11. A Puppy
Avoid the temptation to paint every single strand of fur if you want to get the painting done in a day. Instead, use brush-mark texture to convey a sense of the fur.More »
12. A Cat
If you're going to paint a cat from life, best wait until she's asleep! Get the overall shape down first, then focus on the individual limbs. And remember the pupils of a cat's eyes aren't round; forget that and it'll never look right.More »
13. A Goldfish
Get out your oranges, yellows, reds, and white for some fun color-mixing to capture the shimmering colors of a goldfish.More »
14. Inside a Fish Tank
Paint the landscape the fish sees every day.More »
15. A Butterfly with its Wings Open
Positioning a butterfly so you're looking down on its open wings, rather than from the side, maximizes the amount of color you see. Decide whether you're going to paint a realistic one from reference photos, or use imaginary colors and pattern.More »
16. A Bunch of Garlic
Decide whether you're going to open up the bunch to have some individual cloves of garlic or just keep it as a whole. The skin or leaves are a good opportunity for glazing in some delicate color.More »
17. A Vegetable You're Going to Have for Supper
Get something more from your veggies than mere nutrition by using them as the subject for a painting. Variations can be created by chopping or peeling the item, and including the knife and cutting board.More »
18. A Handful of Pears
An odd number of elements makes for a more interesting composition because we don't mentally tidy them up into pairs. So have three or five pears rather than two or four.More »
