Yesterday I shared the dyed Easter eggs I made this year. After dyeing a dozen (or more) eggs, there's always extra dye left over. So, what to do with it? How about making beautiful translucent collage papers? Dip Dyeing is fun and easy. (There is a very formal Japanese dip dyeing process called Orizomegami. This is a very simplified version of that process.) Watch the video for the step-by-step instructions: Take a look at some of the papers I shared in the video: I used Japanese rice paper, but you could use any thin and absorbent paper. I hope you'll... Read more →

Over the past few weeks, I've been working on this large (36x36) striped painting: It's actually on top of a painting I threw together back in 2017 when we were staging Steve's house to sell it. It never felt like a finished painting to me, So recently, I let it sit in the studio for about a month. It was on the floor. It was leaning on some drawers. I hung it on my painting wall. I just kind of lived with it for a while. Soon enough, I starting cleaning my brushes off on it and I even let... Read more →

As I mentioned yesterday, I used a bunch of bleeding tissue paper in this new 18x24 mixed media collage: You can see some of the texture and pattern on the bleeding tissue paper (as well as the brilliant color) in these close-ups: I love this one. I popped it into a frame almost as soon as I made it, and hung it on our bedroom wall. Our bedroom isn't very photogenic, so here's a pretty bedroom with this lovely painting: I feel like I should sell this piece, but I'm not quite ready to let go of it. Thanks for... Read more →

I am stripe obsessed at the moment! I just spent the weekend gelatin printing oodles of striped collage paper. I counted and there are more than 100 pieces of striped collage paper in that pile! Each one is unique. Some are interesting and some are boring, but they're all striped. Here's a peek at just a few of the papers: My hands hurt and my back hurts but I'm so happy with my delicious collection of papers! My friend Sheeri asked me a very good question when I posted this photo of some of them drying: (This is a similar... Read more →

Here's a look at the large (19x24) demo piece I made during Design Boot Camp this year: And here's a look at its progress over several sessions in class: And the final version displayed along with some of my previous work: As you can see, all of my work kind of "goes together" no matter the format, content, or techniques used. This is what I think many people mean when they refer to "style." A big part of Design Boot Camp is helping each participant drill down to some essentials of what his or her style is. If you're interested... Read more →

Another wonderful Design Boot Camp has wrapped up! During Design Boot Camp I always spend a lot of time in my Studio Notebook -- aka my sketchbook. It's a place to think out loud, experiment, make mistakes, and learn. I rarely share the pages from my studio notebooks for a bunch of different reasons -- the biggest is that they're usually pretty ugly. My sketchbook is full of thoughts and ideas, but not finished work. Nevertheless, I thought I'd share a little behind-the-scenes peek into some of the work I created during this round of Design Boot Camp: As you... Read more →

I recently finished a series of three 5x7 mixed media collages. (You can grab one in my shop, if you're interested.) You can watch this overview video to see them come together: As I mention in the video, I started them for January's Book Club. This is what they looked like at the time of the Book Club recording: And here they are now: A few tips to take with you: Don't be afraid to cover things up. The layers and the texture are still there -- just in a more subtle way. Learn what things make your artwork "feel... Read more →

This month's Book Club selection was a suggestion by a viewer: Abstracts in Acrylic & Ink by Jodi Ohl. And, as it turned out, I already owned the book but had never even opened it. This is the exact reason why I started Book Club. I'm tired of collecting books. I want to actually use them! Jodi was a guest on the Adventures in Arting Podcast back in 2015. She's super talented and I really love her work. During Book Club I chat a bit about why this book wasn't a great fit for me and how I learn, but... Read more →

I'm part of an affinity group within the Cambridge Art Association. We decided to do a postcard swap with a twist. Instead of sending each other finished postcards, we're mailing half-finished postcards that the recipient can finish. Here are the postcards that I'm putting in the mail: I used my new Art Foamies foam stamps, did some image transfers, did some drawing and collaging, and just generally had fun making these little guys. I'm currently working on a Studio Vlog for Maker & Super Learner Members all about the making of these postcards as well as sharing what I get... Read more →

During this month's Member Livestream, I taught a section on mixing neutral paint colors to coordinate with your palette. I swished the colors all around on a page in my sketchbook (to show how they looked together) and ended up with this mess: Well, I took a few minutes this week to clean up the mess and turn it into a composition. And I looooove how it turned out: Simple patterns will always be on my love list. If you'd like to learn more about composition, check out the upcoming season of Design Boot Camp. Thanks for stopping by! Read more →