Hate framing your watercolors? Hate having your large watercolor paper bend and warp? I got you covered. All you need to do is mount it on a wood panel. Mounting watercolor paper on a wood panel is not for the faint of heart. It takes practice and it comes with its cons. But there are definitely many pros in favor of this method. Choose what is best for you. If longevity (being pristine 200 years from now) is most important you might need to commit to framing. Traditional framing is the best way to protect your watercolor painting. However, if you like to live a little more on the edge and/or your budget doesn't include framing then mounting paper on a wood panel might be for you. I scoured the internet to learn this process. So I hope you've found this post and you can now stop your search for information. I am sharing my process, my tips for success, my tips for when you fail and my process for protecting the painting once you're done (varnishing). I haven't written the varnishing post yet, but when I do it'll be linked here so you can easily find it. So read away. I hope it helps you. Plus... Here is a link of me doing this process sped up on Insta: click here Preparatory step- Gather materials Things you're goin' want wood panel watercolor paper (I use 140 lb cold press... 300 lb might not work, I haven't tried) Golden soft gel gloss knife/spatula utensil for scooping gel onto board largish paint brush (not your nicest one) speedball rubber roller (ideally, not 100% required but it helps) paper towel extra regular paper heavy objects (like books or weights) X-Acto knife/box cutter Step #1 - Prepping A. Make sure you have all your supplies ready. I like to prepare where I'm going to put the panel when it's ready to dry by laying out the extra paper and having the weights/books on standby. Tip 1: As well as keeping your watercolor paper clean, using paper for your clean dry surface is also important because as the glue/gel dries it releases moisture. So if you use plastic or something else non-absorbent then your watercolor paper will have a hard time drying B. Cut the paper to fit the wood panel. You're going to want it at least an extra .5 to 1 inch on all sides. "Do not mount watercolor paper that already has art painted on it. this process is tricky, you don't want to risk the art." – me Step #2 - Apply the gel (still prep) 1. Take your utensil and spear gel onto your panel Get it as smooth as possible and brush it out to create an even coat. 2. Apply gel to the back side of the paper (the back is usually smoother) -this layer should be smooth as well 3. Let these dry separately. This step prepares both surfaces for good adhesion later. Wood and paper easily absorb stuff so if you tried to stick them together right away, you will have dry (not sticky) patches where the glue was absorbed. Step #3 - Apply the gel for real A. Take your utensil and smear gel onto the board. The amount of gel is pretty important. Too much gel means that your paper will have trouble drying which means there will be wet pockets/bubbles on your surface. Too little gel means that there will be pockets of air in your surface. You might not notice these until you start getting your paper wet during the painting process. Also too little gel means that your edges probably aren't securely glued down. It's better to have less. It's possible to re-glue areas around the corners. But it's impossible to get rid of the wet bubbles. B. Use your paint scraper or anything flat like a gift card or a squeegee to spread the gel and get it even. Make sure to avoid wet globs but also make sure it isn't dry and all the corners are nice and glued down. (Do not use brush for this step) Step #4 - Apply the paper A. Have your paper standing by. Bend it slightly so the middle of the paper lays in the middle of the board and lay down gently. Before pressing anything down hard make sure the paper covers the whole board. It's easy to place it off center leaving one or two edges uncovered which you can't come back from once the paper is glued. B. Place extra paper on top of your watercolor paper. This will protect it from any dirt on the roller. Use the speedball rubber roller to press the paper into the wood panel making movements outward from the center. C. Use the paper towel to wipe off excess glue on the sides. Be careful! The glue will interfere with watercolor paint. It's important to not get any on the front of the paper. Step#5- Dry time As soon as your paper has been evenly rolled out, lay the whole thing down on the prepared area and cover it in books/weights. Step#6 - Finishing touches A. Check your board and breath a sigh of relief if there are no weird bumps or air pockets. B. Check the edges to see whether they are properly glued down. If they are not- take something thin (I use a small thin ruler) to apply glue/gel in those areas. You're just gently pushing glue into the open space. C. Trim the edges. You may want .5-1 inch on the sides. But I like to get the paper pretty close to flush (maybe .25 inch) with the edge. Use the X-Acto knife. D. If needed, use a small square of sandpaper to gently clean up edges of paper. Tip 2: You can trim the sides to be flush with the panel sides once the paper is mounted. Protect the edges of the paper with a ruler! This is key. *See image below. I successfully mounted a piece of paper only to have my edges ruined during the cutting. What happens is that the knife slips under the wood edge so you lose some of the front of the paper. D. I attach hardware to the back of my wood panel for easy hanging. I recommend 1 hole D rings and framer's wire. Tip 3: Adding hardware: measure down the sides to roughly the same spot on each side. I use a push pin to make a little preparatory hole. Then screw in the d rings. Once those are in place on either side (I put them on the inside of the panel where they are out of the way) then you can measure out your wire. To find the right length the wire should not be able to touch the top edge of the panel when held in the middle but it also shouldn't be tight. If it's too tight it will come undone under the pressure. If it's too loose then the painting will hang low. If you have failed. Take a deep breath. You're not alone. It's so frustrating and there's really no way to soften the blow. The good news is the board can be saved. The bad news is that I haven't found a way to save the paper. To save the board-- rip, tear, and scrape that piece of paper and it's glue off. Employ all tools at your disposal. I've used spackle tools, steaming iron, my fingers, rags etc. Tip 4: Water or steam can be helpful to dissolve the glue and soften the paper. However, water is powerful and if used too much it will eat away at the glue holding the board together and/or warp the wood. So be careful. Sand down the rough paper and glue that just wouldn't come off. Try again. Matthew Bird is an excellent source for further instructions. His method is slightly different and I highly recommend it. He also has a video. click here.

I am devastated how fast this year is going-- here's a reflection of what April had in store. Finished Abundance My biggest accomplishment this month was finishing Abundance. This oil painting took approximately 3 months. There were 3-5 layers and many details. This piece is now available. It's 18x24x2", priced at $3,300 COLLECT ART Artco Show I also hung a show at Artco Framing and Gallery with Erika Norris. We had a little reception on April 20th. More about that here. Thank you so much to everyone who made it out to see the show, <3 Spaceworks Stipend Spaceworks acquired some money to give out as grants to creative small businesses in Tacoma that are Spaceworks Alumni. After applying, I was randomly selected. This was HUGE. I've basically made zero money this first quarter. So this was such a blessing. The grant was to be used on marketing expenses only and had to be used by April 30th. What I spent it on: art business coach, Shannon Borg event photography, Jana Early Artwork archive Smartist Ads Camera + tripod Immediately Artwork Archive + Smartist have benefitted me. They make my life so much easier. The other things/services are a much slower burn. But I think they'll be hugely beneficial. Interviewed by ArtRKL Online art magazine ArtRKL reached out to me via Instagram. I was happy to do a zoom interview with their writer. I look forward to that publication around July. 6 Minis for Proctor Art Gallery I made the 6 new mini watercolors seen above for an artist feature at Proctor Art Gallery (May-June). The candy paintings are 6x8x2" and the fruit paintings are 8x10x2" all on Arches watercolor paper mounted on a cradled wood panel varnished and ready to hang. Looking forward to... I'm looking forward to the print release of Abundance scheduled for May 1st. Shop here.

6 watercolor originals will be hung in your local Proctor Art Gallery- May through June. Special, for you Proctor Art Gallery is a boutique gallery in the Proctor district. Artists rent wall space to display in this cozy upscale neighborhood. However, a few walls are reserved for featured artists. I'm honored to be a featured artist during May + June. But I needed to -quick!- get some work available to show. It's a lunch box vibe I decided on smaller pieces in groups of three. This was something I knew I'd be able to accomplish in time. I wanted to stray away from traditional desserts. So you can see above- I did 3 watercolor fruits. All three are 8x10x2" watercolors on Arches paper mounted on cradled wood panels (varnished+ ready to hang) Next. I went slightly smaller with 6x8x2" paintings of the same medium. See those guys below. All 6 paintings are reminiscent of something you may find in your lunch box as a kid. (I never got candy for lunch but I definitely got fruit). They have a childlike whimsy + innocence. Come see them Artwork is always better in person. If you're having a coffee at Olympia coffee- step into Proctor Art Gallery and have a look. I'll be there for a meet and greet Sunday May 7th at 1 -3 pm.

