Watercolour Painting on Wood – Blue and Yellow Cat

ink painting, pet portrait, watercolor, watercolour / / / , , ,

If this painting looks a little familiar, it’s because it’s my third attempt at using a limited palette to paint my kitty, Sparc! Last year, I painted my senior cat, Scuzzy, using just pink and yellow; and I’ve been struggling to create a matching piece for Sparc focusing around blue. I’m not sure why it took me so long to figure out that I needed to use cyan and cool yellow, since that’s the opposite end of the triad… But we got there in the end!

The one thing I really hate about painting on wood is how poorly it scans. There’s a luminous quality to all watercolours in person, but on wood, it’s cranked up to really enhance the vibrancy. Despite that, the painting process is just sooooo fun, I can’t imagine giving it up haha.

Watercolour Painting on Wood – Blue and Yellow Cat Read More »

New Painting Process: Rainbow Tabby on Black

ink painting, pet portrait, watercolor, watercolour / / / , , , ,

Here’s my latest experimental piece. To no one’s surprise, it’s a cat!

I really enjoy the contrast between colour and pure black, but I’ve never found a way to introduce black into my rainbow pieces without dulling the colours. I think black backgrounds like this might be the solution?? It’s definitely something I’ll be experimenting more with in the near future.

This piece was also my first painting with acrylic inks! I love using India inks, but the lacquer in them dries on the palette and can create crumbs in the finished painting. Acrylic inks dry in more of a film that doesn’t tend to crumble into the wet ink, so it was very pleasant to work with. Bonus points for maintaining the transparency and vibrancy of my other inks and watercolours!

New Painting Process: Rainbow Tabby on Black Read More »

New Sticker Launch – Border Collie Chasing His Tail

pet portrait, stickers, watercolor, watercolour / / / , , , ,

Now that the Canada Post strike has settled down a bit and I’m able to re-open my shop, it’s time for a new sticker launch!

I wanted to paint something playful and cute, and what could be cuter than a puppy holding his own tail??

This little border collie is based on my senior boy, Maulkin. He doesn’t spin very well anymore, but he still has a playful spirit and sassy attitude.

You can get your own silly border collie sticker here at my shop!

New Sticker Launch – Border Collie Chasing His Tail Read More »

New Experimental Piece – Little Fox in Acrylic Ink

ink painting, watercolor, watercolour, wildlife art / / / , , , ,

Please enjoy this little fox being very little and cute.

This is my first little experimental piece using acrylic inks. All of my ink pieces before this have been done with India ink, but it tends to create crumbs as it dries in the palette. So far, the acrylic ink seems to dry less crumbly, so I’m very pleased!

New Experimental Piece – Little Fox in Acrylic Ink Read More »

New Class! Watercolour on Wood – Paint a Vivid Luna Moth

tutorials, watercolor, watercolour, wildlife art / / / , , ,

I’ve just launched my latest Skillshare class teaching you how to paint with watercolour on wood! This is a super simple project that covers all the basic watercolour techniques (and a few more advanced ones), which is perfect for dipping your toes into painting on wood. (Or you could just jump in head first with your own design!)

My new class can be found here: https://www.skillshare.com/en/classes/watercolour-on-wood-paint-a-vivid-luna-moth/616202462?teacherRef=162776546&via=teacher-referral&utm_campaign=teacher-referral-616202462&utm_source=Skillshare&utm_medium=class-teacher-referral-email

New Class! Watercolour on Wood – Paint a Vivid Luna Moth Read More »

Rainbow Sulcata Tortoise Portrait

ink painting, pet portrait, watercolor, watercolour, wildlife art / / / , , , ,

After painting so many fluffy animals recently, I had the urge to paint a tortoise. This is a sulcata tortoise, one of the most charismatic tortoises you can meet imo.

I had a ton of fun painting the scales on this cutie. Sulcata’s have quite thick spur-like scales down their legs that create beautiful, dramatic shadows. I’m still working on balancing the more subtle scales on the face, but painting each leg scale individually felt right for this guy.

One of my biggest frustrations with painting on wood is how poorly it scans. The yellows and oranges have so much more depth in person that gets lost in the wood when scanned or photographed. But even so, I’m pretty happy with this piece! I’d love to paint more tortoises in the future. Do you have a favourite tortoise or turtle species?

Rainbow Sulcata Tortoise Portrait Read More »

Rainbow Watercolour Black German Shepherd Puppy Portrait

pet portrait, watercolor, watercolour / / / , ,

Here’s another little experimental piece in my struggle to understand black fur! Painting this little GSD puppy felt like pulling teeth. I even had to start over, which is something I rarely do. But I think the face turned out really cute, and I learned a lot. All-in-all, totally worth the struggle.

Now I definitely need a break from these little studies. Be prepared for something new next time!

Rainbow Watercolour Black German Shepherd Puppy Portrait Read More »

Rainbow Black Wolf Watercolour Study

watercolor, watercolour, wildlife art / / / , , ,

Another week, another black animal study! I tried to implement what I learned with the kitty last week to improve this week’s wolf. I think the contrast turned out well, and I like the textures around the face.

My two big take-aways from this one are: 1. I very much prefer using warm colours on the face. 2. Black animals need purple or blue faces to look black. (Also something something use thinner paint something something.)

What do you think? Is this an improvement? Can you tell it’s supposed to be a black wolf, or does it look grey to you? (It looks grey to me haha)

Rainbow Black Wolf Watercolour Study Read More »