Paintings

What’s in my recycle bin?

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I post most of my paintings here on the blog and my instagram. I regard very few as “not good enough.” I wouldn’t have nearly a painting a day if I exerted rigorous quality control. Posting nearly everything helps me to be less precious and critical of my own work.

However, there are some paintings that I decide to bin without posting (and sometimes without finishing), for various reasons. Today, paradoxically, I’ll post some of the paintings I decided not to post. Let’s take a trip through my December recycle bin.

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Monthly Retrospective: December 2023

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I’ll do an annual retrospective in another post, but here’s my look at just the month of December. Having finished my National Parks project in November, I took the month of December officially off challenges to do whatever. That said, I still ended up doing some challenges, as a treat – including finishing Magrish’s 3-week … Read more

#magrish_challenge_sky 2023 (+2022!)

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For the last three years, one of my favorite sky painters, Maria Smirnova (@magrish on Instagram), has posted a three-week challenge at the end of November (#magrish_challenge_sky). Each week, she posts a black-and-white sky photo, and you’re invited to paint it in any colors you wish. I joined for the first time last year, and I participated this year as well.

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Photo to Painting: Blue November Edition

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Lately I’ve been painting a lot more from my own photos, especially flawed or odd photos. Winter Sun What I I love about the original photo: that super bright blue and yellow in the distant sky! The contrast between vivid and dull. What I don’t like about original photo: The bright sky is much too … Read more

Monthly Retrospective: November 2023

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I started November with a trip to Vancouver and a bunch of small travel sketches. Upon returning home, I hustled to finish my U.S. National Parks project. On another quick trip over the border to Toronto, I added a few more travel sketches. I also started #magrish_challenge_sky for my second year. I rounded out the … Read more

What I Learned from Painting All 63 U.S. National Parks in a Year

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In 2023, I challenged myself to paint at least one scene from each of the 63 US National Parks. I started in February, with a mini gouache of Big Bend as a sort of proof of concept, then began working my way down an alphabetical list. I finally finished with Zion in late November. You can find them all on my National Park Collection page (I’ve also included several in this post!)

Big Bend National Park in gouache on Bockingford HP. February 4, 2023.
Zion National Park in watercolor on Lanaquarelle. November 19, 2023.

This was a great opportunity to learn – not only about technique and about the parks themselves, but about my own preferences as an artist. Here’s what I discovered.

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