If you're from Tacoma you may be familiar with Artco. But have you heard of Artco Framing + Gallery? Artco Framing + Gallery Artco craft store closed recently which opened up an opportunity. Jennifer Moore jumped at the opportunity to acquire the name. Artco Framing and Gallery opened just across the parking lot from the old Artco craft store. The frame store + gallery combines fine art framing with highlighting local fine art in their beautiful white walled gallery space. Amy Lewis Amy Lewis uses watercolor and oil paints to explore the beauty in everyday life. She uses vivid realism to showcase things (especially food) we often take for granted. Amy is a self taught artist. She is currently a member of Women Painters of Washington. The show includes some of Amy's earliest works but is she excited to debut 5 new pieces. Erika Norris Erika also explores themes of food. She works in intricate miniature colored pencil drawings and drop dead gorgeous paper cutouts. Erika is interested in how food is viewed culturally and our relationship to food as individuals. Erika is classically trained with her MA in Fine Arts from Goldsmiths' College (University of London/LASALLE College of the Arts, Singapore). She is also a graduate of the Artist Trust Professional Development Program. Her work was selected for the 2013 Best Picks: Painting/Mixed Media gallery for the International Emerging Artist Award and in 2014, she was a finalist in the Ryan James Fine Arts juried show. The Reception The reception (party) is tomorrow! April 20th from 4-7 pm. Snacks + drinks provided. All art will be available for purchase as well as prints. You can check out available works and fine art prints on their sites right now. Erika Norris Shop Amy Lewis Shop But they hope to see you at Artco. Art is 1000% times better in person and they'd love to meet you! Artco Framing and Gallery 5401 6th Ave Suite #321 Tacoma, WA 98406

this is your friendly neighborhood artist- Amy Lewis weekly blogging about life is not really popular anymore. But I'd like to try out *monthly* blogging as a format to update you on my art practice. Instagram is cool but it can be a little brief and informal. Instagram is cool but it can be a little brief and informal. So if you're interested, you can find me here. If not that's cool. It's also just a good practice for me to remind myself of what's happening and where I am going. So here's the look behind the curtain that no one asked for. Paintings I've been working on in 2023 First off the bat, I started and finished "Oh Nuts!" *pictured below*... Oh Nuts! is 18x18" watercolor on Arches paper mounted on a cradled wood panel (ready to hang in your house!). It is also the 3rd in a dessert series all of the same size and medium (Those Cookies & Frosting with a Side of Cake). "Oh Nuts!" behind the scenes Next up I got busy with a fine art piece. The idea is pretty much what is pictured above- except cut off at the elbow and a different backdrop. To get the reference photo for the painting my photographer and I had to do a practice run plus an extra hour set up before the model showed up. All that preparation meant that the shoot only took an hour. Khalia was so flexible and good spirited about getting her arm soaking wet as we poured pitcher after pitcher of water into the cup. I'm still working on the first paint layer for this piece. But it's coming together and I cannot wait to see it finished. (just 1-3 more layer to go) This piece is oil paint on a primed cradled wood panel, 18x24x2" In other news... Art Show An artist friend really encouraged me to sign up for LOCA, which I promptly did! LOCA is amazing because they work with artists and brick 'n mortar stores to pair art with spaces. That means- I created a free profile and then they find businesses that are interested in showing my work. It's beneficially for everyone involved. LOCA gets a reasonable cut if something sells. The business gets art on the walls for free + a tiny cut if something sells. I get most of the profits when something sells + I don't have to search/reach out to businesses for shows. YAY! Oh and you all get to see (and buy) art in spaces that you actually visit, like coffee shops. photos of my show that I installed at Onda Origins So this month I got paired with my first business- Onda Origins in Seattle. They are such a cute, cozy coffee shop (with delicious ethically sourced coffee). So if you're in the neighborhood- (5600 Rainier Ave S Seattle, WA, 98118) Stop by! All that to say It makes me cringe when I realize it's March YUCK. But I'm grateful for what I've accomplished and the opportunities coming my way. I am wayy under my sales goals. But I have a show coming up in APRIL. And I have some things in the works. I'm just so thankfully I get to make art everyday. I appreciate your encouraging words + prayers. Stay tuned.

