Latest Posts
-
Lowering the barrier to paint
This year, I resolved to do more everyday observation. I left it up to interpretation what exactly that means, but generally I want to lower my bar what’s “worth it” to bother getting out the paint. Recent Sketches & Studies Because the output of my painting lately has been sketches and studies, not “paintings,” I
-
I resolve… to use my paper stash!
Well, I did it: I used my last page of Canson XL! Normally, this is when I’d buy more, even though I have a large pile of 100% cotton pads on my shelf. Instead, I have a belated resolution: I will stop buying cellulose practice paper and instead, use up my nice stash!
-
Triadvent: conclusions and personal learnings
Starting this Triadvent, I only had some mixing fun in mind. But when I started with my paintings, some more goals developed naturally. I already mentioned in my previous blog post that I painted without drawing beforehand. I tried that before on a few paintings, but this Triadvent I wanted to deep dive on this.
-
Camera Roll Highlights 2025
Another year, another camera roll highlights post! These are my favorite possible-reference-photo pics that I took this year with my phone or my DSLR. You can find more of my photos at my Paint My Photo.
-
365 Checklists: on birding and building consistent habits
This is a painting blog, but sometimes I have other hobbies! Birding is a hobby of mine that is tangentially related to painting only in that I sometimes paint birds, but I have posted about it before so I think it’s fair game to post again. I’m happy to report that I succeeded in eBird’s
-
Mid January Reflection – Beyond Triadvent
Completing a challenge is a satisfying feat, but leaves the question, “What’s Next?” I have been thinking for quite a bit about what I learned from December’s Triadvent challenge which I extended to complete the 31-day month. I came away with quite a few little tidbits for myself. I think my top three are as
-
Triadvent: Random triads vs chosen triads
This is a story of a sketchbook. A sketchbook that was started in June of 2024 with color studies – especially triads – in mind. The plan was to mix the colors of the triad and then paint with these colors. I started with triads I carefully picked. With triads that matched a photo that
-
Your style is what you pay attention to
When my partner and I were at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston for the Winslow Homer exhibit, we took the opportunity to look at some other rooms of art, too, paying especial attention to local art. One painting I found myself drawn to was called “The Pool, Medfield,” by Dennis Miller Bunker (1889).
-
Mix Your Own: Prussian Blue
Prussian Blue (PB27) is a pretty, mid-chroma deep blue that can attain dark values and mixes fabulous greens. One of the oldest synthetic colors, it’s found in many classic 18th/19th/20th century palettes. Unfortunately, it has a tendency to fade in UV light, though it can recharge itself in darkness. If we want to avoid Prussian
-
2025 Annual Retrospective
Luckily, 2025 was a relatively stable year for me personally, with a lot less moving than 2024. This gave me more breathing room to think about art.
