I’ve learned that if I’m striving to be perfect in my art, I just end up frustrated and make a muddy mess. So instead, I take a step away whenever I stop having fun. Then I start a new painting and play… that’s when owls and backgrounds are the perfect thing to paint. It’s so often the things I don’t plan in my paintings that... Continue reading

All of my early paintings ended up in the basement or trash. I never thought anyone would want to see my artwork. I was working a draining day-job as an editorial assistant at a newspaper and I thought, “Does it even matter if I paint?” It hurt my heart to not create, yet I buried my desire and, for years, I stopped painting. But I... Continue reading

Whenever I need to loosen up, I start playing with color and experimenting with art supplies. I’ve always loved experimenting with spray inks in my paintings. I used to hand cut stencils on paper and add spray inks to create a gradient effect (layering many colors over one stencil). Lately I’ve been using acrylic inks more for splatter experiments. In a recent painting, I made... Continue reading

Do you ever just want to throw your painting away? This happens to me (a lot). Usually it’s the eyes or face I want to completely get rid of and cover up. Oftentimes I’ve overworked them and they look way too perfect and painted on. That’s when I dump water on top of the face and scrub away the layers until just a few lines... Continue reading

The owl that’s featured in my Free Painting Workshop is one of my favorites to create, especially whenever I’m stuck and need to paint a character with it’s eyes closed (this makes painting eyes so much easier). But lately I’ve been painting more characters with their eyes open. One of my favorite ways to begin these big eyes is to start with two fingerprints on... Continue reading

In every painting I use acrylic paints, acrylic inks, oil paintsticks, liquid watercolors, paint pens and water-soluble pencil. Then when I hit an ugly stage or when I’ve been painting over a face again and again, I dig deep into my art supplies and get something I haven’t used in a while for new inspiration. Here’s some of my favorite supplies: *Stabilo Marks All Coloring... Continue reading

Lately I’ve been taking some time to really slow down and indulge in being creative. But a few days ago I was painting and I got really frustrated. For a while I’d been creating these very layered portraits of women with realistic faces and wild hair, using lots of art supplies and papers. I enjoyed that they evolved with every mark and layer, but I... Continue reading

The question I’m asked most often is how I developed my style. I paint a lot (usually every day). And I try to balance staying in my comfort zone with pushing myself, so I can keep developing my style. As I paint, I stay really conscious of how I’m feeling and when I get frustrated. I take photos of my work in progress, so I... Continue reading

Being loose and free in my art is something I’ve learned to do. 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, so I can stop thinking so much and really uncover the beauty. That’s when I go back to painting whimsical animals. Animals... Continue reading