Tacoma artist Mike Murphy makes other worldly abstracts that make you look twice. all photos have been provided by Mike Murphy I met Mike when I purchased one of his paintings- We were both participating in the Tacoma Arts in the Armory event which allowed us to do the hand off in person. His work immediately impressed me. It is unique and he presents it so professionally. Originally from the East coast- Mike came to Seattle in 2008 and haven't left the Pacific Northwest since. He started his own brewery in Seattle in 2013, which he co-owned and operated until 2022. When he decided to leave that industry to explore new creative ventures- he settled in Tacoma to live and make art. Mike wasn't always a painter. Music was his first creative outlet. From age 13 he was playing guitar, writing songs and learning new instruments. "I grew up playing music, which has always been my primary artistic expression" says Mike. Around 2011, he got the itch to try painting and really loved how different it felt to make visual art as opposed to music. "It flipped a switch that allowed me to express myself in this completely new way. I painted off and on throughout the last decade (most of it terrible)." Mike says, "I often tried different styles ranging from folk art to character drawings, and eventually it was abstract art that hooked me." It wasn't until 2022 that he had the time and capacity to focus fully on his creative practice. Mediums & Process Mike has dabbled in all the mediums. "It's all trial and error for me. I've used watercolor, oil, acrylic, charcoal, alcohol ink, and everything in between" he says. With his current style, he primarily uses acrylic because of its versatility, durability, and quick drying time. Like a lot of artists using liquid acrylics, Mike uses blow dryer to move paint around the canvas which creates abstract shapes and patterns. However, in his process he lets the base layer dry completely before pouring small amounts of paint on a canvas at a time, piecing together a series of forms until he feels a painting is complete. He also often blows through a straw or a melodica tube, which creates an up close and personal experience. Inspiration... Because so much of his creating is a therapeutic tool in reaction to life- Mike is often inspired by daily life. His dabbling and experimenting is a reflection of finding different therapeutic methods that help process life. He has found that jotting songs and ideas down when they come to him throughout the day help to keep him inspired. And like any good artist he is constantly being inspired by other artists. "Overall, I love experiencing art in all forms and mediums and constantly find inspiration from other people's work, be it music or visual art, etc." Unlike a majority of artists- Mike loves to work in silence. No podcasts or music for him: "I love the stillness and solitude of painting... I do my best to focus exclusively on what I'm actively making and get lost in that world without any outside distractions weighing me down. I find it very freeing and trance-like as I'm making art and it clears my head in a way that most other things don't." Challenges & Coping Mechanisms Mike's challenge is that he is colorblind; however, he hasn't let it hold him back. "I've learned to trust my instincts when selecting and blending colors" says Mike. Mike explains that often what looks good to him somehow looks good to people who are not colorblind. He has heard artists' stories about the difficulty of choosing the right color. Instead of letting colorblindness hold him back he now things of it as something that has freed him from indecision. Mike's Advice for Creators... "I think my advice would be don't let people's personal opinions of what art is "supposed to be" pigeonhole your creative process, because unless that person is a professional in the world of art, their opinions are truly and fully subjective. I think social media specifically can be both inspiring and soul crushing at the same time because there will always be people more talented and/or practiced in their process than you, and there will always be people ready to criticize what you're doing, but that shouldn't be a reason to hold back from expressing yourself. I think art enhances our lives, that every person is creative in their own way, and that everyone should pursue ways to express that unique creativity however they see fit." BIG goals Mike's short term goals involve switching from markets to fine art shows + exhibitions. He is still very new to the art world but he is realizing that his work fits better in the fine art realm (vs a community market). "I've never had the goal of painting being my sole income and/or full-time job because I think something would get lost or ruined for me personally if that became my driving force," Mike says. "I'm over the moon that anyone is buying the art I create, because it allows me to make more of it." He continues to offer accessible price points for his work knowing that art should be available to everyone and not just high-dollar collectors. I'm always curious what other people would be doing if they were guaranteed to succeed- Mike replies that he dabbles in comedy writing, and often contribute to The Needling, a fake news publication in Seattle. In an alternate world he'd like to pursue writing more seriously. His dream job would be to write for a show like It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Run, don't walk, to collect his work > click here

This blog post is really a break down of a post by Redfin. But seriously you could snag any of these ideas for yourself Redfin Ryan Castillo from Redfin reached out to artists and designers for their hot takes on home murals. I was one of them. I recommended checkerboard print because it's very doable for someone who is not "artistic" or "good at painting". All you need a ruler, tape and some paint. 15 ideas: natural mural in a kid's bedroom floral mural in the staircase checkerboard print in the bathroom or kitchen backsplash florals in the bathroom bouquet of flowers on your headboard nature scene in the kitchen seascape in your bedroom zodiac mural on your ceiling alternate reality on that wall that's hard to fill with art koi mural in your entryway celebrate your culture with tiny murals graffiti mural in your studio apt collaborative community mural tropical vibes for office backdrop seascape Choosing the right idea for you I think you should head over to the original blog to read Ryan's tips for choosing a mural idea. There is some good advice and some things to think about as you consider your home in particular. READ HERE Thank you! *Also fyi I do murals. I've done a mural for Spaceworks which you can see downtown on Broadway and I have also transformed a boring bathroom into a colorful reef for kids.

