Category: oil painting

The Power of the Dog: Centuries of Canines in Art

Tens of thousands of years ago, though the exact date is disputed, dogs were domesticated by humans. Likewise, the depiction of canines in art has a rich history that runs the gamut. Dogs have made their appearances in early cave and rock paintings, ancient Greek ceramics, Roman mosaics, medieval tapestries and statues, as well as…


Giovanni Bellini: A Pioneering Renaissance Artist

While a photograph of Giovanni Bellini’s “Portrait of Doge Leonardo Loredan” may give the illusion of a photographed actor in costume rather than a painted portrait; the artwork displays exquisite but restrained beauty. The doge’s robe and face appear to have the realistic textures of silk and skin: The folds in the silk and creases…


Pure Beauty: ‘Unmoved’ | NTD International Figure Painting Competition

Meet the young Vietnamese artist Loc Duong, who won the Humanity and Culture Award in the NTD International Figure Painting Competition. His first-ever oil painting “Unmoved” has been very popular and made many people feel at peace. He decided to take on the challenge of oil painting as he believes in the mission of NTD’s International…


Lauren Tilden: ‘Birds of the Air, Grass of the Field’ | Pure Beauty

It’s a great pleasure to present to you an inspiring story from the Award-winning painter Lauren Tilden. Her painting “Birds of the Air, Grass of the Field” has won the Bronze Award from the NTD International Figure Painting Competition in 2019. “Working on that painting was a reminder to me not to worry. There is more…


Cherishing Our Lives: ‘Soap Bubbles’

Do you remember when you were a child, and you wanted to know about everything? Children have a sense of wonderment with the world. They approach it with an innocent curiosity, and they question everything with a sincere interest in understanding the things around them. As we get older, we get stuck in a routine,…


Pure Beauty: ‘Yin and Yang’ | NTD International Figure Painting Competition

Award-winning original paintings, canvas wraps, and prints are now available for purchase. We are delighted to present a selection of oil paintings by talented artists from NTD’s International Figure Painting Competition. The NTD International Figure Painting competition is a groundbreaking effort to pave a path for humankind to return to truly fine art. Its mission, “Pure Truth, Kindness,…


Plein-Air Artist Paints Scenes That Perfectly Match His Open-Air Surrounds: Surfs, Meadows, Mountains, and More

SoCal plein-air painter Richard J. Oliver knows the more the artist can say with a single brush stroke, the more rewarding. He channels the savvy artist’s maxim: “less is more.” It’s the polar opposite of how he once painted—in the studio he’s maintained for the past 30 years. “I often explain it metaphorically as a process…


Delicate Beauty

Albert Joseph Moore (1841–1893) was an English painter known for his pictures of classically posed, languid women with harmonies of pattern, color, and tone. In the 1860s, he developed a style that embodied early aestheticism—art intended to be celebrated for its inherent beauty alone. Moore’s pictures were typically composed with one to three female figures…


Beneath the Surface of Beauty

“At first glance so convincingly real, so archaeologically exact, so beautiful and innocent, ‘Spring’ turns out on closer examination to be illusionary, historically confused, and mischievously immoral.” — Louise Lippincott, former Curator of Fine Arts at Carnegie Institute and author of “Lawrence Alma Tadema: Spring” Masterful works of art are often multilayered and complex. What…


John Trumbull: Capturing our Revolutionary Origins

July 4, 1776: The Declaration of Independence is signed, and the United States of America emerges as a free and independent country after years of conflict and turmoil. The birth of the American nation also heralded a new chapter in world history. These facts are rooted firmly in American history and inform our culture and…