Hello! I’m writing to you today from my studio in the woods where I’ve been out in the garden, working on a few new portrait paintings and lots of watercolors too.
The flowers are blooming like magic and I’ve been waking up in the early mornings to photograph the sky and clouds.
Summertime is one of my biggest inspirations, so I’m always taking photos for color inspiration.
Instead of adding a thick layer of solid paint color on top, add a transparent ink or watercolor, then dots of white paint pen to show depth.
Oftentimes just returning to my favorite techniques whenever I get stuck, helps me overcome creative blocks, so I can be brave and paint with freedom again.
Having fun and letting go are essential to my creative process.
Whenever I begin a painting I’ll layer at least three colors. This is one of the easiest ways to give depth to a painting as I cover up the white space.
I begin with my background, mixing a little acrylic paint with acrylic ink, then add a face by sketching in the features with a little water-soluble pencil.
This keeps my portrait looking super loose.
Then, layer by layer, working slowly, I add more definition and detail to the abstraction that’s already there.
I’m in the middle of a few more layered mixed media paintings that I can’t wait to share with you soon.
In the meantime, here’s a little sneak peek at one of the daily watercolor portraits we’re painiting in the Portrait Painting Masterclass . I hope you enjoy it!
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
Happy Painting!
xo Juliette Crane
P.S. If you’d like to paint more together but don’t have a lot of time, I’ve also put together my Happy Painting Mini Course, which has five-instant-access projects to get you started. Click here to Watch a Video Sneak Peek at the Happy Painting Mini Course.