Paintings

Monthly Retrospective: January 2023

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For my 2022 Retrospective, I put all my paintings for the year on one post, which ended up being a Lot. So, I thought I might make a monthly habit (if I remember) of retrospecting one month at a time, including the paintings and goal updates. Goal Updates My New Year’s Resolutions for painting were … 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 Intermediate Landscape Course Module 1: Light

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After two years of painting, I am finally beginning to allow myself to think of myself as intermediate rather than a beginner, and accordingly I am working through Kolbie Blume’s Intermediate Landscapes course. (I actually started it before I did the beginner course!)

A four-module course, the first module concerned light, layers, and contrast. The paintings in this module involved planning multiple layers, making decisions about value contrast, and capturing light effects like glow, shadow, and backlighting.

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Loved & Learned from Kolbie Blume’s Beginner Landscapes

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Beginner Landscapes is a mini-course offered by Kolbie Blume in the course library for members of the Artists Co-op, their monthly subscription service. After nearly two years of watercolor, the most recent of which was spent working through most of Kolbie’s other products (like their 10-Day Painting the Wilderness Challenge, 10-Day Seascapes Challenge, and Wilderness … Read more

My 2022 Sketchbook: All The Paintings of the Year

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I thought it would be helpful, as I review 2022 and move into 2023, to review the paintings I’ve done this year! This may not include everything I painted (especially practice and swatches), but these are all the paintings that I was happy enough to save to my photo roll. The stats: TOTAL: 175 Numbers … Read more

Travel Sketches: Las Vegas/Mojave Desert

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Ash Grove at Spring Valley Ranch. Painted November 26, 2022 (after returning from the trip, based on a composite of travel photos).

Last week, I was in the suburbs of Las Vegas for a family wedding. I was excited to see the surrounding desert landscape, as I’ve never been to the desert! We didn’t have a ton of time outside of family activities and our ambitious stretch goal Grand Canyon trip got predictably cut (though I did see it from the plane window!), but I was delighted with our naturey day trips in the immediate area.

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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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Loved & Learned: Koblie Blume’s Wilderness Watercolor Landscapes Chapter 3: Trees

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I’m working my way through Kolbie Blume’s tutorial book, Wilderness Watercolor Landscapes. Previously, I did the chapters on skies and mountains. Here’s all my work on the chapter on trees. Autumn Misty Pines Paper: Hahnemuhle “Burgund” 250gsm cold press Colors:  Background & pines: Quin Gold, Pyrrol Scarlet, Transparent Red Oxide Foreground leaves: Mixed a scarlet … Read more