Creating the Zorn Palette

Many of you have asked where the supplemental video for mixing the Zorn palette is. It has been uploaded in the second phase of our portrait painting curriculum. Check it out! Anders Zorn was a Swedish painter who is known not only for his beautiful paintings, but also for his extensive use of a limited palette… Continue reading →

What’s on the Easel?

    This is a painting I just finished for Oil Painters of Americas National show.   It is a bit of a departure from my usual textural approach.  I wanted to work a bit more on the edge manipulation, especially around the head.  Good to exercise your rendering chops every once and awhile.  Overall… Continue reading →

New iBook Release by Jeffrey R. Watts

[frame] Hope all is well with you all and you had a great Thanksgiving.  Today’s blog post is to announce the release of a recent project that I am really excited about.   I cherry picked some of my favorite Portrait Gestures from over the years and put them into an iBook format so you can zoom in… Continue reading →

9 Different Lighting Scenarios You Should Master

[frame] (1) DUAL LIGHTING:  Dual lighting is often used for theatrical purposes where lots of “impact” or drama is needed.  You will see comic artist, visual development artist and illustrators commonly favor this type of lighting.  The lighting is highly effective for this purpose but it should be noted that the use of two light sources will create a… Continue reading →

What’s on the Easel?

[frame]   This is my most recent studio painting.  It is a 40”X30” Oil painting titled “Old Timer” and took about two weeks to paint.   Originally I had intended for this piece to go to the Portrait Society of America Show but decided last minute to send it as my second piece for this year’s Prix de West Show… Continue reading →

What’s on the Easel?

[frame]     The painting I am presently working on is titled “Pepper Falls”. It is 24″ x 30″ and painted in oil on lead primed canvas.  This painting is being done from a piece of reference I took on a recent trip to Teton National Park in the Bridger Wilderness.  We were hiking up to an… Continue reading →

2012 2nd Annual Watts Atelier Boot Camp

[frame]   WHAT IS THE WATTS ATELIER BOOTCAMP? The Watts Atelier Boot Camp was designed to be a thorough hands-on workshop with a heavy emphasis on exposing students of all levels to a plethora of training methods and exercises used in our full-time Atelier program. It will give the artist an opportunity to gain valuable… Continue reading →