Do you struggle to be loose in your art? I do (all the time).

I take photos of my process to remind myself there’s always an ugly stage.

But recently I’ve also liked taking photos at stages of a painting where I’m happy with it, but still feel it’s not finished.

That reminds me that it’s okay to let go and paint over something I like to get to something I love.

I use many supplies in my work, but for my faces I mostly use black water-soluble pencil, paint pen, acrylic inks and fluid acrylic paints (I especially love quinacridone nickel azo gold, neon pink and cobalt teal).

Once a painting has completely dried, I use an archival spray varnish to protect the artwork.

I always use a spray to protect and keep my art supplies from smudging like they do when you brush on a topcoat (a spray pastel fixative while working also helps keep any soft pastels or pencil in place).

This new painting is meant to reflect a sense of wonder and light, so I’ve kept her soft like hope and peace. She’s called ‘Magical Gardens’ 11” x 14” (original available) ❤️ I hope she inspires you!

I’ve been experimenting with a few new color combinations and supplies in a few new paintings and can’t wait to share more with you! These paintings are all about hope, peace and light 😊

Of course it’s inspiring my daily watercolor portraits too!

You can check out a video sneak peek below!

This is one of the portraits we’re painting in my new class the Portrait Painting Masterclass, which officially starts on Monday!

If you’d like to learn more about the inspiration behind the Portrait Painting Masterclass, what’s included, and how it works, you can learn more HERE .

I’d be honored to have you join me for this new class. It’s going to be so good and I can’t wait to see the gorgeous paintings you create!

With love + gratitude,
xo Juliette

P.S. I’ve also put together a Free Painting Workshop to share more of my favorite techniques – from covering up the white space to finished painting… click HERE to join my Free Painting Workshop and learn how I create a painting in 30 minutes.