Illustration by Christine Hutson

03/28/2025

I already have a bunch of students in my pigments and paints class that's coming up, but if you'd like to take it, there's still room. This is just a lecture on Zoom, so there's no homework and no grades, just bring your notebook! This is just one 2 1/2 hour class.

07/30/2024

Okay, my students and friends at the Phipps have been recommending this paper to me for years, so I finally bought some. Wow. I've been using Stonehenge black (the printing paper, not their black watercolor paper), and I still love it. But Black Black is smoother and heavier than Stonehenge. And it is a truly, stygian, inky BLACK. Fabriano is a famous and highly respected brand, so this isn't just construction paper or poor quality stuff, it's very good. You can entrust your artwork to Fabriano. Highly recommended.

Fabriano BLACK BLACK features a rich black surface ideal for pencil, pastel, mixed media application, light water media, gel pens or markers. It's also a great paper for paper crafting, portfolio presentation and creating extra black matboards. Glued on top, with 20 sheets of 140 lb. 300 gsm paper.

07/12/2024

Artists always need Stuff, so there are wishlists at various shops.

Let me know if any of the lists are messed up in any way, I've had trouble before.

Also, JetPens: https://www.jetpens.com/wishlist?wish_list_id=24985f2d99b9214f

St. Louis Art Supplies:
https://shop.stlartsupply.com/pages/shared-wishlist/62e010fe6f49b1de1d3c1200

06/21/2024

Got one done for drawing day. I really wanted a pompadour and polka dots, so I sort of mixed and matched a tufted titmouse and a wood thrush😁
This is at HijinxedEtc

06/21/2024

I love the Center for Creative Reuse!

06/21/2024

As it's peony season, here's one from the archive

06/21/2024

🦋 NEW BUTTERFLY ALERT! 🦋

With striking shades of blue, this magnificent butterfly is currently fluttering around in our Stove Room. Try to see if you can spot it during your next visit to Butterfly Forest!

Visit today: https://www.phipps.conservatory.org/calendar/detail/butterfly-forest

Photo © Bernard Dupont

06/21/2024

🍩 Happy National Donut Day!🍩

Enjoy this donut-themed calligraphic pangram by to celebrate! Materials used for this piece: oblique holder, Hunt 101 nib (N77), Iron Throne Fox & Quills ink (I160), Borden & Riley Boris Marker Layout paper (P09). All that’s missing are the sprinkles! 😉

Check out all these products at JohnNealBooks.com!

12/13/2023

You know the lady who paints all the lovely witchy kitties? Well, her shop is here:

Shop Watercolor prints by artist Maggie Vandewalle by HijinxedEtc located in Hiawatha, Iowa. Smooth shipping! Has a history of shipping on time with tracking. Speedy replies! Has a history of replying to messages quickly. Rave reviews! Average review rating is 4.8 or higher

11/04/2023

Creating complex textures with watercolor.

A layer of buff titanium (which is a dull beige color, but it's a very dense, opaque paint) was painted down and allowed to dry. Then I painted over it with a layer of Daniel Smith's Bloodstone Genuine (this is a jasper mineral paint). Once that was dry, I took a very fine, clean, wet brush, and I "scrubbed" little veins in the bloodstone layer, revealing the lighter color underneath. You have to keep rinsing and rewetting your brush, and you have to blot any excess water off. You need the brush to be just barely damp. And this is how you lift paint. This was used to create several different textures on the two samples.
This can be used to depict bark, bone, shell, stone, or anything you want. And of course you have to experiment to see which colors are good for the first layer, and which ones are good for the top layer. You can also use multiple coats of different colors before lifting, but you have to be very careful when applying subsequent layers, as you can accidentally dissolve the layers underneath before you want to.

08/25/2022