Most of my paintings begin with the eyes, but they are always the hardest thing to paint and I can never stop until they resonate with my soul. I begin with a few colored fingerprints on a solid background. Then add in my eye outline and definition with water-soluble pencil. Next, I go back in with more color and a little white paint pen on... Continue reading

Do you ever get stuck with your paintings? I do (all the time). Whenever I try to be loose in my art, it never works. Sometimes it seems like it’s only the happy accidents and mistakes that lead to freedom in my paintings. The other day, I spilled a brand new bottle of neon pink ink onto my nearly finished painting. The color spread all... Continue reading

Lately I’ve felt a bit stuck and disappointed with my paintings. I’ve had to take steps away before I overwork my characters. If I paint over something again and again, I know I’ve stopped having fun. I’m usually trying to make my paintings perfect. Sometimes when I look at a finished painting and remember all of the layers underneath, I still forget that I was... Continue reading

One of the questions I get asked most often is whether I actually use my background layers for the base of my character paintings. Yes! The playful first layers I create always become backgrounds for my paintings… some just sit and acquire layers more than others in my studio ❤️ You’ll often still see those first layers showing through in the final painting. When I’m... Continue reading

Are you sometimes afraid to make a mistake? The best worst advice I’ve ever gotten was when someone told me not to be an artist. It was the greatest thing they could’ve said. In that one moment, I finally recognized I couldn’t not be an artist. And that was the beginning of me becoming a full-time artist and entrepreneur. But I still find it hard... Continue reading

Sometimes my paintings happen intuitively. I might see an eye or a spot that looks like a nose in my playful background layers. When that happens, I go with those instincts. But most of the time, I don’t see anything in the paint I’ve found I return again and again to doodling with just a few supplies – starting with a loose layer of watercolors.That’s... Continue reading

Being loose and free in my art is something I’ve learned to do, especially when it comes to eyes and faces. Having fun and playing as I paint allows me to capture the soul of my characters. But sometimes I need to get out of my own way and start playing again so I can stop thinking so much and really uncover the beauty. The... Continue reading

Every painting has an ugly stage. And it’s always at that point, where I’ve repainted a face ten times, that I feel like giving up. As I paint, I stay really conscious of how I’m feeling and when I get frustrated. Part of my creative process is trying new things and covering up what I don’t like, which is forever changing and evolving just like... Continue reading

One of my secrets for letting go and painting more freely is to make it easy for myself to create. That’s why I always have a few backgrounds going at once in my studio. I add layers whenever I have a few minutes – some acrylic inks. acrylic paints, paint pen and water-soluble oil pastels. Painting these first layers helps me stay loose and adds... Continue reading