Studio Journal | 8.10.26

Welcome back to the studio! I thought it was time for another little check-in and chit chat about what’s going on in the studio, what I’ve been up to, how I’ve been working, and all of that good stuff. If you follow along closely with my Substack feed, some of this may be a little familiar, but there are plenty of new bits and bobs tucked in here too.

All that said, let’s get into the studio and see what’s happening!

A couple of weeks ago, I started a Summer Flower Painting workshop with Amy Brnger, and somehow we’re already in our fourth and final week. The flowers have included sunflowers, snapdragons, hydrangeas, and zinnias. Some of my favorites, and luckily, things I grow right here in my garden.

It’s been a mixed bag of paintings I really like and paintings that are going to make great underpaintings for future work. Ha! But that’s what workshops are all about. If you go into a workshop, sail right through, and love every single painting you make, then maybe you don’t need to be taking the workshop.

One of the reasons I love workshops with Amy is that her critiques are so thorough and helpful. Each week we have homework, basically a painting based on that week’s session, and I usually try to make two or three so I can get as much feedback as possible. Critiques have been incredibly helpful to my growth as an artist, so I try to get them whenever I can.

Generally, I’m pretty good at taking critiques for what they are. I can listen, learn, decide what applies, and move on without too much grief. But every once in a while, even when the feedback comes from the kindest instructor with the very best intentions, it can still knock you down a peg. Such is the life of trying to get better at something, I suppose.

All that said, it’s been a great workshop. Workshops with Amy usually are, and I’ll be disappointed when it ends this week. Thankfully, my garden is overflowing with flowers at the moment, so the flower painting shall continue, workshop or not. I have so much fun with trying to keep loose but still achieving a successful painting. Flowers are a great subject for that.

Speaking of flower paintings, I’ve still been busy with collage. A little less than before, but it’s definitely still happening. I think I last left off talking about experimenting with a really sketchy underpainting before going in with the collage.

I’ve started two more since then using that same technique, and it’s working really well. I love what it does for both the process and the finished artwork. It gives me something loose and expressive to respond to instead of starting with a completely blank surface.

I also seem to have accidentally started a little series. There’s this loose theme of flowers and fruit happening, and they all happen to be the same size. Not that they need to stay together, but I think they’ll work really well as a group. The one on the left is complete, while the other two are still works in progress. I’m excited to see all three together once they’re finished.

I’ve also decided to try my hand at some ATCs and ACEOs. I won’t get into the full history here, but they’re essentially tiny works of art the size of a baseball card, 2.5 by 3.5 inches. ATCs, or Artist Trading Cards, are traditionally traded between artists, while ACEOs, Artist Cards, Editions, and Originals, are made to be sold. Same tiny format, slightly different purpose.

I’m typically not a fan of working this small and tight, so I haven’t quite found my rhythm with them yet, but I’m hoping I will. I think the whole idea is really fun, and they could be a great little in-between project. Maybe I have some extra paint on my palette that I need to use up. Maybe I’m waiting for something else to dry. Maybe I just want to make something without committing to a whole painting.

For now, I really like the idea of trading them, but if I find my rhythm and end up making a little collection, I think they could be fun to sell too. So, we’ll see where it goes.

If you’ve made ATCs or ACEOs and have any tips, tricks, ideas, or suggestions, please let me know. Maybe we can even trade down the road!

My daily sketching habit continues! I started on July 7, so I’m officially over a month into this practice, and I’m still really enjoying it. I share these sketches every morning over on my Substack feed if you want to check them out or follow along.

I can feel a subtle itch to start experimenting with different methods or materials, but I’m not quite ready to change things up yet. I’d at least like to finish one full sketchbook in this ink-and-watercolor style, and I’m almost there. Isn’t finishing a sketchbook one of the best feelings?

I’ve also been thinking a lot lately about why this practice feels so different from my oil painting practice. Ink and watercolor seem to just flow out of me. I enjoy the process, I don’t get particularly frustrated or annoyed, and most of the sketches I’m pretty darn happy with. Perfect or not. Even when I mess something up, smear the ink, or put something where it probably shouldn’t be, I’m just not that bothered by it.

Oil painting is a whole different story. I can struggle through a painting for hours, stress over every mistake, and sometimes feel like I only really love one out of every thirty paintings I make. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration, but some days it certainly doesn’t feel like one.

So I’ve been wondering how I can take what I’m learning from this ink-and-watercolor practice and bring some of it into my oil painting. Maybe that means a daily oil sketch practice. Maybe it means smaller paintings, shorter sessions, less investment in the outcome, or simply making a lot more of them. Oil is obviously a bit more complicated when it comes to materials and cleanup, but I think some version of it could be manageable.

I don’t know yet. Time will tell.

Either way, I’m really loving this sketching practice, and whether it stays exactly the same, shifts a little, or changes completely, the goal is still the same: enjoy the process and keep making.

And speaking of watercolor, I unexpectedly bought a granulating watercolor recently and absolutely loved it. Naturally, that sent me straight down the rabbit hole of exploring more of them. Thankfully, I even got a couple of tubes for my birthday.

I’ve been especially drawn to the granulating colors that have a little color shift to them. Most of the ones I’ve been trying are from Holbein, but I have a couple from Daniel Smith too. I’ve also heard Schmincke makes some beautiful options, so clearly I have plenty more to explore.

I tend to use watercolor pretty freely and intuitively, and I’ve realized there’s so much room in this practice for play, experimentation, and imperfection. These colors fit right into that. They separate, shift, settle into the texture of the paper, and sometimes seem to have a mind of their own. I suspect they might not be ideal for an artist who wants a lot of control and predictability, but for the way I like to work, that unpredictability is part of the fun.

I just put out a little request in a recent Substack Note asking for recommendations, so if you’re curious about what other artists are loving, be sure to check that out. I’ve already added a few more colors to my mental wish list.

And last, but certainly not least, I got a gelli plate!

I’m pretty excited about this one. I’ve been trying my best not to add any new art supplies or techniques to my practice because, frankly, I have enough going on already. But after seeing a couple of really interesting gelli printing techniques, curiosity finally won and I picked one up.

I’ve started very simply with one plate and a brayer. I may actually have another brayer hiding somewhere in my studio, but we’ll deal with that mystery later.

What I really want to do is go into this process with minimal knowledge and minimal rules. I want to play first. Experiment. Make some weird things. See what happens. Then, once I’ve gotten a feel for it on my own, I can start learning more about different processes and techniques.

Sometimes I think it’s nice to meet a new material before anyone tells you what you’re supposed to do with it.

Now I just need to set aside a chunk of time to play!

Phew! These Studio Journals are always so fun to write. I have a tendency to feel like I’m not being nearly as productive as everyone else, but then I sit down and look back at everything that’s happened over the past few weeks and think, okay, maybe I’ve been doing more than I realized.

There’s been a lot of experimenting lately, with even more to come, and that always feels exciting to me. I don’t necessarily know where all of these little threads will lead, but I think that’s part of the fun.

And now that I’ve blabbed on and on about what’s happening in my studio, what’s happening in yours? What have you been making, experimenting with, struggling with, or unexpectedly loving lately? Let’s continue the conversation in the comments. I always love hearing what you’re up to.

Until next time!