Month: February 2025

  • Good Habits

    Good Habits

    I am singing the praises of the twenty minute sketch habit today, it really has changed my days for the better. By giving me a set thing to do first thing, I don’t end up overthinking and procrastinating about what I’m going to create, I just get the sketch done and the rest of the…

  • Rules and Play

    Rules and Play

    My 100 Day Project continues. Alla prima painting feels intuitive to me, but it does have some general rules, guidelines, whatever you want to call them, and I am using this project to figure out what those rules mean in terms of how to put the paint down. I mean I know the rules, and…

  • Back To It

    Back To It

    I got myself a new medium from Gamblin that is solvent free. It’s supposed to be a substitute for Liquin, and it definitely doesn’t smell like Liquin, which stinks, but it’s my first try with it, so I am not sure if I like it. I switched things up today in a couple of other…

  • Early Morning Motivation

    Early Morning Motivation

    Today’s big challenge was getting this done before the arrival of a dog. He belongs to my folks, and this is his first sleepover since they adopted him. I didn’t think it was feasible to do timed oil painting with a somewhat high-energy dog, so I got up early and did not procrastinate, and got…

  • 100 Day Project Day 2

    100 Day Project Day 2

    I started the art day with a twenty minute timed sketch, and this is feeling good as a way to start the day. I’m probably going to use that practise as a first sketch for my 100 Day one hour portraits, it’s a good way to get a feel for the shapes before starting with…

  • 100 Day Project Day 1

    100 Day Project Day 1

    Today was very odd. Yesterday I was fired up and excited about starting the new 100 Day Project, and then today I was feeling very blocked. No, not blocked, tight. I know why – I am used to sharing my art here, and I’m comfortable with that, but this project also has the social media…

  • Subtle Underpainting

    Subtle Underpainting

    I had a very productive and varied day in the studio today, and feel very accomplished. Yay. I started with my habit-in-development, a timed twenty minute sketch. It wasn’t particularly good, but the sketchbook is filling up. Next up I prepped seven 6×8″ sheets ready to begin the 100 Day Challenge tomorrow. I decided having…

  • Quatro

    Quatro

    Mini portrait umber four is complete. This is for Week 4 of Let’s Face It with Laurie Johnson. Model & Photographer: Sasha Sears Source: Museum/SKTCHY app I’m in catch-up mode with the classes at the moment, but I’m not stressing about it. I’m painting every day, and that’s what I’m focused on. I really enjoyed…

  • Nasally Challenged

    Nasally Challenged

    This is a very challenging reference, and I feel I am going to have her on my table for a while, working away until I master the nose. The head tilt and the hair makes what’s happening around the nose and hidden eye very difficult to translate. I started out with a twenty minute sketch,…

  • Closed Eyes Pouting

    Closed Eyes Pouting

    I rocked the day today. I am trying out a new app that is recommended for overcoming neurospicy Things. It’s called Habitica, and I am liking it a lot. Of course it’s a very neurospicy thing to start a new Thing and rock the first day or even ten, so I’ll see how it goes.…

  • Timed Portrait Exercises

    Timed Portrait Exercises

    The timed sketch to start the day happened again. Since I had prepped some paper for a mini paintings exercise, I decided to use the first reference as my reference for the drawing. I gave myself twenty minutes. The painting is on 12×16″ watercolour paper that has been prepped for oil painting, and divided into…

  • One Hour Oil Painting

    One Hour Oil Painting

    I tried something a little different today. In fact I tried quite a lot of things a little different today. I have been in a half-slump lately, and it doesn’t manifest every day, but often I find myself struggling to start, and one of the themes is “I don’t know what I want to paint”.…