Top 45 Traditional Art Bloggers

Once a year Artfixed handpicks it's favorite artists across categories. These artists stand out for their work or contribution to the arts. These are primarily artists who embrace traditional mediums and conventional tools- gauche, colored pencils, acrylics, watercolor, charcoal or ink. Although they might not limit themselves to only these tools.

Note: I'm not a critic. I just see art that I like, so in no particular order:

Francisco Malonzo

" I believe that portraiture is essential tradition that enables us to recognize the dignity in all of humanity. It has been my privilege to continue this practice."

Reina Cottier 

" Right from the start I was drawn to painting themes strongly associated with different cultures, particularly Maori & Pacifica, (I had very strong varied cultural influences growing up), along with sun, surf, nature. I found the koru was a prominent feature that emerged in almost all my paintings. It became my feature symbol in most of my artworks, along with strong ‘ocean’ themes, which evolved into oceanic creatures, especially since moving to the beach."

Katherine Tyrrell  

Katherine is possibly the most busy artist out there. She's an honest and unromantic voice in the art world. She manages numerous sites and covers multiple topics with a passion to match.

Nicole Caulfield 

"My still-lifes and portraiture often explore the strangeness of depicting space, depth and form on a 2-dimensional surface. I often tell my students that a realist artist is a magician, since we are essentially illusionists trying to make it seem like an object is there when it is not. " 

Carola Angrick Nix

" As an artist I feel myself drawn to two opposing categories of art, abstract and realism. In realism I am in control, creating images of ordinary things in the world around me. In abstract, free flowing pen or brush strokes often express mental images and emotions."

Steve Mitchell

"While not all wars have been popular, the men and women who have served should all be revered for one simple reason – the decision to lay down their life, should they be called upon, for something greater than themselves.  "

Paul White

" Paul White's art practice explores the everyday through pencil work on paper. He has an MFA (Art) from California Institute of the Arts and is a Samstag International Visual Arts Scholar. He has been awarded the Metro Art Award and has been a finalist in other art awards including the Fleurieu Art Prize, Hazelhurst Art Prize, Paul Guest Drawing Prize, Hobart City Art Prize, Fishers Ghost Art Prize and National Works on Paper. "

Susan Tschantz

Former mechanical drafter who seems to have transferred some of that experience into her art blogging process. Much like Susan I love definitions:

Carol Moore 

" I specialize in emotive, inspirational and soul-stirring portraits, animals, landscapes, miniatures, fairy tales and lore."

Sue Jacobs

"Zentangle is an easy to learn method of creating beautiful images from structured patterns. It is a fascinating new art form that is fun and relaxing. It increases focus and creativity. Zentangle provides artistic satisfaction and an increased sense of personal well being."

James Gurney 

Gurney's "Color and Light" is a book I and my friends highly recommend. He also covers topics like machine learning. Which for a computer nerd like me is highly fascinating.

Paula Pertile

Cats wearing clothes. I find them endlessly amusing. Check out her work!

Mark Wummer

"Here’s a jitterbugging couple on the beach, under the moonlight. A Danse Macabre of sorts, only with a bit of fun added. This is the season to beware of strange sights and sounds, especially in the dark. Boo! I used a mix of wicked watercolors and ghoulish gouache on a ghostly piece of watercolor paper."

Roberta M.

"Everyday inspirations…slightly abstracted. "  I love her use of patterns and silhouettes.

Alisa Burke 

" Alisa is always looking for new ways to break the rules and redefine art. She draws inspiration from street art, graffiti, art history and fashion and it is not uncommon to find her digging through the trash in hopes of recycling something unique to use in her artwork. "

Bruce Williams

" Bruce Williams has been working with the human body for many years and in many forms. His sculpture has been landmarked by the City of New York and can be seen at 24 Bond St. It has been mentioned in the New York Times and numerous blogs. "

Mark Kurdziel

“I once had a woman look at my paintings and say they were too active for her house. I told her I’d spent the past 30 years of my life trying to make active paintings.” 

Fatima Ronquillo

" The classically inspired imagery of Santa Fe-based painter Fatima Ronquillo evokes a world of serenity and charm. Her paintings of mysterious personages, often set against pastoral and idyllic landscapes, are accented with an underlying sense of drama and playfulness. These intimate works are painted in the style of European old masters coupled with a magical realism rooted in folk and colonial Latin American traditions. Hers is an authentic voice that echoes from an inner world where art history meets with nostalgia and imagined characters from literature, theatre and opera. "

Fred Hatt

" My work is an art of movement, rhythm and feeling. For me what is important is not conceptual or iconographic content, but process and practice. Drawing from life becomes a journey of transforming perception to directly experience the undivided aspect of reality. "

Christopher Hickey

" My initial interest in perceptual art was fueled through the discipline of life drawing. Later, that interest would expand to include observational painting. To some extent the decision to work this way places an artist outside the critical discourse. In the end you need to make the work that is important to you. "

Pete Scully

" Pete Scully is an urban sketcher and an avid keeper of sketchbooks. He left north London in 2005 to pursue other options in California but misses proper Cadbury’s chocolate. Holds his pen a funny way. He sketches the world as he sees it, he sometimes writes a few things, and generally keeps pretty busy. "

Paula Knight

" I’m an author, illustrator and comics creator. " Her work is very honest. Check her out!

