A wide variety of studies, mostly explorations in gouache and life sketches. I really enjoy working with gouache but definitely have A LOT to learn about it, as you can see these are all very uneven in color which has to do with the water to paint ratio, and general paint quality. These are the basic Reeves set which is one of the cheaper ones out there. Fun to experiment with for sure. These studies are a fun way to take a break from larger, more difficult projects I'm working on but still encourage growth. 

Another practice I've been incorporating into my sketchbook is timing it, grant it, I don't always remember to do this but when I do, it's very beneficial. As you can see from the last two plant still lifes- the timing improved drastically. Now, the hour long pothos drawing is a bit more complicated but it's still interesting. 

Most of these were done for the scientific illustration program and are done in a variety of media.

I'm finishing up the final quarter of the Scientific Illustration program- Botanical Illustration. This class was a big reason why I wanted to take the program. While I'm bummed it's online and all the field trips are cancelled, I have already had some challenging assignments which have pushed my approach to drawing. Particularly, I can now draw a houseplant from life in under an hour. . . which would've taken me much longer or even shied away from starting it before this program. I'm actually super proud of that, being able to speed up the drawing process with higher acuity is essential.  

The above are a few recent drawings and sketches from the past couple weeks.

More graphite and gouache studies. Not much to say except I've never been to Vienna and that conservatory looks amazing!

Some quick notes on these places as they are all amazing. Eiffel tower is actually really cool and you can take the stairs most of the way up! Blue Moon Mosque in Istanbul is probably one of the most beautiful buildings I've ever been in. The mountain in Antigua is a volcano which you can climb up and see the lava! When I went it was super cloudy so couldn't see inside but could hear it and a stray dog hiked up with us. Prague is art. 

This font is based off the Basque Country font, where everything is capitols except the i, check it out. It's very interesting a country/region has its own font!

These photos were from pexels but I should keep with this practice using my own travel photos. We shall see.  

I had recently finished up a sketchbook and got this wondrous new watercolor paper one I'm dedicating to studies. Last week was timed people studies, based off images from pexels.com. This week I'm onto architecture. I'm using gouache over graphite for these studies, times range from 20 min-3+ hours. Hope I can get a bit faster. . .  

A commission and a trade! Yes, I do trades for art. Want some art but don't have the $$, I'm open for trades for art supplies, art, books, instruments, vintage things, plants, whatever. Obviously the best trade for me is money for rent- but there's more to life than dollars. 

​My commissions page has basic info and pricing, if you're interested in a piece. 

These were both colored pencil on illustration board, the hamsa is 7x7, forest scene is 15x20.
And I once again revamped my website, take a look!

Looking for some art to be a constant reminder to do anti racist work? There's systemic racism in  every aspect of American culture. For us whites who benefit from these racist institutions, it's easy and comfortable to not actively work towards making this country more just. Art can be a silent reminder, a constant nudge. 

Donate to a local BLM group, black led organization on the frontlines, or bailfund for those protesting and I will send you a FREE art piece from my whiteness series and donate $10 per piece to Black lives Matter Seattle-King County.

In this series of 5 blacklight screenprints, I have white paint dripping over non white perspectives and truths. A literal white wash.  Education in the US and general world history is a big example where white perspectives wash over others, purposefully blocking their history. One current example being addressed is policing in the US. Whites say the institution was built to protect and serve communities and point to a "few bad apples" whenever there's a police killing. Actual history shows us it is an institution to protect white people and white property. First volunteer policing groups started in the 1600's while the first publicly funded police force started in the early 1800's (before the civil war) to protect property. Only white men were allowed to have property at this time and black slaves were considered property. We can see the very beginning of this institution has a white supremacist foundation. While there has been mediocre reforms, still today we see cops protecting white property and hunting black lives.

You can read more on the history of policing here:
The Racist Roots of American Policing
A Historical Perspective on Police Oppression
Policing Black Americans is a Long Standing, Ugly Tradition
The History of Policing in the US

With the Covid-19 lockdown many places are moving their business/meetings/offerings online. The Pacific Science Center has been providing educational tools through their social media platforms. Last month, I worked to create an educational video on drawing techniques which has been featured for their “pollinator week”

This project was quite the learning curve. I had never made any time lapse videos or used adobe premier before. Lots of experimenting and looking up “how to. . .” But I really learned a lot and would like to continue making videos. There’s coloring pages which go with the video, those janky looking download buttons below are downloads for the coloring pages. I don’t quite know how to make them look more inviting. . . But they are indeed just coloring pages.

You can download two of these from the science center HERE

With Spring in full force I've been sketching a lot of flora and fauna. Yay spring! Flowers can be quite complex and difficult to accurately render, so I've been focusing on difficult ones. . . PEONIES!!! Below are some recent sketches from mah sketchbook. 

If you look around you'll see I've really changed my website. Got rid of a lot of old work and focusing on what I offer as an artist through original work for sale, commissions, live painting, and murals. Take a look around, there's a lot of new work added in as well. I hadn't drastically updated my site since its creation in 2013! WOW 7 years.

More larger updates will be coming throughout the year, maybe sooner rather then later with the newfound time I have to work on these projects. One project is creating a bug/botanical series. A few pieces of the series are above, have a bug or flower you'd like to see in the series- let me know! I still have a ways to go. :) Please offer up any feedback you have on the new design, good, bad, or seemingly pointless- I'd appreciate any thoughts. :)