
How I drop into my work quickly…
I’m in the studio today with a painting I haven’t worked on in a while. To help me drop back into it quickly, here’s something that I do, that you might want to try too. I unplug from my phone and other distractions and set a timer for 20-30 minutes. It gets me out of...

Working large, small, and everything in between!
What sizes of paintings do you like to make? I work large, small, and everything in between! I have several different sizes going on in the studio now. Let me show you my favorites. Some sizes I choose are based on what people will buy, such as “the above the couch”...

Take a look inside my sketchbook…
I’m coming to the end of one of my sketchbooks. Before it gets tucked away on a shelf, I thought it’d be cool to show you some of its pages. After all, the point of this vlog is to inspire, and you might want to try making a book like this, too! I use this book to...

A time-saving tip to take to your studio
Here is a simple tip that helps me stay in a flow as I paint. It could help you too! I use color-coded bins to keep my paints organized. My paint tubes get so messy that I can’t even tell what color is in them. But if I take them from the bin marked with yellow, then...

The three stages of art-making
I love this Sunday Vlog because it’s a casual place for me to talk about ideas that come up when making my art. So if you’re new to the Art2Life Vlog, welcome! I encourage you to leave a comment so we can keep the conversation going. Today I’m looking at three...

This is the nature of creativity…
A while back, I shared the progress on a Tiny House I'm making with my daughter. We're back at it! The house is on wheels, so this week, we're working on it in a beautiful spot in Chico, CA. Unfortunately, we've hit some roadblocks, and things aren't going as planned....

Gaining Momentum in Your Work
A couple weeks ago, I told you that before leaving the studio, it’s a great idea to make a move on your painting that doesn’t quite fit. When you return, you have something obvious to respond to. Today I’m ready to work on this again and I want to show you how the...

How to problem-solve a painting
I just thought I’d share a tip about my painting process. I’m working on this painting, and the top isn’t working, so I need to make a change. When this happens, I look for clues in other parts of the painting where there is a feeling and energy I like. In this case,...

Let me show you how I glaze my paintings…
Glazing is a great way to unify a painting. By covering areas of a painting with a thin glaze of color, areas instantly feel related since they have the glaze in common. I’m at that stage in this painting, so let me show you how I do it. Take a look. A little color,...

Not getting anywhere with your painting? Try this.
I wanted to talk about transitions—where one thing ends and something else begins, like where the ocean meets the beach. There’s energy in transitions because that’s where the contrast is. It’s exciting to see a smooth field of red budding up with a plane of white....