Starbuck Christmas cups are out, storefront windows are decorated, and holiday sales are cluttering your inbox. Though still weeks away, the pressure is starting to build. Life will soon be filled with cards to send, presents to buy, entertaining, and decorating. Sound overwhelming? It doesn’t have to be. Follow my 5 foolproof tips for a …
This spring, I used my iPad, and the app Procreate to develop some painting ideas for a commissioned beach-themed artwork. Painting digitally is helpful because you can work with the client to try out different ideas without actually applying paint to canvas. You can easily go back and remove the changes with just a click of …
Summer is here, and I’ve relocated to Colorado for the season. The mountains with their wildflowers and quaking aspens have a charm that fills my soul and calls to my heart. Do you have a special summer place you get to visit to recharge your spirit? The beach, a lake, or even a favorite shady …
Portrait Painted by London artist, Nick Bashall While walking through Chelsea on an art tour, I got to meet one of Englands’ leading portrait painters, Nick Bashall. This meeting led to the exciting opportunity to watch this London portrait painter do a live demo. Chelsea was renowned as the epicenter of Swinging London in the …
Of course! I dreamed of getting my artwork published in a magazine but always thought of it as a long shot. And making the cover? Impossible. So, I was surprised and thrilled to have my artworks, Jeweled Forest One and Two, featured on the cover of Wild Apple‘s Art Decor February 2019 Issue. Wild Apple …
In a previous blog post, I wrote about putting together a travel sketching kit. Here, you can see me putting my travel kit into action. So as not to make the video too long, I sketched the twig before the video started and compressed it into a hyper-lapse format. Watch me use colored pencils as …
I was thrilled to be selected for a 22-page article in the international contemporary art review magazine Art Habens. Picked to be featured in their Biennial Anniversary edition (10 years and going strong), I was given one of their longest spreads ever! In the magazine interview, we touch on the way my artistic inquiry explores the …
Travel sketching is fun to do while on vacation. While I don’t consider myself an advanced sketcher, my sketches have a way to bring back vivid memories of my trip, much more so than photographs (which I take lots of too 🙂 Sketching requires me to be wholly present while I explore and record my new experiences. After much trial and …
Figuring out exactly what type of painting a commission client wants is harder than you might think. I start with having them review my past work and telling me which elements appeal to them. Then I ask about size, color palette, mood, and more. I’m just starting a new commission and I thought it would …
One suggestion to working faster and looser is to on start multiple paintings at one time. I use the same paper size and color palette to work up four different versions. That way, I can just move from painting to painting, adding a little here and there, letting it evolve more naturally. Everything is a …
