Mixed Media
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.
Free Lessons
Free drawing and painting lessons in watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media. Watch, practice, and start loosening up. When you’re ready to go deeper, the Lab is waiting.
Process
10 Tips for Painting Loose (That Actually Work)
Want to paint loose? Here are 10 tips that work: draw loose, paint on paper, keep it simple, mix media, and stop chasing finished art. Plus a bonus tip.
Watercolor
Wet-on-Wet Watercolor Bananas: A Loose Progression Exercise
Practice loose wet-on-wet watercolor with bananas. Paint four studies, leave the first unfinished, and learn to scrub out and blot when a wash goes wrong.
Mixed Media
How to Paint a Horse Loosely: Acrylic, Charcoal & Mixed Media
Learn how to paint a horse loosely with acrylic, charcoal, and watercolor. Focus on rhythm and movement, then simplify, lose edges, and let the painting breathe.
Mixed Media
Use a Bad Painting as a Palette: How Accidents Become Art
I used a reject watercolor as a throwaway palette for acrylics, and the accident turned out better than the original. Here’s how mixing paint can become art.
Mixed Media
Chair Painting Exercise: A Loose Watercolor and Mixed Media Workout
Try this chair painting exercise to loosen up. Paint one simple subject several times, starting with watercolor and adding ink, crayon, graphite, and acrylic.
Mixed Media
Mixed Media Cup Collage: Torn Paper and Negative Space Painting
Make a mixed media cup collage with torn scrap paper and negative space painting. A fun, loose project that covers up a reject and turns scraps into art.
Watercolor
Loose Watercolor Isn’t Random: The Structure Underneath
Loose watercolor isn’t careless. Learn the design, value, and movement thinking that supports expressive painting, and why structure makes your work freer.
Watercolor
Watercolor Focal Point: Push One Thing, Let the Rest Fall Apart
Learn how to choose a focal point in watercolor. Find the one thing that excites you, push it, and combine wet-on-wet with dry brush so the rest can breathe.
Process
My Garage Art Studio: You Don’t Need a Perfect Space to Make Art
Garage art studio with a painting table, hanging rakes and shovels, and a red tool chest in the background.
Acrylic
How to Paint Over an Old Acrylic Painting (5-Minute Teacup Exercise)
Learn how to paint over an old acrylic painting and let the layers show through. A loose 5-minute teacup exercise that turns a reject into something new.
Watercolor
How to Find Your Own Art Style: Stop Copying and Start Interpreting
Want to find your own art style? Stop copying other artists and reference photos, build your fundamentals, and learn to interpret what you see.