Loosen Up Your Watercolor Painting—Here’s an Exercise to Try
Every time I lead a class or workshop, more than half of the participants mention the goal of “loosening up”. Here’s a skill-building exercise to help you move in that direction.
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Get Out of the Moment
Huh? Everything you read these days seems to extol the virtues of being “in the present moment”. I’m not questioning the value of being attentive, appreciative and aware. In fact, a few weeks ago, I suggested some ways to use art-making to deepen your appreciation for the beauty and wonder in your everyday routine and…
Lessons from Life on Planning Watercolors
Planning an entire meal involves more than just knowing cooking techniques. Chances are, you’re all quite familiar with this sort of planning, so let’s see how it connects with planning watercolors.
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.
Is My Painting Done?
This article is the first of a series on creating more powerful, personal and expressive paintings. When I teach watercolor classes or workshops, there is often a moment where a student comes up to me, thrusts a painting into my face and demands: Tell me what’s wrong with it. What do I need to fix?…
Go (a Little) Wild!—How to Loosen Up (Just a Bit) in Watercolor
Are you a control freak when you make art? Or does your inner child go wild? Most of us want to make art that combines structure and spontenaity, but that’s not easy! In workshops and classes at all levels, when we go around the room and talk about what we want to get out of…
Painless Planning for Watercolor, Part 1: Exploratory Drawing
This article is the fourth in a series about creating paintings with more emotion, power and personal meaning. Here are links to the first three: Is My Painting Done? Are You a “Photocopier”? There’s a Better Way The Lazy Way to Build Painting Confidence I know that taking the time to do some planning would…