Composing an abstract floral painting is very different than composing a fully abstract painting, at least for me. The stages of composition and design are vastly different and in this video I will be sharing with you each of my 6 distinct stages of painting my abstract florals. With the florals I figure out the […]

Do you ever lose track of all the “do’s” and “don’ts” you learned in art classes? Whether its rules about perspective, composition, color combinations, or other elements, it can be challenging just trying to remember them all. In this video I explain 3 basic principles that are easy to remember and that will make a […]

When you find a specific color you want to use in a painting do you know how to mix it? I’ve struggled with trying to guess how to mix certain blues, certain reds, certain neutrals, etc. It would take up so much time and I would get frustrated when I was far off from what […]

Have you ever wondered what goes through an artists mind as they think about what the next steps are in the middle of a painting? How do you determine what the next step is? In this video, I walk you through my thinking process as I decide what I need to do to create a […]

I’m sure you’ve heard it by now: Don’t compose your painting with a focus in the center of the painting because that doesn’t excite the viewer’s eye. But sometimes that’s exactly what happens despite ourselves. That’s what happened to me in a recent painting. In this video, I demonstrate how to change the composition to […]

Creativity and imagination are found inside all of us. But there are times when something gets in the way of our flow of ideas. Have you ever felt like your inspiration left you, or that your well of ideas have dried up? One minute you’re happily creating, and then poof! The ideas and thoughts seem […]

How do you go from having an idea and inspiration for a painting to executing it on the canvas? Well, I have developed my own simple quick solution that I’m going to share with you today. I start by working small, combining colors and shapes on postcard-sized sheets of paper.  When I come up with […]

While there are many ideas about how to give your painting depth, using many layers is the answer for me. Adding and subtracting over and over again not only gives tremendous depth, but also exciting unexpected surprises in a painting. Putting things the painting, then painting over them multiple times gives the painting an intriguing […]

Creativity is a tool we all use to create art. Combine that with imagination, and you’ll find unlimited options for what your mind and hands can design and develop. Merriam-Webster defines creativity as “the ability to create.” If you dig a little deeper into the definition, you’ll see that creating is the ability to bring […]

Do you find yourself striving for perfection in each of your paintings? It’s hard not to, especially when you’re painfully aware of the hundreds of individual decisions that go into creating each painting. Unfortunately, aiming for perfection and being afraid of making a wrong decision actually get in the way of creating successful paintings. Over […]