Swatching has a reputation for being boring little boxes. Neat grids. Labels everywhere. Useful? Sure. Inspiring? Not always. If you actually want to learn  your paints—and enjoy the process—sometimes it helps to swatch in ways that feel more like painting and less like cataloging. Here are some fun, low-pressure ways to swatch your paints that still teach you a lot. ◯ ◻︎ △ Paint Overlapping Figures Instead of isolated shapes, paint simple overlapping forms : circles silhouet

✨Most art journaling advice pushes cohesion: one theme, one palette, one mood, one tidy idea. Sometimes I want that. But often? That’s not how I think , and it’s not how I paint . Some of my favorite journal pages are made up of several unrelated paintings —different subjects, different moods, different levels of finish—sharing the same page without trying to explain themselves. Here’s why I do it, and why it quietly made my work stronger. ✂️ It Removes the Pressure to Make “

Winter looks “blah” to most people—but to artists? It’s a goldmine of subtle color, strange textures, and dramatic light you won’t see any other time of year. Here are five winter subjects that look completely ordinary… until you put a brush to them. These are perfect for quick warmups, photo references, or full atmospheric landscapes. 1. ✨ Dead Weeds With Backlight You know those crunchy little tan weeds along fences and sidewalks? The ones everyone else ignores? Hit them wi

In a world that often demands constant productivity, your sketchbook can become a sacred space to slow down. Visual meditation is the art of letting go — letting your hand move without pressure, your colors flow without a plan. Whether you’re sketching spirals, breathing with brushstrokes, or creating soft winter washes, these gentle exercises invite calm, presence, and reflection. Here are five ways to transform a blank journal page into a peaceful visual meditation. 1. Draw

Winter branches are some of the most underrated practice subjects on the planet. No full trees. No landscapes. No complicated compositions. Just small, delicious textures — bark, twigs, frosty rims, little bursts of lichen — all zoomed in so you can practice looseness and  precision at the same time. Here’s how to turn these tiny “micro-studies” into a January warm-up ritual: Why Branch Studies Work So Well • They’re bite-sized. Each study takes 2–5 minutes, perfect for warmi

✨ A Mini Swatch-Party for the Deep-Winter Mood January has its own palette  — quiet, cool, a little dreamy, and full of that in-between light that makes everything feel like it’s wrapped in frost. It’s not December’s festive brights. It’s not February’s soft pastels. January is its own  mood — and honestly? It hits different. So today, let’s have a little swatch-party  of the colors that feel  like this month. These are the shades I reach for when I want my paintings to breat

If you’ve ever stepped outside on a fresh winter morning, you already know: snow isn’t actually white.  It’s reflective, colorful, shifting, and way more interesting than a tube of titanium white can ever capture. So today, let’s talk about how to paint snow without using any white paint at all —and why doing so can actually make your winter paintings look more luminous. 🌡️ 1. Start With Temperature, Not White Snow gets its “whiteness” from reflected light. So instead of thi

Skip the weather app – today, paint your own emotional forecast. Are you cloudy blue, fiery orange, or calm mint green? Ever wondered...

Want to make your watercolor skies glow  with color and light? Whether you're painting a soft sunrise or a fiery sunset, capturing that...