In this edition of Artful Links: saying goodbye to a digital art program, identifying that cloud you’re trying to draw, and exhibits to see around DC.

Things to read

Time to say your farewells to Microsoft Paint, that beloved pixel-art software that comes free with Windows. (The Verge)

Update, 7/25: Microsoft announced Paint will be moved to the Windows Store, where it will continue to be available.

The application has been added to a list of “deprecated” features for the next update to Windows, meaning it will no longer be supported or updated — but it isn’t quite gone yet. Instead, Microsoft is throwing its weight behind a pretty-much-completely-different version of the program, Paint 3D.

While Paint — unlike its namesake — was not fully embraced by the fine art community, there were exceptions:

• Hal Lasko, a graphic artist who turned to the accessible Paint when macular degeneration took his eyesight
• Pat Hines, who illustrated his graphic novel with Paint

(We run on Macs and Photoshop here at The Art League, but our heart goes out to all the Paint fans out there.)

If Paint’s exit from the world stage leaves you in need of a new medium to explore, may we suggest … bacteria? (Smithsonian Magazine)

Things to bookmark

Here are a few resources for artists we’ve run across recently:

• Painting en plein air but can’t name that cloud in the sky? Knowledge is power, and the Cloud Atlas isn’t just a very long movie. You can use the online version to identify clouds using a flowchart, and learn more about the individual types. (Above: Cumulonimbus.)
• The Red Dot Blog solicited input from artists on their strategies for naming artwork. What works for you?
• This one goes a little over our head, but digital artists out there might want to explore it: ExtraFile promises new file formats beyond .jpg, .tiff, .gif, and .png (seven and counting).

For more, don’t forget to visit our Artful Resources archive.

Things to go see in DC

There’s a new gallery in SW devoted to digital art, and Hyperallergic wrote up a review of their first exhibit, the interactive “XYZT: Abstract Landscapes.” (ARTECHOUSE, through September 3)

Also on our to-see list: “Revival” at the National Museum of Women in the Arts, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary. Here’s the review from Washington City Paper. (National Museum of Women in the Arts, through September 10)

And, finally, not to forget ourselves: you should come see our exhibits before they close! (The Art League, through August 6)