I don’t know about you but I always appreciate seeing how things are made so I decided to document the process of how I make my monthly desktop wallpapers for you.
Just in case you don’t already know, I make a free monthly desktop and phone wallpaper to gift to friends on my email list. I’ve been doing this since April 2017 - shortly after I started this blog!
Read MoreSo you’ve bought watercolor supplies. You know they are good supplies and you’re excited to use them. You’ve got everything out on the table. But now what…are you wondering what to do next?
If you’re sitting there wondering how to actually *start* watercoloring, I’m going to give you a few ideas in today’s blog post.
The suggestions I give below are ways of getting started with watercolors that have worked for me. There are many ways to approach starting and learning with watercolors besides what I’m suggesting, but I hope that this gives you some ideas. The methods will vary based on your own personality and how you like to learn and explore new things.
Read MoreI’m still not sure if “behind the scenes” is the right term for this but in today’s blog post and video I am sharing the story behind where the idea of painting these watercolor ultrasounds came from and the process of how I paint them.
So where did this idea come from?
Well - it wasn’t an “idea” that I came up with while brainstorming one day or anything. And to be honest, I love that it didn’t originate that way.
Read MoreWhether you consider yourself a skilled watercolor artist or a beginner, one thing is for certain: you’ve spent your fair share of time investigating watercolor supplies.
I’m also pretty sure about another thing: at some point in time you have thought to yourself, “if I just buy ‘X’ tool/supply/product, it’s going to make my art better”.
Which, if you’re a beginner, is often followed immediately by this thought: “Too bad I’m not good enough to be using ‘X’ supply yet.”
In this blog post, I’m going to share why you deserve to use better quality or professional grade supplies, even if you’re “just a beginner”.
Read MoreToday, I’m sharing with you how I painted these simple, abstract ballerina figures using watercolors.
I received this question from a student in my online watercolor course, Just Watercolor and thought it would be a great one to share on the blog.
Here was her exact question:
I absolutely love your ballet girls. How did you do them? How did you keep them simple and abstract? Was it a happenstance movement of a brush that created them initially, or were you trying to create exactly that? What inspired them? How did you do them? How big are they? Did they turn out differently than you envisioned? Did you make mistakes and have to start over?
Read MoreIf you’ve ever wondered about how to make pastel colors using watercolors, I’m sharing all about it in this blog post.
You might have heard that when painting with watercolors, white is not used. So if that’s the case…how do you make pastel colors, right?
Read MoreAmazon has made a lot of things available at just the push of a button and while it can be dangerous for the wallet, it does mean access to many art supplies at affordable prices. Not to mention, miscellaneous tools and supplies that I find myself using quite a lot.
Today I’m going to share with you what I think are the best watercolor supplies you can get on Amazon.com.
Read MoreI painted a bunch of peach slices the other day to digitize for September's monthly wallpaper and decided to film it just in case I wanted to share it with you. It’s not the best quality, but I thought it might help to share the video and talk through what I was thinking when I painted them.
Read MoreIt’s said that no experience in life is ever wasted, that everything you learn is valuable. This is true for me when it came to digitizing my artwork.
I spent 13 years in architecture learning and using Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, and InDesign for graphics and presentations. So when it came to digitizing my watercolor paintings, I pretty much already knew how - which was so helpful!
For those you that are just figuring this out and are less familiar with the software programs, I’m going to show you how I get my watercolor paintings into my computer and cleaned up using Adobe Photoshop.
Read MoreIf you're just getting into watercolors or you've been painting for a while, sometimes it's fun to just experiment with techniques that you don't normally use when painting. I usually only paint using the basic watercolor techniques (see #1-#3) , but some of these are really fun to play around with, even if it's not for a final painting.
I especially love playing around with experiments like this if I find myself at a loss for ideas or not wanting to sit down to paint any subject in particular!
So here's a quick round up of 10 fun watercolor techniques that you can give a try (if you haven't already!)
Read MoreWhen I decided to “doodle” this pattern into my sketchbook last year and record it, I had no idea that it would be so popular. I posted a video of it to Instagram and it has (for some crazy reason) been shared by quite a few of those viral video accounts.
I want to be on the record to say, I am the first person in line to agree that this pattern is by no means a crazy feat or even close to being a masterpiece. I actually came across a hilarious comment from someone responding on one of those video accounts that basically asked: “Why is everyone so amazed by this, it’s not like she’s Picasso.” I laughed and still can’t agree more!
Read MoreWatercolor has the reputation of being difficult. It has been know to cause feelings of frustration, defeat, and disappointment. Especially for those who are just starting out and all they want is to paint something they can be proud of.
In the beginning stages of learning, we tend to take things very seriously and put our full concentration into that subject. With painting, this can manifest in the form of control. Control works well with mediums like acrylic - where the paint acts in a predictable way. It goes where you put it and the color you see on your palette is the color you get on your paper. Watercolors don’t act that way, which means that the more you try to control them, the more difficult the experience might feel.
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