In the past, it's always been important to look at other art and learn from other artists to create great work. This is how it's been for the last couple hundreds of years.

But things are a bit different today.

I realized those artists are only known because their art looks like someone else's. You can probably think of artist's right now that you currently follow who have a style that mimics other famous artists.

This made me question the work I was creating and all the studying I was doing.

Think back to a time when you were disappointed with your work. What kind of thoughts and emotions did you experience?

If you're like me, you probably felt that you weren't good enough. You put yourself down. You tied your self-worth to the thing you created.

Transitions have a way of teaching lessons you don’t sign up for.

At first, they can feel disruptive or even painful. Like something's been taken from you. But if you stay with them long enough, you realize they’re shaping you in ways you couldn’t have planned yourself.

Out of all the sketchbooks I’ve filled over the years, one stands out more than the rest. This particular one, I started back in 2018 which I dedicated to drawing only my cat, Kitty, from life.

Working long hours, putting pressure on yourself to create more each day is a recipe for burnout. This kind of lifestyle lacks balance and harmony. We weren’t meant to live like this.

The problem is: this goes against nature.

Nature is patient and takes her time.

The point behind all of these paintings I made was that during this time I was taking an inspiration fast. This helped me to create more freely and to create more often too.

Hey there, how's it going?
Finally a new year, so I wanted to catch up with you again.

I wanted to share with you a lesson I learned from last year - and also share a short list of some of the most valuable content I created last year.

What do you see when you look at a blank piece of paper? If you're anything like me, you see the most scary and intimidating, valuable canvas, which will easily be wasted as soon as I start to draw anything on it.

I have had many times where I become frustrated while creating art, whether it be a pen & ink drawing or a watercolor painting. I would guess around one-third or even more of my art is just garbage - or not quite the quality I was looking for. This is just how it is sometimes.

Even though I’ve been consistently creating art and following this passion for over 10 years now, I still have times where I struggle and run into problems.

It’s extremely tough to earn a living off of one’s art. In fact, researchers have determined that only 10% of art school graduates find a way of supporting themselves solely from their passion.

Have you ever wondered how to make money as an artist? If so, you're not alone. Even the most prestigious Fine Art colleges in the world tend to forget to teach their art students this little important bit of information. Why is it that there doesn't seem to be a clear path or way for artists to make a living nowadays?

For the past few years now I've been selling small paintings on Etsy and shipping them out myself and I've had to figure out the best way to pack them safely so they don't arrive damaged in any way. I use the USPS free flat rate boxes - usually the Medium size - as these allow for extra room around the painting for padding, in case the box gets stepped on or dropped the painting won't be touched.

The main point of this post is to discuss shadows and their temperature, color & other aspects in order to achieve a realistic image. A general guideline that has been talked about for years is "Warm light, cool shadows or Cool light, warms shadows".