painting – Compulsive Creation

Terra Cotta FTW!

I don’t really have much for y’all this week EXCEPT that I painted a terra cotta pot. It has been on my to-do list since April to repot my peace lily. At first, I wanted to get one of those bougie pots that they have on Instagram but I felt like spending $45 on aContinue reading “Terra Cotta FTW!”

Egg Tempera Magic

This past weekend my mom was in town. While she was here we had an egg tempera paint session with my Little Sister (shout out to Big Brothers, Big Sisters!). To have your own egg tempera paint session, you need: Cups/some other container (the number of cups you need depends on the number of colorsContinue reading “Egg Tempera Magic”

Back to the Basics: Color Theory

I have a confession to make: Even though I’ve been painting for over a year now, last week if I’d been asked to name the primary colors I’d have needed to puzzle it out. See, when I started watercolors I did the very thing most experts recommend beginners NOT do: I bought a large setContinue reading “Back to the Basics: Color Theory”

I Painted a Shark

Last week it was my neighbor’s kid’s birthday. I used acrylic paints. I also used gel medium to thicken the paint and add a little sheen to it. Pro Tip: Gel medium makes a little paint go a long way. Anyway, this spontaneous, no-pressure art project really helped me to chill out during a week thatContinue reading “I Painted a Shark”

Watercolor + Indian Ink

Last week I played around with Indian ink washes, and this week I painted over them, using watercolors to bring out the images I saw in the chaotic, grainy textures. This project was magical and weird, and forced my critical mind to take a backseat and let my imagination drive me right into a worldContinue reading “Watercolor + Indian Ink”

Indian Ink Washes

There’s a chaos to watercolor that I love, an element of surprise every time that water and paint meet on paper. In past blogs I’ve experimented with different materials to increase the strange effects one can get in this fluid medium, but this week I’ve found a new favorite addition: Indian ink. The amazing watercolorContinue reading “Indian Ink Washes”

Seattle Art Museum Musings

I was in Seattle last week and spent an afternoon in the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). This was the first time I’d visited an art museum in at least a decade. Let me be upfront: the art world often confuses and intimidates me. While I can ruminate forever on definitions of creativity, the word “art” isContinue reading “Seattle Art Museum Musings”

Painting with Instructions

This past weekend I went to Pinot’s Palette. It is a chill way to spend an evening and you leave with a painting and the knowledge that you have created . . . something. I have gone several times to various iterations of Pinot’s Palette and have always enjoyed myself. However, I have had aContinue reading “Painting with Instructions”