Front & Center
Read all about the winner of our first Cover Competition.
By Tom Zeit

The Next Generation
Who are tomorrow's top artists? Find out in the results of our sixth annual Student Art Competition.
By Val Hunt

From Darkness to Life
Making your portraits convincingly real is as simple as 1 (an underdrawing), 2 (a monochromatic underpainting), 3 (glazes and the finishing touches).
By Scott Bartner

Flying High
Earth is round. Learn how to paint it that way, plus master three- and four-point perspective.
By Sy Ellens

Beyond the Light
To appreciate the light, you also need shadows. Discover how versatile these darker areas really are.
By Henry Dixon

When the Land Moves Like Water
Make your next plein air painting experience more organic: Have a seat on the ground and find out what it can do for your work.
By Patricia Tobacco Forester

Special Section: On and Below the Surface Choosing your paper is as important a decision as any in artmaking. Find out what's out there with this paper primer.
By Maggie Price

Columns

Color Corner
Get the perfect hues for any painting—without ever mixing your paint.
By Butch Kreiger

The Drawing Board
Gain confidence in drawing the figure by better understanding its structure. These five concepts show you how.
By Robert Barrett

Art Clinic
Create a better painting by knowing when to break the rules.
By Martha Newfield

Business
How to convince everyone—including yourself—that you're a professional.
By Beverly Leesman

Master Class
Let music move you and your art as Henri Fantin-Latour did.
By Martha Newfield

Departments

• Dialogue
• The Artist's Life: A new look at skateboard art, Leonardo da Vinci's palette, staying warm with your art materials, fun facts about Michelangelo, and more.
• 2005 Cover Competition
• 2005 Art Competition
• Technical Q&A: Turpenoid Natural, storing finished oil paintings and fixing fixative.
• Art News
• Materials Handbook: A gesso for rigid supports, a new white-light lamp and a power paintbrush cleaner.