In this video, I’ll show you how to do a tonal gradient (going from a dark-to-light) and how to do a color gradient (going from one color to another.) It’s easy and actually quite fun to create these washes.
Read MoreWatercolor Nuggets Video Series // No.5 - Transparent to Opaque Washes /
One of the most unique and lovely things about watercolor is the ability to make colors more or less transparent and to create layers, using that transparency. When you’re starting out with watercolor, it’s important to recognize that transparency is one of the attributes what makes watercolor so special compared to other paint mediums.
Read MoreWatercolor Nuggets Video Series // No.4 - How to Mix Watercolors /
Mixing watercolors is not hard - in fact, as soon as you see how easy and fast it is - you’ll want to paint everyday!
Read MoreWatercolor Nuggets Video Series // No.3 - Setting Up Your Palette with Tube Paint /
One of my favorite things to do whenever I get my new art supplies is to set up my palette and all my new tools so all I have to do when I’m ready to paint is create. And that’s one of the great things about watercolor paint - you can use it until it’s gone because it re-activates with water!
Read MoreWatercolor Nuggets Video Series // No.2 - Setting Up Your Painting Space /
When we talk about catharsis through creative processes, perfectionism and our “left brain” (or analytical thoughts) can often try to creep in and overtake a process that should be fun and relaxing. That’s why it’s so helpful to set yourself up for a fun and relaxing painting session by setting your space up thoughtfully before you start painting.
Read MoreWatercolor Nuggets Video Series // No.1 - The ONLY Supplies You Need /
Announcing a video series: Watercolor Nuggets! Each week, I’ll demystify watercolor basics for you, so you can see how accessible and fun it really is!
Read MoreThe Importance of Finding New Anchors amidst the "New Norm" /
If you're starting feel crazy, you're not alone. Maybe I can help...
Welcome to my art studio. This is right where you'll find me weekly for the Creative Catharsis online workshops. You're invited to join me in my studio once a week via Zoom for creative play and release during this time of quarantine. If you will, notice that my phone is strategically poised to capture my workspace, so you won't miss a thing! Go to the “Teach” tab to see the online workshop options and register.
If you're like me...then the novelty of this uncertain time of quarantine has really (really!) worn off. And yet, it can be hard to find your footing and settle into the new norm. Personally, I have felt completely upended by the way this virus has torn into the rhythm of daily life and by the pace at which the latest news floods every channel of communication and ends up dominating every conversation.
So while I am over being confined at home, I am still left with a chaotic and confused mindset about what my days and weeks should look like for the next however long, and I'm guessing you can relate! And that's how I came to realize how important it is to create anchors in our lives, and like pronto! We need to start rebuilding and insert some tentpole into our new lives as quarantined folk. We need to make new habits and stick to them, until we have come through the other side. We need some agency and autonomy, even if it's a box (aka our homes.) And it's time to go ahead and acknowledge that life is going to look very different than it has, for a couple months at least. For me, though I am a person who was primarily working from home before the quarantine, my daily schedule and life has totally changed due to the Stay Home orders. I can only imagine how challenging this transition has been for others in different industries and in difference circumstances.
As much as I would love to control my life and independence and the spread of this virus, I know I can't do that much right now, so I've decided to create anchors for myself in these strange times and stabilize my life by:
🌟 Getting to know my neighbors finally...because I have started walking around the neighborhood daily (yes, of course, I am practicing social distancing)
🌟 Cooking for and eating dinner with my family on most nights
🌟 Learning to step out (metaphorically, of course) and try new or bold things... case-in-point: hosting the Creative Catharsis online workshop series three times a week! If you didn't know, this idea (creative online workshops that help us process our frustrations around this pandemic) literally came to me only a week ago!
I mobilized quickly and have already been able to host two workshops with my third coming up tonight, April 1st at 8:30pm ET (It's not too late to join and invite a friend > sign up by 8pm here: ) And, I'm so glad I moved quickly on this idea, because I have been able to connect with many of you across the city, state and country. And I've learned so much about people, about the power of creativity, about teaching others and teaching online and I've learned about myself. And now, I feel like I have an anchor in place, and one that I know at least some of you will join me for each week.
I'm inviting you to drop an anchor with me for an hour or so every week. Try something new or different, learn to play and release amidst the tension of this time, and create something new in yourself, in your week, and on your paper! And I encourage you to make it a habit and take more than one of these. Without anchors, we are just floating around in a sea of confusion and frustration.
Will you join me? I'll keep showing up weekly to guide you in creative catharsis through watercolors for as long as it takes us to get through this "new norm" of quarantine life. While this isn't a "fine art" class, you will grow and connect with others and you will definitely learn as we create a cathartic art project together!
Join me in the Creative Catharsis Membership!
Current Inspiration // Sound + Waveforms /
Photo by Richard Jacobs on Unsplash
I’m an avid listener of podcasts, especially since I often work alone and from home. I’m constantly consuming new episodes of my favorite podcast series, while working on design projects or even while I cook dinner. I even listen to them while I’m painting (when I’m not listening to music!) I recently listened to a fascinating re-release of an episode of On Being with Krista Tippet. If you do not know of this podcast, do yourself a favor and subscribe to it! I love the broad yet human topics, authenticity, and depth of spiritual discussions that Krista so effortlessly connects through her interview style.
The episode I listened to was called “Katy Payne: In the Presence of Elephants & Whales” and I’ve shared it below. Dr. Katy Payne is the person who discovered that elephants communicate with infrasound, which is sound that the human ear can’t hear. She felt a “throbbing in the air” while observing them at a zoo. This discovery led to her deeply researching elephant communities, their communication and connections between familial systems. For me, I was in awe of this fact (I had never heard it until this podcast, though she made this finding in 1984!)
Infrasonic Sound Waves made by Elephants
Image Credit: The KOTA Foundation for Elephants
This simple fact also inspired me to play with waveform shapes in some of my work that I’ve been doing for my upcoming wallpaper line. I love that everything has a sound, whether we, as limited humans, can hear it or not. I love that all sound has a shape, known as the waveform. Look at the pattern in the waveform to the left - I find it so gorgeous!
I love that everything is connected - visual art, sounds, math, science, shape, animals, nature, and God. That means if I paint a waveform shape from my head (which I did) it could be translated into sound. Now, I am just so curious as to what my artwork sounds like.
“Waveform I” - Original Watercolor on Hot Press Paper
Here’s what I painted, using waveform as an inspiration. I’ve not yet selected the final pieces for my upcoming wallpaper collection, so it’s yet to be determined if this piece will or any of the others in this thread of inspiration will make it into the final collection, but I love working off of those things that surprise and delight me when I’m least expecting it.
“Inspiration exists, but it has to find you working.”
— Pablo Picasso