Maurice Sapiro 

" Painting, like life, is a journey. And, as with any journey, it’s the people you meet along the way who leave the most lasting impressions. In my 60 year journey as a painter, I have been fortunate. The dealers, patrons, and friends I have met have been the best. "

Rose Davies

" I am an artist and printmaker, scribbler and ageing headbanger. I work directly from life, carrying a sketchbook at all times looking for any opportunity to have a scribble. I work from my studio in Wales, UK where I live with my husband and cats, who often feature in my drawings and blogs. "

Lis Zadravec

"Every picture is a story. As I draw, my subject reveals herself to me, all her vulnerabilities and all her strengths. My goal is to draw people of today in the style of classic illustration and narrative paintings. In both my colored pencil technique and the content of the picture-story, it is Now told as stories were painted Then."

Holly Bedrosian

" In every ink blot and cloud I see a face, and faces themselves are a source of unending fascination to me. I appreciate the intricate nature of the complex contours that comprise the face, but most of all I am passionate about how the parts come together as a whole to create a personality, character, and evoke the essence of the subject. Whether creating a portrait, figure, or still life, I work in a realistic style to capture the subtle details that lend character and personality to the subjects. "

Ayesha Gamiet

" My name is Ayesha Gamiet and I am an artist, illustrator and art educator, living and working in the South East of England. " Her work is a lot different than most artists in this article.

Julie Podstolski

I am a full time artist who, in 1994, discovered coloured pencils. Before that time I painted in oils. What inspired me to take up pencils was the birth of daughter no. 3 (Lucy). I wanted to keep painting but it was impossible with a new baby as I was always being interrupted when I wanted to paint. I wondered – why not try coloured pencils?

Ralph Parker

" This blog is dedicated to the art I make and the way I make it. " Straight to the point,  a man after my own heart. 

Susan Branch 

Susan makes me want to buy a small white beach house and decorate it with her work.

Keiko Tanabe

Sometimes some art is just really cool and I don't know what to say. This is one of those times. Check her out!

Thomas W. Schaller

"After years of detesting - then merely resenting - them, I have finally begun to make my peace with the relentless jumble of overhead wires and poles that define much of the skyline here in Los Angeles. In large part - because of the risk of earthquakes - such utility lines cannot be buried beneath streets and sidewalks as they are in many other major cities. And so, we are forced to co-exist. But at last, I began to see them not as just an inevitable plague, but also as vessels, capable of transmitting their own kind of expected beauty, as they carve and divide the planes of sky in constantly surprising , abstract, and unexpected ways."

Frank Eber

"Frank Eber was raised in Europe and mentored by Italian master painter Renato Casaro in 1994-95. In the ’80s and ’90s Frank worked as a professional illustrator and portrait artist by commission. His love for travel has given him prime opportunities to paint. He lived for three years in the south of France, and has painted on location in Italy, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and the Czech Republic. Consequently, he has also painted in California and other parts of the United States. "

Jean Haines 

"A professional artist who is passionate about watercolour, life, animals and the beauty of nature. I enjoy working minus the use of a preliminary sketch. Painting directly with colour aiming to capture the essence of a subject." 

Joanna G. Moore

"All my work is produced or developed through painting or printing, from drawings done from observation.Why the town mouse? Four years ago when I began blogging anonymously, the ‘town mouse’ seemed appropriate for how I felt scampering around my favourite city and drawing on street corners."

Carol Carter 

"Having grown up in Florida, my strongest visual impression of an environment for human activity is water. In much of my work, water provides the setting for anonymous figures. Watercolors of nudes, as well as black and white nudes are in my portfolio. The nude swimmer- evocative and sensual watercolour painting is a signature theme. "

Alexa Meade

The prodigy of bending dimensions.

Carolyn Gates

" The qualities that characterize my work are strong color and compositions that explore the relationships of shapes to make pleasing visual patterns. This results in an abstraction of the subject. I am investigating beauty, shape and color and in doing so, I hope to discover the interplay between the ordinary and the extraordinary."

Andy Smith

" My goal is to join the other accomplished artists in the "Painting A Day" arena. I am expecting this endeavor to sharpen my painting skills and to help me grow as a watercolorist. I already paint full time and exhibit at art shows but I am hoping this experience will allow me to explore subjects I would not normally choose to paint. I hope you enjoy taking this journey with me. "

Woody Hansen

" ...is an invited member of the West Coast Watercolor Society for over two decades, Woody Hansen has 40 plus years of painting experience. A gold-medal, award winning painter, he has received upwards of 100 competitive awards, taught watercolor classes and workshops (since 1977), juried art exhibitions and demonstrated watercolor techniques for numerous art oriented organizations. "

Liz R. Derksen

" As someone who finds it easier to speak with a paintbrush, finding the right words for a statement does not come easily. My hope is that my paintings speak to you. That you are able to share the beauty I see all around me, and enjoy it through my eyes. "

Marc R. Hanson

“I have pursued a career as a painter for many years now. Along the way my methods, materials and focus have evolved. A naturalist at heart, the landscape is the perfect vehicle for expressing the joy I have for the world that surrounds me. My real interest and challenge as a painter is how to best manipulate the core principles of painting into effective visual statements. I’m most successful when I’m able to communicate that joy to the viewers of my paintings.”

Birgit O'Connor

"Birgit O'Connor is professional self-taught watercolor artist that has been painting for over 20 years, specializing in florals, landscapes and subject of nature. Birgit lives in Bolinas of West Marin, California and finds watercolor the most fluid and expressive medium to work in."

Deb Watson

"I am a self taught artist and I love to paint and teach. I learn as much from teaching as my students, digging into different subjects and experimenting with watercolor techniques and colors."