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Birds and References

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Happy mid-January everyone! This is typically the start of The Difficulties for me; the holidays are over and the new car smell of January is starting to wear off a tiny bit. It’s a good time to make gentle goals for yourself and establish some consistency.  For this week, I have some technical resources and some fine-art resources: 1) WOW x WOW  is an online-only art gallery that displays and sells a lot of beautiful contemporary art. Their newest show is called Symbiotic Loops and is open right now. 2) The Bird Whisperer Project  - Amanda Makepeace and Melissa Gay started The Bird Whisperer Project years ago, and it's a really chill, inspiring way to challenge yourself every month. Reference photos are provided, and each month there's a posting day on social media to show off your painted/drawn bird and see what other artists came up with. 3) TrueRef - You might be living under a rock if you're a figurative artist and haven't heard of TrueRef yet, especially if you...
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2025 Is Dead!

It’s a new year! 2025 has been defeated. You made it. A lot of terrible things happened, so I’m glad you’re still here with me and still persevering. And learning! It’s a great week for re-examining not only your goals, but the sources of anxiety and peace in your life. What did you think was going to be important to you at this time last year that you’ve since discovered wasn’t actually aligned with your priorities and passion? What kept you going when everything felt terrifying and bleak? Personally, I think this should be a you-centered year. I think we all deserve a chance to chase our niche, weird, outlandish dreams. Give yourself permission to just go all-in on what you’ve been wanting to do for a WHILE now. Life is short and can be quite shitty. Let’s celebrate and protect each other, and our dreams. I have five new resources for you: 1) Paul Scott Canavan’s Making Magic Tutorial  (How to paint a Magic: The Gathering card illustration!) Paul’s a fantastic teacher and this tu...
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Slow is Smooth, Smooth is Fast

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 “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast” is something I read this week in an email that my boss sent us. I work in retail and shipping and the holidays are intense. Though this is technically a part time job, I work five days a week and it’s physically and mentally demanding. Not a lot of time in the margins of life to keep up my art practice, but I’m doing my best one day at a time. I’m sure if you’re here, you probably follow me on social media or know me personally, but just in case! My name is Stephanie and I’m an independent artist living in Seattle. I love nature, books, hot chocolate, cats, and most other introvert things, but I am OBSESSED with art. This obsession has made me doggedly determined to keep trying to improve at art over many years, despite not making a ton of money. I really love the learning process, and I love trying to trick my tired brain into eking out even a little art-time after a long work shift, and this gamification is what I’m going to record here (in case ...
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