If you’ve ever wondered how I paint with watercolor, you can see my art painting videos on YouTube. In these soothing ASMR painting videos, I share my timelapses of a painting being created, how to use watercolor in actual speed, and various watercolor techniques as part of my paintings on this website.
This playlist will be updated every Tuesday morning with a new video. Subscribe here so you don’t miss them.
I also share the art materials I use in the description of every video so you can pick up the brush and paint with me. Or if you’ve just always wondered how I create my paintings, you can sit back and watch and enjoy. If you enjoy the videos, please click the thumbs up button to let me know that you enjoy them.
Do you know why most hummingbird feeders have red syrup? It’s because that’s cranberry vodka. Do not fill your hummingbird feeder with cranvodka. Hummingbird-feeding should only be handled by professionals. You know who you are.
I learned to draw filigree a couple of years ago while painting “Lighthearted.” Filigree is an ornamental, decorative flourishing pattern that started in metalwork. It’s been around since 3000 BC. Today, it’s still on American money, architecture, and very popular for tattoos. I’ve always been too picky to choose a tattoo but if I ever get a tattoo, it’ll probably be some type of filigree design.
Painting filigree for me is like taking a break from working while still working. Filigree means absolutely nothing. It’s just pretty. While drawing and painting filigree, instead of doing my usual mental gymnastics, it lets me create freely. Freeligree! Oh no, I just did it again. I’ve got to get a filigrip, don’t you filagree?
It’s that time of the year again: #artvsartist. To participate, an artist chooses 8 of their favorite artworks that they created during the year, plus 1 photo from the year of themselves, and posts the complication image on Instagram and Twitter. I’m also posting it here on my blog because I believe in blog. My 2023 recap:
This year, I focused on painting a lot of smaller art, sized ~ 5×5 in and 5×7 in
I did a lot of brainstorming to prepare to paint larger art and these smaller pieces helped me nail down my ideas and techniques
This year, I especially appreciated the beautiful, little things in life, like watching the sunset from my yacht*
*It’s a metaphorical yacht. If I ever have a real yacht, you’d be the first I would invite.
I created this painting in 2016. I wanted to paint a Christmas tree with a sad expression and how it might feel in contrast to such a joyful season, as a joke.
One evening on December 1st of that year in Chicago, I decided I wanted to spend time sketching at a cafe in the Lakeview neighborhood. Ordered a plate of fries and a glass of water for dinner.
Thumbnail sketches of various ideas
Sketching at restaurants and cafes is super fun for me, especially when I’m sketching my ideas instead of sketching the cafe environment exactly as it is, or sketching the food in front of me. I sketched 3 thumbnail drawings in pencil first. If you haven’t heard of the term, I didn’t actually sketch real-life thumbnails, like the type on your fingers. It’s called a thumbnail sketch because the sketch is small and messy, like thumbnails.
The pencil sketch that was used to create the final painting
Or maybe it’s just the thumbnails on my fingers that are messy because they cracked in the past when I fell down the stairs at my house, not unlike Rachael Leigh Cook’s character Laney in “She’s All That.” But I really committed to the bit and continued to pick at my cuticles, mostly in high school during Algebra class. Since then, I’ve been fixing them by filing them and painting on vitamins and strengtheners. They’re finally getting better and look almost normal. This took several years. If you need advice on what nail strengthener I used, I’ve got you but you should probably go to the doctor.
After I completed the three sketch variations on my tree idea, I chose one idea and sketched the final pencil sketch underneath the thumbnail sketches. That’s the one transferred onto watercolor paper using a light box underneath the sketch and the watercolor paper.
To make your tree feel better, always place a mirror on the opposite side so that the tree can see how beautiful and loved your tree is.
I’ve spent my childhood and adolescence with TV noise in the background because, I was told, it was too quiet. The problem is, it wasn’t just ambient background noise to me. I paid attention to it. If someone was home, the TV had to always be on, which taught me that I should always be watching TV. Since striking out on my own at 19, I gave myself the gift of this “too quiet” but for me, it’s “perfect.” I won’t focus on the past too much, because I can’t change the past like a TV channel, but I can shut it off. Here’s why:
I grew up watching a lot of American TV, learning English, and was raised by sitcom families like The Brady Bunch, Family Matters, Full House, I Dream of Jeanie, I Love Lucy, Bewitched, Happy Days, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Dick Van Dyke Show, Taxi, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Boy Meets World, The Wonder Years, America’s Funniest Home Videos, Two And A Half Men. That’s just a few off the top of my head. A lot of those were a part of Nick At Nite and TGIF on ABC. Oh, and I was raised by MTV music videos, but hear me out: first thing in the morning and immediately after school, because TRL on MTV.
