Latest Posts
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Monthly Retrospective: March 2026
Spring is suddenly upon us, but March still felt like winter. While I didn’t have a ton of time to paint this month, when I did, I concentrated on everyday moments from wintry scenes, knowing in April, I’d be busy with new shoots and flowers!
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Brand Overview: Holbein
Brand Overview is a series where multiple authors give their opinions on a brand. Thus far, we have covered Schmincke Horadam, Daniel Smith, and Winsor & Newton. Holbein is a Japanese paint manufacturer which introduced their professional watercolor line in the 1920‘s. They offer 108 colors in their standard range. They also carry special watercolor
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Idyll Sketching Color of the Year 2026: Ultramarine Blue!
Our March Madness Pigment Bracket has come to a close, and we have a winner! After an intense period of voting, wheeling, dealing, political alliances, betrayals, scandals, disqualifications, last-minute upsets, etc., a Color of the Year has been crowned, and it is … (drumroll) Ultramarine Blue! I have to acknowledge that I do not typically
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Composition 101
Composition is the arrangement of elements in your artwork. It’s a major aspect of photography, painting, drawing, and any other visual medium. “Good composition” generally means any arrangement that keeps people looking at your artwork for longer.
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These clickbait watercolor videos will DESTROY you
Youtube is a treasure trove of tutorials and lesson videos, but it can be challenging to find the good stuff. One problem is the vague, clickbaity way that videos are titled and marketed. They overpromise some sort of massive, revolutionary secret that will transform your art. Then, the content of the video is generally very
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Brand Overview: Winsor and Newton
Brand Overview is a series where multiple posters give their opinions on a brand. Thus far, we have covered Schmincke Horadam and Daniel Smith. Winsor and Newton Professional Watercolour is a watercolor manufacturer from the United Kingdom. Their tube watercolors and their watercolor paints use a different formulation. The tube watercolors are not meant to
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David Morales H’s Pen and Ink Drawing Techniques
In revisiting pen & ink, I got Pen and Ink Drawing Techniques by David Morales H. out of the library. Here are some tips from that book.
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Artist Palette Profiles: John Singer Sargent & Emily Sargent
John Singer Sargent (1856-1925) was a well-known oil and watercolor painter known for his portraits of Edwardian socialites and scenes of travel and countryside. Emily Sargent (1857-) was John’s sister and an accomplished watercolorist in her own right. Traveling together and apart, they documented European architecture, vibrant street scenes, and warm domestic interiors.
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March Madness Week 3 Update!
Last week, we finished narrowing down 50 paints to 25. This week, we had two jobs: we did a sort of mini-round to get us down to a final 16. We then narrowed it down to the Elite 8! Because so much happened, I won’t take you through every battle. Instead, let’s talk about the
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Brand Overview: Daniel Smith
Brand Overview is a series where multiple posters give their opinions on a brand. Previously, we did Schmincke Horadam. Daniel Smith is a professional grade watercolor manufacturer from the United States. Originally founded as an art supply store in 1976 by the printmaker Dan Smith, they are now a manufacturer of watercolor, gouache, and oil