Let me introduce you to Julia Ockert- watercolor realism painter from Australia. all photos provided by Julia Ockert Who is Julia Ockert? A year or so ago, Julia and I connected on Instagram. I love her work and she was receptive to my messages. It is always wonderful to find a kindred spirit. Since we connected she has been a valuable friend to bounce ideas around with. Julia is based in Canberra, AUS. She has always been interested in painting but her passion really took off after working as a digital designer for several years. She realized what she really enjoyed was the more traditional medium of painting. She no longer wanted to do digital design or be an employee. "The rise in social media was crucial for my transition between ”employee” and “artist”, as it allowed me to market and therefore sustain myself financially" said Julia. She currently has 21k followers on Instagram. She has also had a lot of success marketing on Reddit and selling on platforms such as Society6. Her success keeps her busy printing and packaging orders. "I generally spend two days a week printing and packaging online orders" Julia says, "Other days I’m working on commissions, creating for fun or learning ways to further market myself." Being a fulltime artist comes with many hats. The Work Julia's work caught my eye because she does beautiful watercolors of cocktails. Her attention to detail and use of color wowed me. She is self taught- learning through practice. She uses several different mediums but watercolor is her favorite: "I find them forgiving and familiar" However, "The medium I have the most fun with however would be oil pastels!" When I asked Julia what her favorite thing about her art practice is she said: "Creating whatever I want + working for myself from home + the process of watching a fairly detailed painting come together." Freedom to work on what she wants in the comfort of her home are huge blessings to being a fulltime artist. Not to mention the joy of seeing a painting come to life. Inspiration Julia is inspired by: A multitude of other artists - both old and new Sunlight and shadows classical music 1970s photography patterns in nature When asked what advice she has for other artists, Julia said, " My advice would be to stay true to yourself, don’t be afraid to experiment with new styles and mediums, use social media to your advantage to market yourself and learn what you can from artists you admire." Struggles & Goals I deeply relate to Julia's biggest challenge which she confesses is the fluctuation of money during the slow months. It can be "anxiety-inducing." Her best cure is to stay productive and think strategically. "I find that using this time as wisely and productively as possible is the antidote" said Julia. Her big dreamy goals for the future are vague but in the short run she would love to do larger scale paintings. "I currently create a lot of small-scale, detailed works however, I would love to create large-scale abstract works (haha!)" confessed Julia. On an unrelated note to art, I'm always curious what people's secret passion is-the thing they admire and if they could have those skills what would they be doing instead of their actual job. For Julia she would be working in a job focused on animal welfare. Conclusion Go buy her work right now. Click here. Follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her mailing list! Thank you to Julia who agreed to be interviewed for this post :) <3

Erika Norris is serving up bite sized artworks you'll want to see closer. Hear about her practice, experience and inspirations. all photos provided by Erika Norris Who is Erika Norris? Erika Norris is a visual artist based in Tacoma, WA. She works in colored pencils, paper cut outs and does web production/design on the side. Erika says that she always wanted to do something creative with her life and as she became older she was drawn to the visual arts. "I fell in love with the act of translating research into a visual language" says Erika. She has a BA from New York University and an MAFA from Goldsmith’s College through LASALLE College of the Arts in Singapore. She's also taken a bunch of workshops and short courses around art business and art making. She recommends; “Working in a Series” by Lisa Call. Erika Norris has tried out many mediums but colored pencils and paper cut outs have won over her heart. She learned how to draw by copying pictures out of magazines with a mechanical pencil and when she was introduced to colored pencils she fell in love. From a young age she has taught herself and when something wasn't working the internet could fill in the gaps. As a kid she loved crafts and making mod-podge boxes as gifts for friends. That interest came out during grad school as she became interested in sculptural collages. Those explorations led to her ingenious book cutouts. Inspiration Erika's main subject matter is food; "I am really inspired and interested in the underlying reasons and experiences we have with it from nostalgia to fear. I tend to get a lot of inspiration from my own experiences with food, but also from reading and research into sociology, mental health, and diet culture" says Erika. Her love for food artwork explores our relationships with food so for inspiration she often draws from social media, traditional media, advertisements, cookbooks and current food trends. Her conceptual inspiration is a