All of this every day, usually 1-2 hours in the morning and then 4-5 hours in the evening. I’VE BEEN PREPARING MY ENTIRE LIFE FOR: nothing.
I’m not upset. I’m just disappointed.
I remember none of my training because now, all that TV is a blur. I don’t remember much detail about what I watched. I couldn’t recap a single episode for you (I could probably rap some of Eminem’s The Real Slim Shady for you, though, please.)
But all of those shows and music videos weren’t a waste of time, because they have been ingrained and programmed into me subconsciously. When I think of them, they feel like ghosts of the images replaying in my head, whose unfinished business is to support and encourage me, to make up for the support and encouragement I needed but didn’t have. Since being on my own, if I watch TV, I’m watching TV intentionally. I pay attention, from start to finish, until the credits end, because I read the names, like I did as a kid.
My real art desk.
And like a totally well-developed adult, I continue to develop healthy boundaries, standards, and practices based on these fantasies, idealisms, and images that are not real but were written by real people, whose names I’ve read in the end-credits – people who believed in their ideals so much that they created and worked on these shows, and had so many viewers, like me, love them.
I’ve never had the TV on while I paint. If I haven’t been painting, instead of TV noise, I’ve been talking to myself, a lot. Like, entire conversations, out loud. Talking to yourself requires that you are there with your thoughts and that you pay attention to yourself. You are your own TV.
My last year’s resolution was to take more selfies and I failed miserably. To take a selfie, you need a certain flick-of-the-wrist to turn your hand with your phone at your face and take a photo, and also to remember to do that, and I don’t have that. But at least I have a cramp in my hand and a headache.
I might as well learn to play the guitar – this would take just as much effort, but make the world a better place. Instead of learning a whole new instrument, I’d like to use the flick-of-the-wrist I already have and write. I’ve decided that my 2024 resolution is to share more of my stories.
If you’re reading this by email, you’ve been getting my newsletters for a while and now you’re about to join me and 83 other subscribers on my new adventures every Tuesday: in painting, hiking, and grocery shopping. Or you’re about to unsubscribe. Choose your own adventure, no hard feelings.
The rollercoaster of life is taking us through a series of holidays again and there’s a lot of apples. I’ve been loving Honeycrisp apples, in particular, and painted “Can’tdle.” It’s a juxtaposition of candles and apples, and apple candles.
Just don’t go too far into the core because the apple seeds can be poisonous. Can’tdle is how an apple can be angry for having its fruit eaten but not the seeds from which it can be reproduced. Something to chew on…
This painting was brought to you by a series of carefully-placed boops.
Over the years, I have worked on several sketchbooks and completed sketches that I later transferred onto watercolor paper, where I created final paintings. That’s my way of practicing sketching. But my sketchbooks barely contain pages where I sketched and practiced the same subject over and over. I used to not be able to spend much time sketching in a sketchbook just repetitively sketching the same thing because it couldn’t keep my attention and I got bored. But now I’m a total practice pro after completing this first page.
The inspiration for this was crunchy autumn leaves from my hikes. I’ve also been very into silhouetted plants so a few tulips and grass to practice brush pen ink lines. The question is “What does it all mean?” These are a few sentences in plant language. It’s what the plants say right before you step on them. Excuse my accent.
As an artist, I’m often asked for directions by strangers. As I share each detail of how to get to the lobby step-by-step, do I even know where the lobby is? New episode of Artist – Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/v8EmLTcIK5w
I can’t believe I’ve been showing my art since 2007 and I’ve never shared an art studio tour before. No, actually, I can believe it because all my past art studios have been very uncomfortable and not photogenic. Yeah, I know, we live in an “Instagram highlight reel vs. Reality” world. But before this, I never had an apartment that could even be considered in an Instagram highlight reel. Despite being uncomfortable, I’ve created artwork and shared artwork, not making the ‘uncomfortability’ aspect of my life a feature or defect or even a mere existence in my art… for some “it’s not you, it’s me” reasons:
I didn’t want anyone to feel sorry for me or let pity have any impact on why someone would buy my art or hire me.
I didn’t want to parade around “expressing a message” as if my situation was okay, because it’s not okay.
I didn’t know what “comfortable” was. I had a general idea of how I wanted to improve my situation and worked towards those goals but I had no idea what I was missing. What am I missing now?
Whatever. Today, I’m grateful.
