Painting Winter Berries: A Simple Two-Color Watercolor Tutorial
Discover the beauty of simplicity in watercolor painting. In this tutorial, I share how I created a dreamy winter berries composition using only two colors—a brilliant jadeite green and vibrant permanent red. Learn the techniques that bring loose, atmospheric paintings to life without the need for reference photos or dozens of colors.
How to Paint Juicy Watercolor Tomatoes: A Summer-Inspired Tutorial for Loose and Vibrant Results
Embrace the "tomato summer" trend in art with this comprehensive guide to painting juicy, vibrant watercolor tomatoes. I share my techniques for creating organic shine, perfect color blending, and loose, expressive results that capture the essence of fresh farmer's market produce. No botanical precision required - just pure watercolor joy.
How to Paint a Classic Red and White Fly Agaric Mushroom in Watercolor: A Beginner's Guide
Discover the joy of loose watercolor painting with this comprehensive guide to creating a classic red and white capped Amanita mushroom. I demonstrate how to achieve beautiful, organic results without preliminary sketching, focusing on color flow, natural imperfection, and the magic of wet-on-wet techniques that capture nature's essence.
Painting a Thai Angel Statue: Intuitive Watercolor with a Limited Palette
Working with a limited palette doesn't mean limiting your creativity! In this tutorial, I'll walk you through my process of painting a Thai angel statue using just four colors over an intuitive watercolor wash. From embracing the "ugly phase" to strategically lifting pigment for highlights, you'll discover how to let watercolor's natural properties create magic on your paper while maintaining control of your composition.
Creating a Dreamy Mossy Mushroom Forest: Experimental Watercolor Spray Techniques
When experimenting with watercolor techniques, sometimes the most magical results come from pushing your materials in unexpected ways. In this tutorial, I'll show you how I created a dreamy mossy mushroom forest using thick pigment application and spray bottle techniques on inexpensive Fabriano cold press paper. The resulting textures and atmospheric effects might just inspire you to try something new in your own watercolor practice...
Painting a Loose, Vibrant Sun Conure: Letting Watercolor Work Its Magic
When a new email subscriber mentioned having a sun conure as a pet, I realized it had been years since I'd painted one of these beautiful, colorful birds. With no pencil sketching and just my watercolors at hand, I set out to create a loose, vibrant painting that captures the essence of these magnificent creatures. Here's my process for painting these vibrant birds using wet-into-wet techniques that let the watercolor do the work for you...
Quick Brush Miles: 10-Minute Spider Mums with a Dagger Brush
No time to paint? Think again! Discover how I squeezed in some essential "brush miles" by creating expressive spider mums with a Princeton Neptune dagger brush in under 10 minutes. Sometimes the shortest painting sessions yield the most valuable lessons!
Expressive Clown Girl: Adventures with Watercolor Pigment Sticks
After falling in love with Imperial Purple, I couldn't resist trying another Daniel Smith watercolor pigment stick—this time in Lamp Black to create a hauntingly beautiful clown girl with just two colors. Discover how this unconventional technique creates both structure and fluid expression in one magical process!
Discovering the Magic of Watercolor Pigment Sticks: My Iris Painting Journey
After two years of keeping a Daniel Smith Imperial Purple pigment stick in a box by my desk, I finally discovered its expressive potential by creating a loose, vibrant iris painting. Here's how this forgotten birthday gift became my new favorite watercolor tool!
Quick Watercolor Lotus: A 10-Minute Painting Inspired by Chinese Brush Techniques
Discover how to create a beautiful lotus flower painting using simple watercolor techniques inspired by Chinese brush painting. This quick project uses minimal supplies and can be completed in under 10 minutes—perfect for busy artists looking to practice their brushwork without a major time commitment.