The eyes are the most crucial element, so I develop them almost fully before painting the rest of the portrait. If they're not right, the entire painting won't be right.

• Art of Portrait Drawing DVD
• Drawing a Portrait from Life DVD
• Expressive Portraits

• a one-year subscription to The Artist's Magazine OR any North Light art book
  
• three months of unlimited access to all the online art workshops at ArtistsNetwork.TV
• and 10% off every purchase you make at the North Light Shop.

• Drawing Realistic Pets from Photographs
• Painting Your Favorite Animals in Pen, Ink and Watercolor
• Paint Realistic Animals in Acrylic
• Realistic Pet Portraits in Colored Pencil
  

Oregon-based painter Mitch Baird was surprised to hear the good news when we called him. At the American Impressionist Society show held at Saks Galleries in Denver, he won not just one but two top awards for his painting Morning Ensigns, Italy (oil, 16x12): Best of Show (selected by Quang Ho) and Southwest Art’s Award of Excellence.

For the past few years, Mitch says, he's usually entered landscapes in contests. But this time he decided to take a chance and enter something a little different with a figure in it. The inspiration for the piece originated from a trip to Venice two years ago, he says. "I was actually up one morning early on my way to San Marcos Square to get reference photos and paint the area before the crowds showed up. I turned onto this particular street looking into the light, and the Italian flags were lit up like firecrackers! I had walked this street before, but in this light and with the missing crowds it was something special. Because of light and perspective, I felt it might make an impression or add variety to the show."

Mitch was right. In the future, he plans to paint more figurative works, he says. Read more about Mitch Baird in Southwest Art's January issue, where he's featured in our Artist to Watch column.

—Bonnie Gangelhoff

MORE RESOURCES FOR ARTISTS

• Online Seminars for Fine Artists
• Instantly download fine art magazines, books & video workshops
• Sign up for your Artist's Network email newsletter

• Charles Reid's Watercolor Secrets DVD
• The Figure
• Down by the Sea with Brush and Pen

When mixing your oils, keep in mind that you're not painting color, but light and its effects. For example, you wouldn't paint the illusion of a red chair the same way that you'd paint a chair red. Instead, you paint the chair as light affects it—in shadow areas, it may become violet, and the highlights may appear more orange.

• Dramatic Light
• Brilliant Color
• Capturing the Essence of Landscapes in Oils

Our Artist's Network Online Seminars are a great way to learn about art from the comfort of your own home. Each seminar is presented by an expert in the field who guides you through an hour-long discussion of your favorite art topics. In our next seminar Nov. 3, The Artists Magazine's Maureen Bloomfield pairs up with Watercolor Artist's Kelly Kane to help you make a strong, positive impression on judges when entering art competitions. Learn more about Entering Art Competitions here.

ArtistsNetwork.TV's streaming, downloadable and DVD art classes are like having a one-on-one in-studio session with a professional artist. This month we filmed Sterling Edwards, and I am amazed at how just by watching him paint, right there in front of me, I now find luminous watercolors actually doable and fun. And, I've got to get my hands on some encaustic materials—once you watch our latest production, Encaustic Techniques with Patricia Baldwin Seggebruch, you'll be itching to melt wax, too.

—Jen Lepore
Online education manager

• Keys to Drawing
• Life Drawing
• Drawing People
• Strokes of Genius 2

• The US Mint is seeking artists. Professional artists can apply through its Artistic Infusion Program, the first deadline for which is Nov. 1. You might get the chance to design a real coin—how cool is that?
• Ways to save the environment, as envisioned by 20 video artists.
  
• A block-printing tutorial by artist Lizzy House. It's a good introduction to printmaking if you've never tried it! (And check out Print Liberation and our article on printmaking in the September 2009 issue of The Artist's Magazine.)
• For "those" days: An invoice for services rendered day ruining.
  

If you have an opportunity to sketch the child, you can record details, impressions and characteristics that a camera would miss. There is a big difference between a photo and a living, breathing child! What sort of personality does she have? Shy? Bold? Impish? Artistic? These qualities will be more obvious as you sketch and interact and will add to your work.

One of my students brought his baby to class one day, and I took the opportunity to demonstrate drawing from life to my students. The baby hadn’t learned to crawl yet and was quite content to sit on a blanket gazing about, talking baby talk. I tried to capture his easy-going, happy personality in these quick sketches. A photograph could not have conveyed his disposition as well as these sketches based on life observation.

• Nita Leland's paper collage techniques
• Collage Unleashed
• Collage Discovery Workshop

The outdoor sketcher's best friend just might be a fisherman's vest. This multi-pocketed garment will hold pens, pencils, brushes, a small box of watercolors, oils, acrylics or pastels and even a small canteen. The fancier models boast a zip-on pouch that will hold an 8x10-inch pad. Best of all, a vest will leave your hands free; you literally wear your sketching gear.

• Artist's Sketchbook CD
• Sketching Landscapes in Pen and Pencil
• Plein-air painting books