WetCanvas Forums: The Internet's Oldest Major Art Community

WetCanvas is one of the oldest and most established online communities for traditional media artists, operating continuously since 1998 and accumulating an archive of discussions, critiques, and reference materials that is genuinely irreplaceable as a record of online art community culture over more than two decades. With active forums covering every major traditional painting and drawing medium, a large and knowledgeable membership, and a culture of genuine peer support and constructive critique, WetCanvas remains one of the most valuable online communities for artists who work in traditional media.

The longevity of WetCanvas is itself a testament to the genuine value it provides to its members. In an era when many online communities rise and fall within a few years, WetCanvas has maintained an active and engaged membership for more than 25 years, reflecting the depth of the community's commitment to the medium and to each other. The archive of discussions accumulated over this period is one of the most comprehensive free resources available for traditional media painters, covering virtually every technique question, material question, and creative challenge that artists encounter.

The Forum Structure

WetCanvas is organised into medium-specific forums that allow artists to find discussions relevant to their specific practice without wading through content that is not relevant to them. The major forums cover oil painting, watercolour, acrylic, pastel, coloured pencil, graphite and charcoal drawing, mixed media, and other traditional media, with each forum maintaining its own active community of practitioners.

The oil painting forum is one of the most active and knowledgeable on the site, with discussions covering everything from basic technique questions through advanced approaches to specific subjects and styles. The membership includes professional painters, serious amateurs, and students at every level of development, and the quality of the discussions reflects the genuine expertise of many community members.

The watercolour forum is similarly active, with a community that reflects the particular enthusiasm and commitment that watercolourists bring to their medium. Discussions cover technique, materials, paper selection, colour mixing, and the specific challenges of different watercolour subjects, with a depth and specificity that reflects genuine expertise.

The pastel forum is one of the most active pastel communities online, reflecting the popularity of pastel as a medium and the particular enthusiasm of pastel artists for sharing their knowledge and experience. The forum covers soft pastel, oil pastel, and pastel pencil, with discussions addressing the specific challenges and techniques of each.

The Reference Image Library

The Reference Image Library is one of WetCanvas's most distinctive and valuable features, providing a curated collection of reference photographs that members can use freely in their paintings and drawings. The library has been built up over decades through contributions from members who have photographed and shared subjects including landscapes, still life objects, animals, figures, and other subjects that artists commonly need reference for.

The reference images are available for use by WetCanvas members in their artwork, with clear terms of use that allow artists to use the images as reference without the copyright concerns that arise when using photographs found elsewhere online. For artists who need reference for specific subjects and who want to avoid copyright issues, the WetCanvas reference library is a genuinely valuable resource.

Art Challenges and Structured Practice

WetCanvas runs regular art challenges that provide structured practice opportunities for members who want to develop specific skills or explore specific subjects. These challenges typically run for a defined period, with members sharing their work in a dedicated thread and receiving feedback from other participants.

The challenges serve several important functions for the community. They provide a structured reason to practice regularly, which is one of the most important factors in skill development. They create a shared experience that builds community bonds and accountability. And they expose participants to a range of approaches to the same subject or challenge, which is itself educational.

The 30-in-30 challenges, in which participants commit to completing 30 paintings or drawings in 30 days, are among the most popular on the site, reflecting the value that many artists find in the intensive practice that these challenges require. Participants consistently report that completing a 30-in-30 challenge produces significant skill development and a greater sense of confidence in their ability to produce work regularly.

The Critique Culture

The critique culture on WetCanvas is one of its most valuable aspects, providing artists with access to constructive feedback from knowledgeable peers. The community has developed a culture of critique that is genuinely helpful rather than merely encouraging, with members providing specific, actionable feedback that addresses the actual issues in a work rather than offering vague praise.

This critique culture reflects the community's understanding that genuine improvement requires honest feedback, and that the most helpful response to a work in progress is specific, constructive criticism rather than empty encouragement. The ability to receive this kind of feedback from knowledgeable peers is one of the most valuable things that WetCanvas provides, particularly for artists who do not have access to a local art community or formal art education.

The Archive as Resource

The archive of WetCanvas discussions, spanning more than 25 years, is one of the most comprehensive free resources available for traditional media painters. Virtually every technique question, material question, and creative challenge that artists encounter has been discussed in the WetCanvas forums, and the search function makes it possible to find relevant discussions efficiently.

For artists who are working through specific technical challenges, the archive often contains detailed discussions of exactly the issue they are facing, with multiple perspectives from experienced practitioners. This accumulated knowledge is genuinely valuable and represents one of the most important contributions that the WetCanvas community has made to the broader art education landscape.

The Art Business Section

Beyond technique and medium-specific discussions, WetCanvas maintains an art business section covering the practical aspects of building and sustaining an artistic career. Topics covered include pricing artwork, finding galleries and exhibition opportunities, building an online presence, working with collectors, and the specific challenges of different art career paths.

This business content reflects the community's understanding that artistic development and career development are both important aspects of a sustainable artistic practice, and that artists benefit from access to practical business knowledge alongside technical instruction.

The Bottom Line

WetCanvas is one of the most valuable and long-established online communities for traditional media artists, providing active forums covering every major medium, a reference image library, regular art challenges, a culture of constructive critique, and an archive of more than 25 years of discussions that represents one of the most comprehensive free resources available for traditional media painters. For artists who work in traditional media and who want access to a knowledgeable, supportive community, WetCanvas is one of the most important and reliable resources available.