Add Some Unexpected Colors Today I’m sharing a couple of paintings I recently finished as a way to talk about adding unexpected color. White Angel Wing Peonies was a commissioned piece, and the peachy camellias were painted simply “just because.” As I eased back into painting in the new year, I focused on layering slowly, staying loose, and letting myself play a bit. One thing that helped was intentionally adding a hue that wasn’t in my reference photo. Because if we copy the photo exactly… what’s the point? We could just take a picture. One of the simplest ways to elevate your floral paintings is to add one color that technically doesn’t “belong.” If your flower is mostly pinks…. Try tucking...
Welcome the Beauty of Nature into Your Home Art has the power to transform a space, spark memories, and bring joy every day. My floral paintings are inspired by the vibrant colors, textures, and serenity of the garden, captured in layered acrylics that glow with light and life. A Timeless Garden That Lasts a Lifetime Bringing one of my floral paintings into your home is like welcoming a garden that never fades. Each piece is created with rich, layered colors and fine-quality, archival acrylic paints designed to stay vibrant for decades. These layers—soft washes beneath deeper tones—create a luminous depth that invites you to pause, breathe, and enjoy a moment of beauty every time you pass by. It’s a lasting...
As I approach each painting, I try to focus on mainly four ways to make my work looser. Below are some examples with explanations. I hope this gives you some more insight into my process and how it can help you paint more expressively. Don’t paint every detail, let the viewer interpret the details on their own. In both of these paintings, most of the background was left out and reinterpreted. This makes for a better composition and more appealing to the viewer. The daylily painting is a bit more realistic in all the detail work on the flowers but the background is more abstracted with the suggested depth of the leaves. The hibiscus flower is more looser in...
Have you ever heard of Negative Painting? It’s a great painting technique I use a lot in my florals, especially when I’m painting leaves, stems, and buds. In watercolor painting, it’s a way to keep the white or lightest color while painting darker colors around it. This technique adds depth and dimension to your work, and it helps you focus on the background areas instead of the subject itself. By concentrating on the negative areas of your painting, you can create a more balanced and harmonious work. If you’ve watched some of my YouTube timelapse videos, you can see this process in action. Check out the Blue Fields painting video where I paint the background space between the trees to...
Here are five tips to help you gain more confidence as an artist: ONE - DON’T COMPARE YOURSELF TO OTHERS Stop comparing yourself to others because it can lead to frustration, discouragement and failure. I find myself feeling discouraged sometimes looking through Instagram and seeing beautiful works done by other artists and thinking they are so good. Why can’t I paint like them? But wouldn’t life be boring if everyone painted the same style? Yes! My friend loves abstracted works, but not me. My sister loves photorealistic works, not me. I’m so glad that there are so many different artists and styles for all of us. As you continue to learn and paint, you will develop your own style. ...
