Early on in my watercolor practice, I googled this, with lackluster results. It seems that I had finally stumbled on a concept so tangential, trivial, and mundane that nobody bothered to post about it. Well that’s my wheelhouse baby!
Logan
What’s the difference between Burnt Sienna (PBr7) and Terra Cotta (PR102)?
Burnt Sienna (PBr7) and Terra Cotta (PR102) are two lovely earth oranges that I will compare from Da Vinci. I pictured them above with Indian Red (PR101) to demonstrate how they are much more similar to each other than to an earth red, and prove to myself that Terra Cotta is really an earth orange. Because its pigment number is similar to Indian Red’s and because other brands call PR102 “Light Red”, I keep wanting to lump it in as an earth red, but it’s really very orange. It therefore vies for the same palette slot as Burnt Sienna. So which of these two earth oranges do I want in my dream palette?
Travel Camera Roll: Nevada, November 2022
Since I’ve been doing my camera roll inspo posts, I’ve noticed I often collect larger numbers of photos from travel because the sights are novel to me. The photos may not be great, but they each show some aspect of place that I want to remember, and that I would combined to use if painting that location. So I’ve decided to sequester unused “possible future reference photos” from each trip into its own post.
This post contains photos is from my trip to Nevada in November 2022. More photos and travel sketches from this trip can be found at Travel Sketches: Las Vegas/Mojave Desert.
Core Colors!
It’s been four years of painting (I forgot to observe my anniversary), and I’ve finally figured out my core six colors!
A beginner’s guide to birdwatching
Talking about my birding hobby is only tenuously on topic for my art blog, but I paint birds, so why not? If you, too, are interested in looking at birds, here are my top tips for getting started with the hobby.
Monthly Retrospective: March 2025
I moved again this month – a smaller one, in terms of space, as we moved just 10 miles across town, but large in terms of time and effort since we moved ourselves, and moved from a furnished to an unfurnished apartment so we have to get furniture and lots of household goods. There is … Read more
New color roundup: DV Perylene Violet, DV Quin Magenta, DV Arylide Yellow, HO Leaf Green
I added some new colors to existing Color Spotlights, and I thought I’d put them all into a blog post to let you know! I tried DV’s new 2025 colors, Perylene Violet and Quin Magenta, as well as new-to-me Arylide Yellow. Jumping over to Holbein, I wanted a yellow-green for my spring palette, so I tried their Leaf Green.
What did I think??
Artist Palette Profiles: Max Romey
Max Romey (@trailboundsketches on Instagram) is an Alaska-based field sketcher and videographer known for working outdoors in freezing temperatures, documenting climate change, and creating highly-produced and experimental videos, such as those that interpose him in his own sketches. He also releases inspiring pep talks to creators, and embarks on interesting projects, such as finding the exact spots his grandmother sketched, or leaving tiny paintings around town to inspire moments of delight.
So what’s in his palette?
Camera Roll Highlights 2023
Earlier, I posted my 2024 Camera Roll photos that I considered possible painting inspiration but had not gotten around to painting. My intention was to “clear out” the year so I could move on painting from more immediately recent photos in 2025. I think this has been helpful to me in feeling less guilt about … Read more
Comparing a Wild Spread of Fountain Pens Ranging from $15 to $200
Whoops, it’s time for me to go down the fountain pen rabbithole!
I tried six relatively inexpensive (under $35) fountain pens, and for funsies, one expensive one: Pilot Custom 74 ($200). Is it worth the upgrade???