Friends & Feedback

Smooth gradients look polished. They also kill texture, energy, and the feeling of actual paint. Leave your brushstrokes alone.

Consistency beats intensity. 20 minutes every day does more than a full Saturday once a month.

Yellow ochre, vermillion, ivory black, titanium white. Four colors, endless range. Here is why it works.

10 minutes, ballpoint pen. The best sketches are the ones you are not precious about.

After trying dozens, I keep coming back to three. Here is what each does and why I reach for it.

I think they're both good, but give me any feedback!

From the first 15 minutes of a long pose session. Gesture is where drawing lives.

5-minute poses, 10-minute poses, one long pose. How I structure sessions and what I focus on at each stage.

Grey paper is underrated as a ground for gouache. The mid-tone is already there.

Mixing warm lights against cool shadows. Trying to stay loose and not overwork it.

It took me two years to really see warm and cool. Here is the exercise that finally made it click.

Spoiler: it does not go away. You just get faster at making that first mark. Here is what actually helps.

North-facing window, no artificial light. Simple setup, maximum information.

Fountain pen and a warm grey marker. Quick on-location sketch during lunch.

We are all impatient to paint. But the sketch is where your biggest decisions happen — do not skip it.

Painting outside forced me to simplify. That instinct carried back into the studio and changed everything.

Found this gate on a walk and had to come back with a sketchbook.