Recently in my IGNITE! art-making membership, I asked members: What’s your favourite lesson so far? Happily, many of them said they found it difficult to make a decision (“A difficult question- each lesson has been so valuable”) but one of the lessons that emerged as a group favourite was the one on value dominance. And
Recently in my IGNITE! art-making membership, a member asked about how to make an interesting painting from a boring photo. This isn’t an uncommon question. I’ve also been asked: “How do I the greyness that I see in my photo more colourful in my painting?” Or how about this: “I was so taken with the
One of my HowToPastel subscribers recently reached out to me. She’d been invited to demo in an open space, with COVID-19 precautions in place, but was feeling too afraid to do it. (Her fears weren’t related to the pandemic.) Because I’d recently demoed at Peninsula Gallery where my mini solo show was hanging, I knew
Recently in my IGNITE! membership, I created a mini-course on this question: How should one deal with the foreground in a painting? It’s a common question. I’m going to give you a number of pointers and take you step-by-step through one of my paintings to illustrate what I’m talking about. (If you want to read
Creating art is hard work! Some context….I’m at my Mum and Dad’s on Salt Spring Island. I’ve joined them for their 14-day quarantine on their return to Canada and so far, we’ve had a lovely time together! On our To-Do list is to paint so a couple of days ago, Mum and I set up
The other day my sweetheart Cam said to me, “Come sit here. I want you to see the sunlight on the tablecloth and how vibrant it looks.” Then he paused and said, “But I guess you see that all the time.” And I sat and I looked and I said, “Yes, yes I do.” And
So this whole idea of going from sketch to painting started with a frame. I was visiting Peninsula Gallery to review my painting inventory as they were in the process of reopening the gallery (after being closed for COVID-19). Then Vivian, Manager of Peninsula Gallery, suggested I do a nude painting for the frame. And
I don’t know about you but for the past few days, weeks even, I’ve been feeling a bit listless, a bit blah, a bit draggy. Sure I have work to keep me occupied, for instance, the work I need to do preparing classes, critiques, and demos for my IGNITE! membership, and the work I’ve been
Sometimes you may have the feeling that you’d like to make a statement with your art, something about the times you’re living in (like the time of the COVID-19 pandemic!), or some specific event, or some political issue. But you don’t necessarily feel comfortable making an overt statement or perhaps you just don’t know how
I’m just home from Salt Lake City, Utah. Cam, my sweetie was taking a workshop there and I went along for the ride having never been there. One of my favourite things to do when visiting a new city is to check out the local art galleries, particularly the public institutions. I’m always inspired and
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