Art Tip of the Day Rubbing (or isopropyl) alcohol can serve a surprising number of purposes in the studio: General clean-up. Rubbing alcohol is an excellent solvent for many jobs where soap and water don't quite do the trick. The odor is mild and not offensive, and it's ecologically neutral. Watercolor special effects. When used in lieu of water, alcohol creates interesting effects with watercolors. The colors spread and "wet" very differently. And they're markedly more granular on the surface. Pastel blending. Use a small, alcohol-loaded synthetic brush to blend pastels on the painting surface. You can also use an alcohol-laden brush to pick up a dab of color from a stick of pastel, which you can use for corrections, touch-ups and light strokes of color. For dispensing small amounts, keep a bit of alcohol in a small squirt bottle or eyedropper bottle. But protect your good brushes by applying it with a synthetic brush or cotton swab. Art Tip provided by Passion4Art.com

Draw It Right One of the challenges of good painting is getting the subject to look real and lifelike. Most often, this doesn't happen because of poor drawing skills. So here's a tip for creating realistic drawings as the foundation for your paintings: Force yourself to draw what you see, not what you think you should see. To do this, make your eyes move slowly along the contours of the object you're drawing. Then, follow the motion of your eye with your pencil. Try not to think about what you're drawing and avoid preconceived notions about how your subject "should" look. Art Tip provided by Passion4Art.com

Art Arithmetic Using a painting knife to create textures in watercolor requires practice because timing is critical. But with a little experimentation, you can learn to use a painting knife in one of two ways: additive or subtractive. One additive method involves pulling the thin edge of the knife through damp paint so that water and pigment fill this groove. Another technique is to dip the edge of the blade into paint and drag the knife across a dry surface. Both methods will create sharp, delicate linear textures. To use a subtractive technique, pull the palette knife toward you like a squeegee to squeeze the wet pigment from the paper, lifting off excess paint with a paper towel or leaving the paint to form shadows. Holding the knife at an angle suggests wood or rock textures. Use the flat tip of the knife to create soft lines. You'll have to experiment to learn when the paint is just dry enough to work with and how much pressure to apply on the knife. And keep in mind that these techniques can damage the paper, so be gentle. Once you've mastered these styles, experiment with the knife to find your own favorite angles. Art Tip provided by Passion4Art.com

Layering Oils and Acrylics Remember that you can paint with oils over acrylics, but never acrylics over oils. Oils need to "breathe," and a skin of acrylics on top of them will prevent oxygen from reaching the oils. Art Tip provided by Passion4Art.com

No More Lumpy Paint If your paint or varnish has lumps and hardened particles in it, remove the cap and stretch a piece of nylon stocking over the top of the bottle, and then replace the cap. Strain the varnish by pouring it through the nylon into another container. Paint will be strained as you use it by squeezing it from the bottle.

Glass Painting Tricks If you get frustrated painting on glass with regular acrylics, try these tricks: -Paint on glass that is pre-etched or frosted. You can also etch the glass yourself with an etching solution (most craft stores have a variety to choose from). If your paint still won't stick, lightly spray the glass with satin varnish or clear acrylic spray. The spray will "frost" the glass slightly, leaving it no longer clear but adding a little tooth to hold your paint. -Another option is to brush on satin- or matte-finish varnish within the pattern area only. This will leave the remainder of the glass clear but provide tooth where it's needed. Art Tip provided by Passion4Art.com

Care of Brushes Wipe the brush across a wet piece of soap until a good quantity of the soap is worked into the bristles. Grip the ends of the bristles with one hand and with the other hand move the brush so that the bristles are splayed out and the soap can work right up to the ferrule. Now place the brush into a sink and squeeze the soap back out by pressing the ferrule end of the bristles against the hard surface until you squeeze out the dirty soapy water. Rinse with warm water. Repeat this until the soapy water that you squeeze out is no longer dirty. Lastly repeat step one only, then gently mold the bristles nice and straight, leaving a good amount of soap in the bristles. The flat can have a chisel edge molded by squeezing gently between thumb and first finger. Leave to dry, with the soap "training" and protecting the bristles. You will be able to transport these now without them bending over if they press against anything. The soap, when dry, can be broken out again when you want to use the brush. Art Tip provided by Passion4Art.com

Using Turpentine Effectively Turpentine only suspends the paint, which then settles down into the bottom on your container. When you use turpentine as a cleaning agent, all you are doing after the first clean or two is stirring up sediment and forcing it up into the brush ferrules. So take a standard food preserving tin; making sure that the lid has been removed without sharp edges. Now take a smaller size tin, like a baby food tin, and place it bottom-up onto a desk. Now, take screwdriver with a medium-width end and, with a hammer, gently force slots into the base of the tin. Don't hit too hard: You only want slots and not holes. Not too close together or you will lose structural strength, but enough to cover as much of the bottom of the tin as you can. The shape edges should be inside the tin, and the smooth slots on the outside. Now place the small tin bottom-up inside the bigger tin. The smaller tin should fill about a half of the height of the larger tin. Fill the larger tin with turpentine until the smaller is only just covered. You will now be able to clean your brushes on the bottom of the small tin, and the paint will drop through the slots and gather in the bottom of the larger tin. If you let it settle, you can pour off the turps and clean out the big tin every now and again. Art Tip provided by Passion4Art.com

Guide to art gallery events in Austin, Texas. http://www.inthegalleriesaustin.com/firstsaturdays.html for example Russell Collection Fine Art Friday, January 28, 6:30 pm Lecture La Belle �poque Wine & hors d'oeuvres begin at 6:30 pm Lecture will start promptly at 7:00 pm Please RSVP to 512-342-0747 or email Read more ART on 5th January 28 - 30 Vintage Poster Show Come experience one of our favorite shows featuring hundreds of unframed, original vintage posters from 1900 to the 1970's, directly from Europe. Subjects include movies, sports, music, fashion, travel & wine. In Austin 3 Days Only! Friday, January 28 & Saturday, January 29, 10-6pm Sunday, January 30, Noon-5pm Austin Museum of Art Saturday, January 29, 2 pm Public Tour Andy Goldsworthy: Mountain and Coast Autumn into Winter All programs are free with Museum admission, unless otherwise noted.