Easy abstract painting for beginners

Easy abstract painting technique for beginners

Over the years, I’ve had a love-hate relationship with abstract painting. While there are some abstracts that leave me completely baffled, there are some that have a lot of depth and interest, which prompted my fascination with this art style. But abstract painting can be difficult, and there are times when I struggle too. But today, I’m going to show you a very easy abstract painting technique that is perfect for beginners (like me!).

All you need are a few of your favorite colors, a paintbrush, and your fingers!Continue reading→

Art journal tutorial: how to paint a loose watercolor portrait

how to paint a loose watercolor portrait

Watercolors can be really tricky; and trying to paint portraits using watercolors can be a nightmare! The key, for me, is to keep it loose and whimsical, and today I’m going to show you just how to paint a loose watercolor portrait.

Loose watercolor portrait demo

This video will show you how to paint a loose watercolor portrait from start to finish. You’ll find some watercolor portrait tips and a supply list below the video.Continue reading→

Art journal tutorial: intuitive painting demo from start-to-finish

how to paint intuitively intuitive painting demo from start-to-finish

I really enjoy intuitive painting – it’s freeing and challenging at the same time! The freedom to make marks, experiment with color palettes and mediums, and to make bold moves delights my inner wild child. The challenge of bringing so many elements together; of not knowing what the final piece will be like; of wondering if you can manage to salvage it all, is exciting. Each painting session becomes an exploration of something new; each canvas or art journal spread a delightful revelation.Continue reading→

31 lessons from 31 days of painting

I spent May immersed in the 31 days of painting project. This wasn’t about creating 31 paintings {I’m crazy, just not that crazy!}; rather, it was about spending 31 days painting a single canvas. It also wasn’t about how much or how little you painted on a particular day; rather, the only rule, per se, was that you had to alter the canvas in some way. That could be the addition of a ton of paint or the making of a few simple marks.

The entire process is a meditation on painting, and life. About releasing attachment and being open to the process. Of enquiry and allowing instead of forcing and imposing your will. And as expected, a process like this one, can teach you a lot – about painting and about life.

So without further ado, here are 31 lessons from 31 days of painting.Continue reading→

On my art table: The Buddha’s Blessings + a speed painting video

Sometimes, I come to the painty table to play; at others, to relieve stress. Sometimes, I approach my art practice as therapy; at other times, I allow my emotions to direct my colour choices and mark making. And sometimes, I come to the page with deep reverence and to give gratitude for the many blessings in my life.

This was one of those times.

I’ve long wanted to paint a Buddha, but I didn’t want to paint Him with the usual peaceful face and closed eyes - you know the kind of Buddha painting I’m talking about, right? The ones that you find hanging in most home interior stores - pale blues and calm yellow tones, with a huge Buddha face, eyes closed, a serene look on His face.

Continue reading→

Tracking the moon + a look into my new moon art journal

tracking moon phases, cyclical time, moon baby

I’ve been tracking moon phases since a few years now – new moon to full moon to new again. Initially, it was simply a way to make sure I got at least one art journal spread completed every month, especially in the hot, often humid summer months. Then I started adding in moon lore – looking at the astrological sign where the moon is and what its energetics are.

Slowly, I started looking at the moon phases as cycles of time, which gave rise to a fascinating question:

What if time was not a linear progression, as we've been led to believe? What if it is cyclical, which means we can always circle back to something over and over again? Click To TweetContinue reading→

On my art table: 2-minute art journal page

You’re busy, you have NO time, and you have NO space. You have NO art skills and NO supplies.

{Don’t you think there are too many NOs here?}

Anyhow…. I am here you to tell you that YOU CAN STILL CREATE ART!

I painted this piece in a tiny 3.5×5″art journal using only watercolor pencils and some white paint and yellow acrylic ink in the last step to bring it all together. And I love how lose and abstract it looks.

I created it as part of a 7-day speed art Instagram challenge hosted by Eli Trier. Her original idea was to have challenge participants do each prompt on a different sheet of paper, as an exercise in learning how to loosen up and get over the fear of a blank page. I decided to combine all the daily prompts on one page {without even knowing what each day’s prompt would be}, and it turned into the perfect summer art project {you can see it evolve, step-by-step, on my Instagram account}.Continue reading→

Understanding layers: why I hide collage below layers of paint

For a long time, I simply did not understand the importance of building up layers in art journals. I looked at mixed media artists with astonishment. Why would they do that, I’d wonder, as they put down beautiful scrapbook paper on the page, only to hide it under gesso and layers of paint. Or I’d watch in utter fascination as they laid down beautiful doodles and stamps and stencils, and then again hid it under layers and layers of paint.

But why? Those looked like complete paintings too!Continue reading→

Harness the power of water: 5 fun painting techniques

Over the last few days, we’ve talked about brushes and collage, creating abstract art and examining art deco patterns to gain some inspiration for our art journal pages. Today, let’s look at some fun ways to add paint to paper.

5 fun painting techniques

Drips: This is one of my favorite things to do. Use some watered down acrylics or acrylic ink, stand the journal upright, and watch the paint drip down the page. Take a look at the super short video below to see this technique in action.Continue reading→

#PocketFullOfArt: A daily art challenge with a twist

Challenges seem to have become a thing around here – after the Mindful Break and Kindle Thy Spark, this is my most ambitious yet – a daily art challenge! But first:

Why a daily art challenge?

Because my one small regret from last year is that I did not make enough time for art, especially in the second half of the year. Moving to a self-hosted blog and all the tiny little tweaks I had to make to it ate up a lot of my time and attention. Setting up an online Tarot reading business took up another chunk of energy. And then there was all the time I spent dreaming about blogging and fun new ideas – like the two Instagram challenges mentioned above. No wonder that my art table felt a bit neglected! Continue reading→