Hi artist, Watercolour is the hardest medium. How many of us started painting with that warning ringing in our ears? Maybe it made you doubt whether you had what it takes to be able to paint competently. Maybe it made you tighten your grip on the brush, working warily and ready to switch to damage control as soon as the painting took an unforeseen turn. How I wish we'd been told this instead: Watercolour thrives on the unexpected. I didn't realize until years into my watercolour journey that...
14 days ago • 1 min read
Hello Reader, I took my first watercolour class when I was 18 years old, over 30 years ago, and yet I spend a lot of time thinking about where I've come from. My art today looks nothing like what I thought my art would become, and I'm so glad! My original style was very controlled! As part of the introduction to Watercolour Mastery: Dynamic Value, I spent some time telling my story of how I got into watercolour, and then how I discovered that I had freedom to paint in the loose and fluid...
25 days ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, There are three important elements to growth that all need to happen if you really want to feel a sense of ownership over your artistic practice. I talk about these in detail in one of the introductory lessons in Watercolour Mastery. Preview that lesson for free here: VIDEO LINK 3 Areas of Artistic Development You might categorize the first area of growth as physical - moving your brush, mixing paint and applying it to paper will give you a body of knowledge that will help you...
27 days ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, Over the last month I've been watching the lessons in Watercolour Mastery: Dynamic Values. It's been over a year since I last taught this course and after this long it's a new experience watching through the lessons and learning all over again from the themes and goals of the course. One thing that stands out to me in the way I teach on value is that there is a tension between the idea of value as a technique for creating contrast and form in art and value as a communication of...
28 days ago • 1 min read
Hi Reader, How does an artist start with a less than amazing reference photo to find a beautiful painting waiting to be born? I snapped this photo back in December, through a dirty car window, on a road trip, in an industrial part of the city of Edmonton. The sky is beautiful, what you can see of it, but most of us would probably scroll right past and choose a more accommodating painting subject. I might have too, but I've learned how to recognize that flash of inspiration, and how to see...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Join me for a live video session today at 1pm Pacific time (tap the link or image to see the countdown and time in your area). I'll be reworking an old painting and talking about design strategies and how to evaluate and strengthen your own work. This link will take you to the live session, or if you miss, it, to the recording of the session: LINK Watercolour Mastery: Dynamic Values opens for enrollment August 27th. I'll be sharing more about the course over the next couple of weeks. If...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Dear Reader, There was a time when it felt like everything hung on getting a favourable critique of my art. Imagine knowing for sure that my painting was good! Imagine, too, the secret fear that the painting I was most proud of was at risk of being judged and deemed a failure. I don't really think about getting that kind of approval or valuation of my art anymore. I still experience feelings of being judged; just last month I received an email rejecting a painting I'd submitted to an art...
about 1 month ago • 1 min read
Dear artist, I'm intrigued by the human brain; I love thinking about the reasons we do what we do and think what we think. And I especially find fascinating the way my own mind has changed over the years. One area where my tastes have really changed is regarding the kind of art I enjoy. There was a time when I felt like modern art felt like a kind of gatekeeping; that there was a sphere of the art world that delighted in creating art that confused the "normal folk," and I had no desire to be...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Hi Reader, Isn't it amazing how easy it is to remember every hurtful thing anyone has ever said about your art? Whether it was a well-meaning comment that somehow diminished your work, or a criticism that made you feel like quitting, a negative remark will outweigh twenty words of praise, and then some! Your "Check Engine" Light is blinking... When criticism is devastating, it serves as an indication that I'm fueling a need for validation from outside sources, rather than from my own internal...
2 months ago • 2 min read