung by the customs on delivery...)

The following tip is from Belgian artist, Pol Ledant:

In an early morning painting on the famous Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic, the shadows are made up of warm colors. Artist, Rod Cameron, offers this insight into the color temperature that he used in the painting, and gives artists a good rule of thumb when selecting colors for shadows. At sunrise and sunset, the color of the light is changing very quickly. For even very ambitious plein air painters who manage to set up their easels at the crack of dawn, it's nearly impossible to finish the painting and capture the lighting effects on the landscape before it changes. And it's hard to remember exactly how it looked when you got the inspiration for your creation. Rod Cameron, travels with other artists all the way from his home on the Big Island in Hawaii to central Europe and the Czech and Slovak Republics, to paint in Prague. Knowing how to handle the shadows in certain colored light can be very helpful when painting en plein air, and the time and the light is moving too fast. Rod Cameron tells his students, "The magical light of Prague this early in the morning had a cool predominate cast, which brings the shadows to the warmer hues of the palate. Cool light equals warm shadows, or warm light gives cool shadows. This is the general rule." Even experienced plein air painting artists can benefit from this little reminder, especially when it's early, and you're in the moment. You want to capture the look and feel of cool, early morning, before the sun is up, and a few good rules of thumb can help take the guesswork out! "The incredible buildings of the city create an interesting sky line across the horizon and I used the tall statue on the left, which had a natural gaze into the scene and the focal points of the painting," said Rod Cameron while describing his painting titled, Charles Bridge. This Rod Cameron painting of the Charles bridge in Prague can be found on the web. Go ahead! Travel halfway around the world. Get up at the crack of dawn, and capture in your paintings the beautiful places that you travel to with confidence! The light may be changing too quickly, but the architecture, skylines and statues aren't. Create great value and color harmony with complimentary colors, then nudge the color in the shadows either warm or cool. Notice that it gives your shadows a "real presence" . Painting Tip, Plein Air Painting in Europe, Expert advise on Painting, Painting Shadows, Painting workshop, Rod Cameron Art,