Lessons from Books
I did some exercises out of books this month, on a self-study kick. These are from my own references. I will have upcoming posts on this.
This is a tutorial from Painting Beautiful Watercolor Landscapes by Joyce Hicks.
This is a tutorial from No Fail Watercolor by Mako.
Painting my own photos
Perusing my own Paint My Photo helps me more easily find the types of photos I want to paint.
Painting my friends’ photos
These are based on photos taken by friends and shared in group chat.
Sky Sketchbook
Although I have also painted skies outside of the Sky Sketchbook, the ones in the book are reserved for “sky of the day” studies. The “sky of the day” does not need to be painted same-day, but generally is a sky seen within the last few days, and is painted from some combination of life, memory, and a recent, if terrible, snapshot.
Kolbie Blume’s 5-Day Challenge
I usually try to participate in Kolbie Blume’s occasional challenges, starting with the 10-day #PaintingtheWilderness challenge in 2021 that taught me so much. This 5-day challenge was held in July to honor World Watercolor Month.
Outdoor Sketching
I didn’t do much this month because of heat and poor air quality.
Conclusion
Last month, I wondered if it was okay to be a painter of only skies. No sooner had I decided that it was, than I got out of my comfort zone and painted some other stuff, such as houses with gardens and green, tree-filled landscapes. This was a studious month, and I enjoyed continuing the kick I started last month of working out of books and exploring new techniques and concepts.
Comments
3 responses to “Monthly Retrospective: July 2025”
Nice post!
Regarding your pondering of becoming a painter of skies, I was reminded of the “self-appointed artist residency.”
Amy Stewart appointed herself the artist-in-residence of her local park.
“You can also define ‘location’ quite broadly. You could be the artist-in-residence at a coffee shop, a public park, a bridge, or an entire city. Maybe you would like to be the official artist-in-residence of winter, or of a sports team, or of–I don’t know–birds. You could appoint yourself the unofficial artist-in-residence of your neighborhood’s birds. Why not?”
I love the idea. And that doesn’t mean you only paint that one thing. That’s just your focus.
https://www.amystewart.com/paintings/the-self-appointed-artists-residency/
I love this idea too! In a previous apartment, I definitely felt myself to be artist in residence of the local park.