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It’s important for me to use great brushes – as an artist, AND to use cruelty-free brushes – as an animal lover. There is no compromise AT ALL with these NEPTUNES, they are terrific – load up FAT with WATER and PIGMENT. The rounds come to exquisite points, each brush is...

I’m often asked about my art supplies and I’m just as curious about other artist’s supplies so here are some of mine. I bought myself a kids set of paints (Reeves, I think), just because i HAD to have that cheery red tin and I’m rather addicted to making new portable...

I put this together after my friend Nancy gave me an empty little tin on our way back from the Camille Pisarro exhibit at the Legion of Honor.  Awesome! I was so surprised that this little tin held 9, count that NINE, half pans.  The tin measures a whopping 2-1/4″ square, and...

And I thought prepping for an exhibition/show was chaos-making!  Well, guess what…I found out that the aftermath brings its own messes. For one, I found a crumpled up piece of paper that I was ready to throw out, only to unfurl it a bit and noticed that there was a business card...

Here you go, fellow artists, a new ART TIP from moi! I tried the lavender before on my oil palette and found it counteracted the strong smell of the oil paints. But here I tried it on the moist sponges to make it smell nice, only to find an additional bonus of the paints lasting really really...

Finally, I found a minute to take the picture of my new travel palette filled with my artist quality gouache from the tubes.  As you can see from the legend, I used as many of my M Graham and Schmincke gouaches as i had.  And used a couple of Holbein – they don’t rewet well, AT...

Sorry to have been more offline than on….i’ve been in Rochester, NY visiting with and helping my dad out – which included a surprise hospital stay.  And I attended my 40th high school reunion which happened to coincide with my stay here. A lot going on these days. I’m...

What on earth am I talking about? The other morning I was leaving for NY for a summer vacation/family visit, I discovered the end of a shipping tape roll, and not being able to resist a good upcycle project, I turned it into a bracelet.  funky, to be sure, but fun funky! And I haven’t...

Seriously, cereal boxes?  I found this idea on the crazy (as in awesomely) talented Alisa Burke’s website, [demo here] but made mine with gussets, rather than flat….well, cuz I need more room in a purse.  My version is also a no-sewing required one….just didn’t have...

Well this was just too much fun! I decided to create my own Facebook, Twitter, Rss, Email and YouTube icons….and as you can see here (hover over it and click to enlarge), I did it in my sketchbook with lightly gessoed pages over book text, used my trusty brush ink pen and my favorite...

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I apologize that the pictures are a bit grainy, but i’ve sized them large enough so you can hopefully see the color changes.  I also defaulted to a palette knife this time, just easier! See my previous posts under ART TIPS for previous information. The colors I used are RO –...

A common complaint, besides the tediousness of making the swatches themselves, is the feeling as though one is wasting paint. I’m with you!!!!!  That has stopped me way too often. But I found a remedy for it and here it is. If you see yesterday’s post, about How To Choose A Water...

I’m ever fascinated by other artists’ palettes.  But there does come a time when one has to choose the colors that work for you, and your style of...

Text first, and pictures below. One of my goals as an artist is to be a SOLVENT-FREE (watersoluble oils), TOXIC-FREE (no cadmiums or cobalts) and CRUELTY-FREE (synthetic brushes) oil painter. So far that translates to: PAINTS no solvents needed water-soluble oils i use royal talens cobra...

Full title: Sophie Ponders Another Valentine’s Day 6 in. x 6 in.   oil on cradled wood panel, ready to hang, sides painted black. $55 includes U.S. SHIPPING Another one of these faces that just come through! I’ve decided to add a...

STEP THREE – The Adventurous Part Once you put your painting under water – a gentle flow, there is LOTS of gentle rubbing to do….this may have taken 15 minutes, though I didn’t really  track time. Rub gently, rub consistently and always be sensitive to the paper, that is, don’t rub...

I set up my plastic covered cardboard so i won’t make a mess. India ink is messy, folks! Garage sale porcelain dish at left to pour ink into. At right a sponge cloth and a very soft watercolor brush.  Soft is important so that you don’t pick up layers of gouache when you layer...

INTRO I love to mix up media, it’s just fun.  And I find that after I finish a batch of paintings and find myself in a bit of limbo while incubating the next painting inspirations, I love to play around with my various art supplies.  I’m guessing that you may have a veritable art store...

and if you were looking for the Golden Open Acrylics review i did…..the link changed, sorry about that. Click to read it...

COLOR THEORY Most of us have been taught the 12-Color Wheel.  It makes sense, it’s pretty, and so on.  BUT BUT BUT something clicked for me when I discovered the 10 Color Wheel and started playing with it.  A guy named Munsell is responsible for coming up with this idea, as I understand...

RESOURCES THAT INSPIRE Everything by Danny Gregory – blog and books (visit www.dannygregory.com) Everything by Cathy “Kate” Johnson (visit her tips here www.cathyjohnson.info/tips.html)and she teaches online courses that are fantastic, check them out! The inimitable Robert Burridge...

As I continue to produce more and more artwork, I have come to realize how much there is to know now about the BUSINESS of art. Here are a few links that I find helpful. You may, too. Art Business Empty Easel Wet Canvas - try General Art Business and Internet Sales Strategies...

I’ve been asked about Golden Open Acrylics – so here’s my response, which i thought would be interesting for some of you contemplating trying them: As for Golden Opens – ah, I had been getting frustrated with my huge array of golden heavy body paints.  Just dry faster...

Ok, so here you see it.  I’ve been working hard!  I paint on wood and then make these wonderful little box frames, sometimes called cradles, for all my paintings.  And here you can see the production I’ve got going.  These are all drying from their second coat of matte black...

My small format 6″ x 6″ daily paintings are so popular, I thought I’d make some of my other sized paintings “ready to frame” as well.  Isn’t it nice to buy artwork that you can take out of the box and hang immediately?   I have built a 1″ box...

Chaos is crazy-making for me.  That said, I’m not one to rummage through a drawer or shelf full of paint tubes and have to hunt around each time i need to lay out a  new color on my palette. My initial system was to use ziploc bags organized by paint colors: -yellows and...

2.5″ x 10″ on gessoed Archesacrylic, mixed media After I tore up my gessoed watercolor paper to the square sizes I needed, i had some of these tall skinny pieces left.  Not one to throw out good paper, I doodled and ended up with these, uh, what I call...

I started out with sketchbooks, lots of them, and I suggest you just buy a few different ones and try them.  It is all sooooo personal what works for an individual artist. Everyone raved about Moleskine’s so I bought one.  Didn’t like the treated paper at all!  Everything I tried to do...

7″ x 7″ on gessoed watercolor paper, varnishedmixed media, gouache, india ink, acrylic The process: Began with white gessoed 140lb cold-pressed watercolor paper, drew a design with a metallic marker. Added brightly colored gouache (took out some of my designer gouache – a...