Painting Watercolors to Break Creative Block When is it hard to paint? Not because of squeezed schedules, demanding jobs or illness; I’m talking about when
Natural Ochre Pigments for Watercolors There’s an incredible ochre mine in the Vaucluse region of Provence. On a recent trip, fellow workshop attendees and I
Art Workshops and Comparing Your Work to Others A few weeks ago, I worked as crew with WorkshopsinFrance.com, during a fantastic Carol Marine workshop at
If you visit here often, you might know I’m an Audiobook fan. I recently finished listening to News of the World, Born a Crime and The
I’m home from France, fresh over jet-lag and loaded head to toe with inspiring photos, ideas & new friends. I’m particularly marinating in game-changing tips and tricks
Inspiration from the Past We haven’t lived in the home that inspired the watercolor still life above for over a decade. But during the years
I’ve been working in shorter fits and starts this year, because, you know, life is full. I’m relatively efficient at the transition between calamity of boisterous family
Are You a Creative Person? I just had a chat with my neighbor about creativity. I talk about being creative a lot at art festivals and social mixers.
Staggered Beginnings I started this monotype in my previous studio about three years ago. Yep, that’s a thousand days, people. I’m predictable in my art-making process; I
Making Art Inspired by Life Happening Around You This mat board collagraph started as a doodle on a scrap piece of paper. You don’t have
Painting Watercolor of Your Own Stuff Years ago, my friend VLB returned from a trip to Mexico and gave me this hand painted bowl supported
Artist Job Preparations I’ll be at the San Diego Artwalk and the Sierra Madre Art Fair in back to back weekends, and then off to France
Collagraph Printmaking Still Life from Mat Board I stayed at The Old Mill Inn – a Bed & Breakfast in Hatfield, Massachusetts a few years ago
How to Title Your Art Descanso Gardens is in La Canada, California. The grounds boast 34,000 camellia shrubs, 25 acres of California Oak trees, 3000 roses and
Get in the Habit of Sketching More Often I want to sketch and draw more this year. I’ve commanded my art-making brain to sketch more often
This watercolor was inspired by a photo snapped after a whirlwind trip to Mexico City in the early 1980’s. The breakfast table was set in the
Creative Personality Traits A daily schedule with habitual, obligatory segments is something I associate with grade school, corporate offices and cats. But even still, I adore a creative
No Room on the Artist Elevator Years ago (before social media), an accomplished art instructor gave me a lecture about being industrious in the art
Dogs as Art Models There’s an adorable, shiny black lab who insists on sharing my cheese and crackers when we hang out. It’s impossible to resist
Drypoint on Drafting Film A drypoint-from-drafting-film printmaking experiment resulting in the art above is posted on my youtube channel. You can make a drypoint engraving on
Artist Distraction Solutions Are you wrestling with distraction? Do you have a pile of reference material and inspiration you’ve been saving for a decade, waiting
The ideas I have for new watercolor paintings, woodcuts, monotypes, drypoints and tutorial videos are swelling to burst. I’ve got concepts piled high enough in my cranial attic to
Woodcut Print with Watercolor – and Artists’ Time Management Do you use time wisely? Are you making new stuff? And sharing your art on social media?
Artist’s Goals, Part II This is part II of plotting your artist goals for the new year. In the last post, we reviewed what we did (and
What are your artist goals for 2017? How did they work for you in 2016? A review of what’s behind us is helpful for planning what’s
Packing Small and Traveling with Watercolor I mentioned in the last post that I recently returned from a vacation, and I’m dedicated to packing small,
I’m back in the studio after a week-long vacation with family. The moleskine watercolor above was inspired by the decadent dessert my husband and I shared
Why You Should Start an Art Blog If you’ve wondered about starting an art blog, and backed away from the idea, waving the bold lettered banner
Dark Field Monotype Printmaking I love the pre-raphaelite painters Millais, Hunt, Rosetti and Waterhouse. Their incredibly imaginative visual interpretations of Arthurian & Greek legends inspire scrutiny
Online Art Classes You’ve probably heard that everything online is moving towards video. You can read articles with statistics on trends, and look at popular
