Challenges

Alternative Paint Suggestions for Kolbie Blume’s Painting the Wilderness: Light Challenge

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Golden Hour from a Kolbie Blume tutorial. November 6, 2022.

My first and favorite watercolor teacher/influencer/youtuber, Kolbie Blume, will be posting a new, free, 5-day challenge on Youtube on September 12. I’ll be participating once again, trying to keep up with each tutorial and post my work the same or next day. It’ll be the first time I’ve done any tutorial since Kolbie’s last challenge, World of Color! Even though I’m trending away from tutorials generally, I’m excited to be working alongside Kolbie’s rich online community for this one. I’ve participated in all of Kolbie’s challenges since I discovered their first Painting the Wilderness 10-Day Challenge in late 2021.

For the World of Color challenge in February, I posted alternative color suggestions for Kolbie’s palette. I stand by those! Per their new official supply list, Kolbie is still using the same colors, so please check that prior post for the general list of alternative suggestions. Below, I’ll post what I’m using this time (some new-to-me colors!), and I’ll reveal how my chosen alternatives went last time!

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Alternative Paint Suggestions for Kolbie Blume’s World of Color 10-Day Challenge

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Kolbie Blume’s new 10-Day Challenge, World of Color, starts today! I thought it would be a fun public service for anyone else who is participating to present my mapping table of color alternatives to the colors Kolbie indicated using in their Supplies video.  Slot Kolbie Uses Alternatives Yellow WN Lemon Yellow Deep (PY159) – unusual … Read more

Reflections on Lisa Spangler’s Nature Spot Challenge

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I previously profiled the palette of Lisa Spangler (@sideoats on Instagram), a watercolor artist based in Austin, Texas who pioneered the concept of “nature spots,” swatches of colors in the natural world. Nature spots can be less intimidating to paint than full scenes, especially if you’re on the go, but can be a great way … Read more

Loved & Learned from Kolbie Blume’s 10-Day Seascapes Challenge

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Painting of a small sea turtle underwater.

In late November/early December 2021, I did Kolbie Blume’s 10-day Painting the Wilderness challenge on Youtube, and I had an amazing time. It came at just the right time in my watercolor journey, showing me that I could paint far more complex scenes than I thought I could. So when Kolbie released a second ten-day challenge in late April/early May 2022, I was excited to join in again.

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