How Do I Paint Tan? (beige/khaki/sand/bark/fur/feathers/skin)
An easy tip for mixing lively, interesting and natural-looking browns, tans, skin tones, fur, feathers, etc.
Blog
Postcard Paint- (and Plan-)Along: Coast Sunflowers
Tips for planning a manageable painting/postcard and coping with a complex subject when sketching on location.
Avoiding Pencil Lines in Your Watercolors
Some alternative ways to make planning marks to avoid visible pencil lines in the finished painting.
What’s That Pen You Use for Drawing?
A lot of people have been asking about what pen I use for drawing in my journals. In this post, I describe the bottled waterproof ink and pen(s) I use in my Studio Journal, and a couple of alternative options if you prefer cartridges over bottled ink.
Postcard Paint-Along—Dragonfly
A simple dragonfly postcard, suitable for all experience levels.
The Evolution of a Painting — The Moon’s Web
In this video, look over my shoulder and watch as one of my paintings evolves from initial concept sketch to the final version.
Working in Drafts to Paint the Lighthouse
Learn a more free form approach to planning as we complete the lighthouse painting we designed in the latest series of videos.
Deciding How to Reserve or Recover Whites and Lights in Watercolor
Some things to watch out for that make it easier or harder to reserve lights and whites in watercolor.
From Design to Plan—Painting Sequence
A “default” strategy for deciding on the painting sequence for a watercolor. We’ll see how it was used for two earlier examples and then apply it to the designs from our last video.
How to Use Reference Photos More Creatively
Here are some ideas for breaking free from “the tyranny of the photo” so you can use your photo references more creatively
Three Simple Strategies for Designing Your Own Watercolors
3 simple strategies you can use to start designing simple paintings of your own, even if you just picked up a brush for the first time today.
Christmas Trees with Lights at Night
A watercolor postcard of lighted Christmas trees at night on a snowy slope.