Did you know one of history's greatest painters used an overgrown thumbnail as his secret artistic tool?
J.M.W. Turner was an absolute master of capturing nature's raw, untamed power. In this striking 1825 watercolor, he transports us directly to the ancient Greek temples of Paestum during a violent thunderstorm on the coast of Italy.
To create those brilliant flashes of lightning, Turner literally scratched directly into the wet paper using his deliberately sharpened thumbnail. He fiercely guarded these innovative techniques, notoriously hating when anyone watched him work. Through sheer genius, he elevated watercolor from a simple sketching tool into a deeply expressive fine art form that rivale...