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Keep Lighting and Contrast Always in Mind
Keep lighting and contrast always in mind when sketching—I couldn’t say it enough when I was teaching. In almost every instance where a student was having trouble with a visual focal point or showing form, what was lacking was a clear sense of lighting and a follow through with contrast. It doesn’t matter which medium […]
A TV Tip: Remaking Things
If you enjoy watching people tinkering to transform things from one state to another, and then also talk about the fixing and making you might have fun watching “Saved and Remade.” It’s a British show and at the time I am posting it’s on Amazon Prime. People bring in old items that are busted or […]
Neocolor II or KingArt Artist Mixed Media Gel Sticks?
If you’ve been following along this past few weeks you’ll know that I used some “stick” media in my 2026 International Fake Journal Month Journal. And that led to questions, which led to a discussion, which led to me making some videos about Caran d’Ache Neocolor II Water-soluble Wax Pastels (CANII) here. And also this […]
In Context: Still Good Advice
I found this Earth’s World Fairgoer in my digital file from October 2024. The advice is still good. In fact I think I’ll do that as soon as I post this. (Click on the image to read the text.) Meanwhile, more advice, this time from me to you—if you want to think about color it’s […]
Who Says I Don’t Paint Selfies?
Yep this is a selfie of me. I was showing the painting in a Zoom meeting with an art group and I realized it was me—after I realized we no longer had rule of law in the U.S. Oddly it’s one of the first color illustrations I’ve made in the first 3 months of the […]
Vintage Hair—Mixed Media and Palette Organization
Today it’s a photo step-by-step and not a video as I paint a mixed media portrait with a vintage hair style. Since I’m not teaching currently I sometimes turn the drawing table camera on for my own benefit to look at how I progressed through stages. But sometimes I simply take photos at various stopping […]
Fluid 100 Journal, Blocks, and Pads Reviewed
I’ve used Fluid 100 since it first came out. I tried it because it was introduced as a gelatin-sized watercolor paper—and we all know how much that matters to me. For those of you who don’t know about Fluid 100 just a little bit of background. Fluid 100 is the 100 percent cotton paper sold […]
A Gouache Portrait
Note: There is a video of my painting session at the end of this post. I sat down on the 14th to sketch and for some reason turned on the camera. I don’t do that very often because I’m not teaching. But I am always learning—and one thing I found interesting in making teaching […]
Short Projects for Holiday Schedules
Everyone knows I love projects. This is a video post, but first you need some context. Update 11.25.24: Please note this post got long and I didn’t cover different types of finishes to use if you’re working with watercolor. I will have suggestions in a blog post on Tuesday. If you’re framing these pieces under […]
Rewetting Dried Watercolor (and Gouache)
I’ve posted a video on YouTube today about rewetting dried watercolor—either dried tube paint or paint that came in pans. I did this because a friend asked me about painting with gouache. She didn’t understand how I managed my water in gouache—either fresh from the tube, or when it was dried out. I explained that […]