Why Every Artist Needs a Painting Log

As an artist, one of the most important tools in my arsenal is my painting log. A painting log is simply a record of my artistic process, including the materials I used, the techniques I used, and the inspiration behind each piece. Keeping a painting log is crucial for several reasons. First and foremost, it allows me to track my progress and growth as…

Change of plans…

In my last post I mentioned I was going to paint a bunch of 5″x7″ one of them being of Fulford harbour. Well…. I changed my mind. A 5″x7″ turned into 8×4…Feet. Go big or go home, right? Hahaha! I took some pictures one early morning in spring. A view from Isabella point road on Salt Spring Island. I particularly loved the fog hovering…

Tulips and Tea

A little 5″ x 7″ painting on 1/4″ birch panel. I limited myself to 4 hours on this one. The tulips are from my garden. I bought the tea-cup from a thrift store and changed the pattern. This is one of 24 daily paintings I did last spring. I decided to do another painting challenge. Last year I painted every still life from life…

Rembrandt’s Oil

This painting started with just the jar of oil, but it seemed so boring. So I included the brush, but it still felt like something was missing. The table top just wasn’t working. Then I looked up towards the book shelf and a light bulb lit up! My Rembrandt book! I loved how it worked so perfectly with this still life. The dark background,…

Never give up…

Oil painting is a life long learning experience. Every time we paint, we learn something new. We’re always trying out new techniques, always pushing ourselves further than we think we can go. It’s a good thing. This is how we grow as artists. At times we paint prolifically and there are times where we feel uninspired and don’t paint for months on end. The…

5 Amazing benefits of a daily painting challenge and why you should do it!

Sometimes it’s really difficult to find some kind of enthusiasm when you feel stuck. You find yourself looking through artist’s website for inspiration, only to feel overwhelmed with a sense of panic. Comparing yourself to other artists can be very daunting. You feel like you have been left behind and that you would never be able to catch up. I felt like that after…

Drawing is the foundational skill to a great painting…..

I swear by drawing sight size, in my opinion and experience, it’s the best way to get an exact likeness. It all begins with a plumb line. You could have a vertical and horizontal plumb line if you wish. I went with the vertical. Don’t use a projector to draw, there are no short cuts to gaining skill. The only way is practice, a…

I received the Charcoal Drawing paper and Nitram Charcoal….

This morning I awoke with a renewed excitement.  I’m going to be prepping a painting panel for a new painting. I can barely wait to get started.  This is going to be so much fun! It’s going to be a fairly large piece. Life size. This is my grandson, Hunter. I’m sealing my panel with Golden’s Gac100 and then four coats of Gesso.  Once…

Artists block ~ What’s an artist to do?

Feeling Blah and uninspired? What do you do when you run out of creativity? Is it perhaps boredom? How do you get your muse to move back in and carry on like the good ol’ days when you camped out in your studio, burning the midnight oil, painting like a crazed artist? Now you wake up and stare blankly at your easel wandering how on…

One of the best ways to improve your work….

Don’t you wish winter was over? I know I do… I’m more of a spring and summer kinda girl. I can’t wait to work on my garden and grow veggies and soak up some warm sunshine! Back to my studio, I’m working on a project I can’t wait to share with you! It’s big and will probably take several months to complete. In the meantime,…