Britchida

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Monthly Guide

September 2024: Inspiration Ecosystem Pt. 2

Two years ago I shared a post introducing my idea of inspiration as an ecosystem, rather than a lightbulb that can turn on and off. In my experience, inspiration is complex and resilient, not fickle; it's something that thrives or wilts slowly and as the result of many

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Process

Using Color, pt 3: Brit's Abstract Diagrams

I wanted to show you specifically how I apply these concepts of limited palettes, blending and mixing in my open-ended abstract diagram series. I thought it might be interesting to run through some of the pieces I've made over the years and take note of color considerations that

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Process

Using Color, Pt 2: Blending vs Mixing

Let's talk about the difference between blending and mixing color. Here's how I'm using these terms: Blending: to create a gradient or area of mixed paint on your paper/canvas by mixing wet paint into wet paint. The goal of blending is to soften

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Special Invitation: Creative Recovery Group

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EDI Live: Aug 24, 12pm PST

Each month, Light Tier members are invited onto a live online painting class where we'll go deeper into the month's practices and ideas. If you'd like to join in, click here. Hello Light Tier friends! Our next EDI Live will be Saturday Aug 24

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August 2024: Using Color, Part 1 (with video)

I love to work with a limited palette, and often recommend it to artists who are learning to paint, but choosing the colors is only the first step. There are two general approaches that we can take from there: one is to use the colors each on their own, and

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Materials

New Crayons (Part 2)

The Haul I recently picked up some new art supplies and I can't wait to show you. New Crayons! What could be better? One gem is this Kuretake gansai tambi Art Nouveau set. I've had the 36 color set for years – it was one of the

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Materials

New Crayons (Part 1)

Even though I wasn't a particularly artsy kid, the magic of a new box of crayons did not evade me. Perhaps that's why I wasn't that artsy: they looked so pretty all new and in a row that I didn't want to

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EDI Live: July 27, 12pm PST (+ updated Aug date)

Each month, Light Tier members are invited onto a live online painting class where we'll go deeper into the month's practices and ideas. If you'd like to join in, click here. Hello Light Tier friends! Our next EDI Live will be Saturday July 27

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Monthly Guide

July 2024: Looking is Loving

Wendy MacNaughton says that drawing is a way of looking, and that looking is loving. What is being in love, but noticing someone's every detail and adoring it?

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selfie

Sketching from photo inspo

Last month we looked at reference photos: abstracting them, taking them, and finding them. Today I wanted to show you how the photos I used as examples have made their way into my representational sketchbook practice. These sketches are one of my favorite ways to consider the world and slow

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EDI Live: Tomorrow, Sat June 15, 12pm PST + updated dates

Each month, Light Tier members are invited onto a live online painting class where we'll go deeper into the month's practices and ideas. If you'd like to join in, click here. Hello Light Tier friends! Our next EDI Live will be Saturday June 15

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June 2024: An old friend

One reason to keep making art is the sweet moment of coming back to something you made years ago, and picking the conversation right back up. It's a way of reconnecting with yourself over time, of noticing what has changed and what hasn't, which questions have

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Try It

Reference photo resources

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Process

How to take a good reference photo

When I shared the big folder of reference photos last month, a question came up in our EDI Live class about how to take pictures that are useful for painting – so, let's dive into that today. I love using reference photos. They make painting the world, whether representationally

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EDI Live: This Saturday, May 18, 12pm PST

Each month, Light Tier members are invited onto a live online painting class where we'll go deeper into the month's practices and ideas. If you'd like to join in, click here. Hello Light Tier friends! Our next EDI Live will be Saturday May 18

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May 2024: Using Reference Photos

I use photos to remind myself what things look like. I am not someone who can easily "draw what you see in your mind," because I can't picture much. Danielle and I have been spending all our time together for over thirteen years, but right now

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Materials

For you: Spring Reference Pics

So many times I have sat down to sketch and ended up using my time searching through my phone or royalty-free photo archives (like pexels or unsplash) just looking for something to paint. There can be some value to this process – really asking ourselves what we are interested in, the

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Process

The flowers are here

The flowers are here! So I will be out painting them, sneezing and alive. Spring sun breaks are the perfect time to get outside and paint: they don't last long, and the light is magic. I've been continuing my project of using up my sketchbooks, and

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EDI Live: Apr 27, 12pm PST

Each month, Light Tier members are invited onto a live online painting class where we'll go deeper into the month's practices and ideas. If you'd like to join in, click here. Hello Light Tier friends! Our next EDI Live will be Saturday Apr 27

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Monthly Guide

April 2024: Use your supplies (up)

If I could offer one piece of creative practice advice it would be this: Use your supplies. Think of them as experiences – like a concert ticket or a birthday cake – not a collection of treasures. We're never meant to keep them. Plus, they don't last forever

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EDI Live Reference Photos

Hi friends! I'm looking forward to making some art and chatting with you in about 45 minutes. If you want to paint along I'll be using: some kind of pen/pencil, some kind of mid/dark crayon/pastel, some paints (Probably watercolor, but anything will work)

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Materials

Drawing Sticks & Value

Last month I shared two posts about becoming acquainted with a new material, in my case: oil pastels (here and here). If the new material is any kind of drawing stick – a dry material that comes in distinct colors that are not easily mixed – it's important to get

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Events

EDI Live: Mar 30, 12pm PST

Each month, Light Tier members are invited onto a live online painting class where we'll go deeper into the month's practices and ideas. If you'd like to join in, click here. Hello Light Tier friends! Our next EDI Live will be Saturday Mar 30

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Monthly Guide

March 2024: Looking carefully

Danielle and I are slowly making our way through Sarah Urist Green's You Are an Artist, and recently completed an art assignment modeled after the practice of Nina Katchadourian's marvelous Sorted Books Project. We were told to look at someone's book collection and pull