blend of personal experience and reading into the diet, wellness, and self-help industries. Color Pencil Drawings If you've seen Erika's colored pencil drawings in person then you know they are very small: "I like the intimacy of the smaller works and feel that there is something personal in their delicateness that draws people in. I love watching people get so close that their noses almost touch the art in order to take in all the details" When she's worked on larger works she feels that the intensity disappears as the viewer stands far back from the work. She also struggles with the speed of creating her work. Realism fine art takes a long time. It is meticulous and thoughtful. So there are some practicalities to making smaller works such as being more profitable and staying motivated. Her miniature drawings are sold in a series. One image will be the dessert whole and then progressively with each image the dessert will be eaten. Her drawings are mounted on wood panels. By selling her drawings mounted and in a series she can keep the intimate size of her works while providing the collector with a lifelong treasure. Cut outs I've never seen anything like Erika's cut outs. They blow me away and they are very hard to explain. You really just have to see them. She creates her cutouts by following rules for herself as she approaches a cookbook, National Geographic or fitness magazine with scissors. she starts with what size she wants the spine of the book to be (typically 1 inch) Looks at each page of the book/magazine if there is no image or main subject that touches that 1 inch then she takes that page out If the main subject touches that 1 inch spine or goes into it then she cuts around that subject This method results in all the cut outs stacked on top of each other in a beautiful collage sculpture held together by the spine of the book (see above). This is a very process inspired piece of artwork. "I really enjoy the process because it always gives me an unexpected result and really forces me to let go of trying to control the outcome of a piece" says Erika "It feels like such an opposite experience for me than my photorealistic drawings." Struggles & Goals As a shy introvert marketing is her biggest obstacle to her art practice. "I have been taking a very long break and posting irregularly because I had so much anxiety around creating content that I started to avoid making work,'" says Erika. "In a way, my brain was telling me: if you don’t make anything then you don’t have to market it." When it comes to making art, time is the biggest struggle. Like a lot of fine artists she is frustrated with the pressure to be completing things all the time; "there is a lot of social pressure in the form of ‘hustle culture’ that tells us to always be making and producing, but that is antithetical to my art and my process." To stay motivated she has started working on more than one series at a time. Having a series that takes less time helps to counter act the pressure to finish the highly detailed slow series. The colors of her work keep her motivated and inspired. She loves the constant challenge of finding the right combination of pencils to bring a subject to life. Her best advice for people wanting to become artists is to focus on what you are doing and resist the temptation to compare yourself to others. "Instead, I try to focus on the bigger picture and on doing things in ways that feel authentic to me and the way I work," says Erika, Her goals revolve around having shows and installations: "I would love to create an installation that really plays with all our senses in addition to my drawings. Also, I have always wanted to use scent as a part of a work or show." Conclusion Go buy her work right now. Click here. Follow her on Instagram and subscribe to her mailing list! You'll want to keep an eye out for this artist. Thank you to Erika who agreed to be interviewed for this post :) <3

You're new to the oil painting scene but you have to start somewhere. Here is a breakdown of what you're looking at. Presupposition: You are shopping at a fairly regular art store- not fancy and not a basic craft store. Cheapest In the cheap section you are going to find brands like: Van Gogh or the store brand ( at Hobby Lobby it's called "Master Touch") Gamblin 1980 Winsor & Newton's Winton Colors are both in the cheap section but they are much higher quality than Van Gogh or a store brand. They essentially a student line vs the fancy artist line. But since they come from good brands they are still rich with pigment. If you know you are going to waste a ton of paint just learning how to use oil paint then getting the cheapest thing might be best for you. However, if you can affordable Gamblin 1980 or Winton, go for it. You don't want to waste time thinking that you are terrible at mixing colors if the real problem is the quality of your paint. Affordable but Good Winsor & Newton Gamblin These brands make excellent paints and they are what I use 99% of the time. Sometimes I'll buy a Gamblin 1980 or I'll splurge on a single color of a more expensive brand. But for the most part Gamblin is my sweet spot. What I also love about Gamblin - they have a very comprehensive website that provides tips and instructions on how to use all their products. Expensive Brands you'll find in this section: Holbein Old Holland Michael Harding Rembrandt Sennelier Williamsburg These paints are professional grade. If you are ready for them you probably have already been painting for awhile. I wouldn't jump into these unless you have experience under your belt. Also think about what you'll use the paint for. If you're using a burnt umber as a base that's going to be covered in several layers- save yourself the money and use a cheaper paint. Check the tube. Paint is priced by "series" The higher the series the higher the price. Happy shopping! -Amy