The easel where I paint bigger pieces, 11×14 or larger. Watercolor and ink are very prone to gravity, so sometimes I lay out a towel on the floor and paint there, too. My bookcase and coffee table are for my display planning & sketching, a place for my brushes + paint palettes + brush rinsing water containers, and a place for coffee + books, imagine that.
I love paint swatches so much, that I walk on them. I found this rug on Amazon after searching for one for several days. After I had the rug I adored, I started spending a lot of time on it. And the clear acrylic coffee table was something I imagined I’d like to have someday so that I could keep working from my thinking couch and thinking floor but the view of the rug wouldn’t be blocked. But tables like that are $150 – $250+, and sketchbooks and coffee don’t float for free. Then one day, one of my neighbors made my dream come true when they set out a clear acrylic coffee table outside for anyone to take. I admire my lucky anti-gravity find every day from my thinking couch, which also faces the best and the only window in my apartment.
My desk, where I create sketches and paintings 8×10 and smaller. This desk style is a bit in the style of a of a vintage/antique writing desk. This is where I’ve recorded all my painting time-lapse videos and done a lot of writing. I think my hidden talent is selecting random colors that unintentionally mix and match well together, per my taste. This is what happened when I got everything for my studio slowly, one piece of furniture at a time, and I never once thought “oh, this will go great with the other furniture.” Except for that clear coffee table, because gravity.
I found this mirror at a yard sale for $8 in central Illinois in 2007, when I was first starting to show my artwork. I’ve changed the logo and writing on it over the years, but the mirror has been my business sign since I started doing art fairs. My second hidden talent is selecting furniture that doubles as show equipment.
I feel like I forgot to do something. But at least I didn’t forget to create a holiday video for you. Happy Holidays!
This video took a lot of preparation. I didn’t keep track of how long I’ve been preparing and planning it out because I planned most of it in my head, without writing it or sketching it out.
Then once I was ready, I shot it within about 7 hours and edited it within about 8 hours. I did this all within 24 hours. The complete video ended up coming together almost identical to what I had pictured in my head. What a miracle!
The preparation
These are the parts of preparation that I have no idea how long they took me. First, I wrote some lines and scenes of what I wanted this video to be. I had millions of ideas flowing in my head of what direction it could go but I only wrote down what I had decided on. This was about half a page long. Some say I’m an overthinker, I say I’m an overpreparer. Creativity blooms within limitation and overpreparation.
Then I found the music that had the vibe I was trying to express, a 90’s Christmas movie – it’s called “Christmas Village” by Aaron Kenny. Although the vibe is a 90’s Christmas movie (check out my sweet choker necklace), what I was really making is a 90’s holiday movie.
All the preparation paid off because I noticed the point where I had nothing else to prepare and had to like, wow, actually do the “just do it” part.
Time to shoot and throw stuff
12.18.2021 @ 5 pm: The props (lights, easel, painting on my easel, syringe, art materials, sketchbooks that pile up in the shape of a Christmas tree, skull) are just part of my usual year-round decor and my work in my art studio. I paint a lot of skeletons and lights, what did you expect from me? After I collected together the props, I practiced camera angles and how I would fit each shot to the beat of the music. That music was in my head the entire time because I listened to it over and over about a hundred times before shooting the video. This helped me steer the video in the direction that I wanted and, generally, I just love listening to movie scores. Trust me, my Spotify Wrapped top artist for 2021 is Hans Zimmer.
I shot everything on my iPhone, keeping each shot short so it’s quicker to edit later. Editing feels like chaos to me but recording short videos helps me make better sense of it.
12.19.2021 @ 12 am: Everything I shot is on my phone. Everything I threw is all over the place. It looks like my Christmas-shaped sketchbook pile exploded. But I’m too tired to clean up and just go to bed. By the way, I only threw that skull once. It’s kind of heavy, made out of some type of plaster, and I was afraid I’d break it so I made sure to make that one throw count.
Time to edit the chaos
12.19.2021 between 10 am – 5 pm: I had recorded a lot of footage because I wanted to make sure I have too much than not enough. Still, I was sad to have to cut out some parts because I wanted to keep the video short and to the beat of the music. I wasn’t about to find a whole different song that was longer, that was THE song! I constructed and edited it all in iMovie on my Mac.
There are better video editing programs but my goal is to keep the focus on the story and the videos I record as is, and not get caught up with too many possibilities, like visual effects. I’m an actor, not a video editor, and iMovie is a nice, minimal program I like to use to make simple video/audio layering and edits. It does have several features to try, like green screen. iMovie is good for beginners.
Now that I completed this video, I was probably already planning and preparing for what’s next.
