Posts by Dave Kaminski

The clues to your future irresistible art are hiding in your past work. The 3-2-1 Blast Off Framework helps you uncover your artistic direction by identifying: 3 pieces from the past 12-18 months you love, 2 qualities they share, and 1 word that describes the feeling of all three. This framework helped Nicholas transition from…

The Wait and See Pass is a fast, three-step technique for discovering new artistic directions and breaking out of creative habits. Fill your canvas with random colors at similar values (keeping everything light). Choose the areas you love by observing what emerges. Amplify those areas by adding high-contrast darks in just three or four strategic…

Making vibrant, authentic art doesn’t come from working harder, trying more techniques, or studying other artists. It comes from learning to feel more alive. When I struggled as a young artist in my mid-twenties, working obsessively in isolation brought only misery and mediocre results. Everything changed when I gave up, bought a plane ticket with…

Most paintings feel “fine” because they’re showing too much at equal levels. When you organize your art using the 75/25/5 frequency formula (75% dominant element, 25% secondary, 5% accent), you create work with energy and clarity that makes people stop and stare. This simple ratio transforms mediocre paintings into art that’s impossible to ignore. ___________________________________________________…

Your art never leaves you. I learned this the hard way when I stopped making art for months, then got called to complete a restaurant commission. With no confidence and no direction, I created my first large painting, terrified it was proof I’d lost my way completely. But when the owner saw it, she wept…

The number one thing that keeps artists stuck when starting a painting is using values that are too similar. When you put paint on a white canvas with close values, you can’t actually see what’s happening, so you spend hours tweaking and perfecting things you can’t clearly evaluate. The solution is beautifully simple. Start with…