Popsicle food art, why and what for? photo by Phil Lewis (my dad and photographer) So it began July 19th 2022 I finished this painting. I was inspired by my mural just a week before. I realized there was a realm of creating that I had been ignoring. In my search for realism I had neglected my more imaginative wanderings. As a beginner you always want to be able to paint what you seen in your mind. As a more experienced painter I was finally able to do that - within reason. This sort of realism that isn't hyperrealistic leaves me free to make art faster and with more whimsy and to offer art in a more affordable range.. Not every idea has so be completely thought out because I'm spending 1-3 days on it (not 1-3 months). Popsicle Popsicle My sketchbook is full of little ideas like this. Most of them want to be full hyperrealism paintings. However, some just aren't strong enough. A fancy hand holding a popsicle was the place to start for my new series. I used acrylic paint and Behr house paint (leftovers from my mural). Why not? There's nothing particularly deep about this painting. This is the beginning of a series that asks, why not? It lets your imagination take a little trip. Is that circle a moon, sun or spotlight? What is she dressed up for? etc. etc. Please join me on this side quest to provide both me & you a little bit more joy. -Amy

we love to complain but it doesn't bring sustainable joy. Here are my best tips for practicing gratitude in your life. Before I list the things I just want to say that these are practices for everyday. Everyday advice isn't always applicable in extreme cases. Not everything negative is complaining and not every situation has to be turned positive. Sometimes life really does suck. But in general, there is probably room for us all to be more thankful. 1. reflect Thinking and reflecting is the most obvious way to practice gratitude. Most often when we complain it's because we are speaking without thinking. We let out a whine before we think about how that whining will affect others and how it will affect ourselves. If I focus on how much my feet hurt in my high heels. I'll probably have less of a good time and I'll probably ruin the vibe for others. If I can force myself to think before I speak I can decide to either 1) do something about the issue 2) say something positive instead (maybe the shoes are killing me but they're also super cute) That is such a silly example. All I am saying is with a little reflection we could turn our attitude around to be grateful for what we have rather than resentful of inconvenience. 2. count We've all been told to count our blessings around thanksgiving and it can seem a little forced. But if you think about counting your blessings at certain times - like when you're stressed or in a bad mood- it might be more meaningful. Also don't stop at the big things. Count everything you can think of: I'm thankful it's sunny today I'm thankful we had such a good lunch I'm thankful for shoes that fit I'm thankful for all 3 cups of coffee today I'm thankful for the progress I made today even though it wasn't as much as I wanted .... 3. journal Journaling is something I've built into my day. I put in the bare minimum. I write one sentence a day. In my journal I write: I am grateful for_____________ And that's it. I find that it is sometimes repetitive. Especially since I always do it in the morning so I'm often tempted to write that I'm thankful for coffee and sleep. Sometimes our habits/routines don't show fruit all the time. But that doesn't mean they aren't doing us good. I think this is one of those things. 4. speak These last two practices are ways we can bless others with our gratitude. Gratitude is being thankful for what we have. But true gratitude makes us want to give out of what we've been given. One of the best ways to give gratitude is through our words. It's basic stuff like saying thank you. It can also be letting your loved ones know how much you love them and how much you appreciate what they do for you. There are people all around us who serve us. Showing them gratitude is the fruit of a grateful heart. 5. give One of the other best ways to give gratitude is through literal giving. Being grateful means that we appreciate what we've been given. It really is better to give than to receive. When we have grateful hearts it will be our joy to give. Sometimes it costs us to give. It takes heart reflection to know when and what to give. Are we giving of our time or money? Are we giving clothing or our expertise or our emotional space? Are we ready to be generous to a friend or are we setting aside money to donate? We like to give out of our pride to feel good about ourselves. It's not easy to have a perfect heart about giving. But regardless. it's definitely on the list. A grateful heart is a giving heart. Please! Let me know if you've found other ways to check your heart and practice gratitude. -Amy