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The illustrator Harry Everett Townsend (1879-1941) was born on a small farm in Illinois. As a young boy he showed early talent, painting signs for local farmers on the delivery route for his father's peddling wagon. But farm life was too confining for Townsend. As a teenager, he struck out on his bicycle for the big city and when he got to Chicago, enrolled in the Art Institute where he studied under Lorado Taft . But Townsend remained restless and after two years he moved on to Wilmington Delaware where he trained under the famed Howard Pyle . From there he made his way to Europe to study briefly at the Academie Moderne in Paris. When he turned 25, Townsend married and seemed to settle down as an illustrator working in New York for magazines such as Scribner's , Harper's and Century . Century Magazine But Townsend remained hungry to see the larger world, and when World War I flared up, Townsend volunteered to cover it. He wrote, "I had gotten drunk, as it were, wi...

The use of color is critically important for the working artist; well designed color can make your work powerfully compelling and will reach your audience at an emotional level that moves them. That will be our topic of study for this year's Color Workshop on Saturday, February 12, 12-8pm . So whether you're a landscape painter, figurative or entertainment artist, if you're in the LA area I'd love to see you there. Here's what we'll cover: The fundamentals of color theory for painters (traditional and digital). The emotional impact of color and lighting to create mood and environment. Principles for organizing the complexities of color into pleasing harmonies. Strategies for solving color problems quickly and effectively. Color exploration exercises. Painting from a costumed model in a theatrical, colored light environment. To enroll contact the Los Angeles Academy of Figurative Art at 877-695-2232 . Their site is www.laafa.org .