Abstract Cow Painting: How a Bad Plein Air Day Led to My Cow Portraits
See how a failed plein air day (and a run-in with the cops) turned into my loose abstract cow portrait series. Mixed media demo plus story time.
How to Know When to Stop Painting (Before You Overwork It)
Struggling to know when a painting is done? Here’s how I loosen up a stiff piece, spot the fussy stage, and stop before I overwork it.
Watercolor Still Life: Paint a Vase and Lemons with Negative Space
Paint a simple watercolor still life with basic washes and negative space. Follow along as a blue vase and lemons come to life, step by step.
How to Critique Your Own Painting (and Decide What to Fix)
Not sure why a painting feels off? Here’s how I critique my own work: spot stiff shapes, straight lines, and dull color, then fix it or start fresh.
Art Warm Up Routine: Draw a Recycled Container to Loosen Up
A simple art warm up routine using a container from your recycle bin. Draw it three loose ways, get your hands moving, and build a daily art habit.
Paint Everyday Objects: A Mixed Media Still Life Over Collage Strips
Learn to paint everyday objects in a mixed media still life. Glue collage strips onto a reject watercolor, paint simple canisters on top, and let the layers show.
Lobster Boat Drawing Study
Explore a lobster boat through graphite, charcoal, and crayon in this video drawing lesson about observation, varied marks, and getting to know your subject.
How to Start Mixed Media: Crayon, Watercolor, and Your Old Rejects
Wondering how to start mixed media painting? Here’s how I got into it 20 years ago with crayons and watercolor, and how old rejects became my starting point.
Mixed Media Foundations: Build on What Didn’t Work
You’ve been throwing away your best starting points. Learn how your media behave and mix, then turn failed experiments and old sketches into the foundation for something new.
Acrylic Progressions: Think With Paint
Most acrylic courses teach you how to finish a painting. This one teaches you how to think with paint. Use structure, value, color, and time to push your acrylics from controlled to loose and expressive.
Watercolor Progressions: Go Too Far
You’ve been treating watercolor like it’s going to break. It’s not. Start with structure, then progressively let it go until the looseness is earned, not accidental.
Value & Color: See Light Before Color
Your color work isn’t a color problem. It’s a value problem. Learn to see and control light and dark first, so you can stop chasing the perfect color and make more convincing paintings.