Information about my art:
My original paintings can be purchased through my Etsy page.
I do not teach classes or hold workshops, but I do occasionally post process videos or photos on my Instagram page, and I am happy to chat or answer questions there. I have found it to be a good platform for artists of all levels, as well as a great way to gather a supportive community of creative friends!
I do not teach classes or hold workshops, but I do occasionally post process videos or photos on my Instagram page, and I am happy to chat or answer questions there. I have found it to be a good platform for artists of all levels, as well as a great way to gather a supportive community of creative friends!
I often have people ask me about the supplies and techniques that I use, so I am including some information about this below. Supplies listed just happen to be my personal favorites, it really doesn’t mean that they are better than other options or brands. I highly recommend trying things out on your own in order to find the products that are a perfect fit for your own style of painting. Having said that, I have found these items to be great quality, and reliable.
Watercolors: I LOVE M.Graham watercolors. They add honey to the mix, and it gives them a beautiful consistency, with excellent re-wetting abilities. I prefer to use tube paint in the studio, and have a large porcelain plate for mixing, supplemented with a porcelain watercolor palette with wells for washes.
Pastels: Where to start...! The list of pastels that I love is a long one. I tend to use pastels that are on the soft side. Here are just a few of my favorites: Blue Earth, Schmincke, Sennelier, and Unison. I also really like to use Prismacolor NuPastels for drawing or details. Just a tip, some of their colors are not light fast, so you may want to avoid those colors.
Pastel Pencils: Again, there are lots of great brands here, but my two favorites are Stabilo CarbOthello and Faber-Castell Pitt pencils.
Colored Pencils: I am very loyal to Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils. They have a creamy lay down and very little breakage.
Surfaces: I, like many botanical artists, always used to use Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper. Several years ago, they had some kind of manufacturing change, and sadly they have never been the same. I do still use them, but no longer exclusively. I also use Arches. I prefer hot press for most of my projects. And for illustration I often use hot press Fluid brand paper, as it is somewhat less expensive. I also prefer to use watercolor blocks, rather than taping or soaking my paper.
For pastels I have two surfaces that I really enjoy. The first is Ampersand pastelbord, which is very sturdy with a nice tooth. It can take a really wet under painting, it can even be rinsed off entirely for those paintings that just need to start over! The other is Clairfontaine Pastelmat, which has a deceptively smooth surface, but is great for details.
Watercolors: I LOVE M.Graham watercolors. They add honey to the mix, and it gives them a beautiful consistency, with excellent re-wetting abilities. I prefer to use tube paint in the studio, and have a large porcelain plate for mixing, supplemented with a porcelain watercolor palette with wells for washes.
Pastels: Where to start...! The list of pastels that I love is a long one. I tend to use pastels that are on the soft side. Here are just a few of my favorites: Blue Earth, Schmincke, Sennelier, and Unison. I also really like to use Prismacolor NuPastels for drawing or details. Just a tip, some of their colors are not light fast, so you may want to avoid those colors.
Pastel Pencils: Again, there are lots of great brands here, but my two favorites are Stabilo CarbOthello and Faber-Castell Pitt pencils.
Colored Pencils: I am very loyal to Faber-Castell Polychromos Pencils. They have a creamy lay down and very little breakage.
Surfaces: I, like many botanical artists, always used to use Fabriano Artistico watercolor paper. Several years ago, they had some kind of manufacturing change, and sadly they have never been the same. I do still use them, but no longer exclusively. I also use Arches. I prefer hot press for most of my projects. And for illustration I often use hot press Fluid brand paper, as it is somewhat less expensive. I also prefer to use watercolor blocks, rather than taping or soaking my paper.
For pastels I have two surfaces that I really enjoy. The first is Ampersand pastelbord, which is very sturdy with a nice tooth. It can take a really wet under painting, it can even be rinsed off entirely for those paintings that just need to start over! The other is Clairfontaine Pastelmat, which has a deceptively smooth surface, but is great for details.
Information about pastels:
The Pastel Society of America- http://www.pastelsocietyofamerica.org/
The Pastel Society UK- http://www.thepastelsociety.org.uk/
And for a wonderful magazine about pastels -
The Pastel Journal- http://www.artistsnetwork.com/pastel-journal
The Pastel Society UK- http://www.thepastelsociety.org.uk/
And for a wonderful magazine about pastels -
The Pastel Journal- http://www.artistsnetwork.com/pastel-journal
Information about colored pencils:
The Colored Pencil Society of America- http://www.cpsa.org/
UK Coloured Pencil Society- http://www.ukcps.co.uk/
UK Coloured Pencil Society- http://www.ukcps.co.uk/
And a few more of my favorites:
The American Society of Botanical Artists- https://www.asba-art.org/
The American Impressionist Society- https://www.americanimpressionistsociety.org/
The American Tonalist Society- https://www.americantonalistsociety.com/
Artists For Conservation- https://artistsforconservation.org/
The American Impressionist Society- https://www.americanimpressionistsociety.org/
The American Tonalist Society- https://www.americantonalistsociety.com/
Artists For Conservation- https://artistsforconservation.org/
