Hi, I'm a fine artist/illustrator living in beautiful Fort Collins, Colorado. This channel is where I post videos about my work, my adventures, and my parrot.
Thanks for taking us along with you! What beautiful scenery, I used to go fishing there as a kid with my grandpa. I enjoyed learning about the various birds. And it was nice watching you paint. :)
Oooh, that's so cool that you got to spend that time with your granddad. Neither of mine were much for outdoor activities, despite having grown up on farms. I did get a lot of porch-time with 'em, though. :)
I'm enjoying this since I can't travel anymore, the kids bring home photos from Colorado, but it's not the same. Glad you're watching out around you for the furry neighbors. Even in Central Kansas. at our old farm, we had mountain lions! Someone had released a pet along the river near the farm & it regularly came through our land & often stole calves & sheep from the neighbors. In town I don't need to worry what's out there behind the bushes anymore. Coyotes came up to us during the day, but the bobcats & lions were more dawn & dusk visitors. My kids often saw & heard the lioness & her cubs. She came to visit one of their bonfires (I think she wanted hotdogs) but she scared the kids to death. After a couple of visits we gave her a wide berth, and I only ever saw her from afar, about 1/4 mile or so. I had two questions, first, in the last video I watched from May 2023, you mentioned the dryness, which we deal with here north of Wichita as well. Do you ever use a vaporizer or humidifier in your studio? I have to use one most of the time, due to lung issues, and I notice when it's running I have a harder time controlling the water on my paper. Our dryness is usually in the winter or late summer when the heat hits 100+. Second question, which of the Sapphire brushes do you recommend? Blick has them on clearance, sadly no rounds, but I have very few flats so I was thinking of stocking up on some flats and oval washes?
Answers! :) 1) We have a whole-house humidifier that keeps things around a steady 40%. Outside it can very dramatically, especially as we have such wild temperature/weather swings. 2) Yeah, the flats are great. I'm sad they might not be available for much longer. I have them in a few sizes but mostly use the 3/4" and #12. No experience with Sapphire oval washes, but I imagine they could be useful for larger works. And wow, that's cool, that you have had all those encounters with a a safe outcome. Mountain lions and bobcats are abundant in the foothills here, and we've had more reports in recent years (probably 'cos we have a higher human population than ever). There's been two attacks not far from this area -- younger animals that weren't as experienced and therefore hungry -- so I'm mindful of their presence. That being said, I'm far more wary of moose! Thankfully, those (mostly) keep to themselves along the river corridor. However now that we've got two wildfires going on at once, it'll get interesting in the coming weeks as this tends to disrupt normal patterns....
Hello Neighbor, a Kansan here, wishing I were in Colorado this week. I was looking for a review on some brushes I am considering, but when I heard your troubles. Since you also catch Covid more than most (5 times here) & are dealing with shoulder issues (both totally severed, one repaired.) I thought, hey, a fellow sufferer, maybe I will watch more Vlogs! Plus, Herons are one of my favorite birds, I watch them come & go from my bedroom window almost every morning, not to mention Hawks, Kites, swallows, doves, bluebirds and more!
Hello back at ya! :) Hope Kansas isn't getting all our wildfire smoke. It's been pretty rough out our way this week. And thanks for reaching out; it's so cool to have a fellow bird-lover (and lung-shoulder-warrior) to share with. 🐦💪
Thanks, RJ! -- as I always say: if someone has a desire to paint, they'll eventually find the means to do so, even if it's later on in life. (Same with travel. It's not just for the privileged few. Where there's a will, there's a way!). :)
I love how this turned out! Wow. Just lovely. I'm a newer subscriber, and love your plein air and love of nature that you share. Towards the end, did you add any white paint, or did you just pull color out to get the leaf veining and rose petal details? Thank you for sharing some of the names of the wildlife you are hearing too. The architecture and city paintings bring great joy too. I love all the variety! Paula
Eeep, thanks so very much Paula! :) :) Nope, I didn't add any white paint, but lifted out some outer sections of the petals with a stiff scrubber brush, using masking tape to give a clean edge. As for the leaf veining, that was all done with "negative" painting. (I might do a video on this technique sometime, as it's super useful when working with transparent watercolor.) I've got a lot going on over the next couple of weeks, but hope to share more adventures soon. Bestest wishes, L.
I think I could sit at that duck pond area for hours. It’s beautiful there. You did a gorgeous rendition of that view…even without your own paint! Congratulations! I once arrived at a park with a pond & ducks, etc. & had no paint brushes! I had to use some sticks I found.😂That was a first (& hopefully last) for me.🤪
Haha that was very resourceful of you! :) I think I've forgotten just about everything at least once -- even my watercolor pad. (Used an oil-painting friend's canvas, to an interesting effect).
Hi! Your channel is brand new to me this morning and I have been marathoning a lot of the vids...they are delightful! I liked and sub'd. I am a super newbie to the whole entire artworld, trying hard to learn watercolor. I'm 76, live on the desert in Riverside Co., CA. It's been really slow going as I struggle with hand, shoulder issues but am determined. My progress is pathetically slow but am not bothered/discouraged by that. I don't know if it was this vid or one other but you were in the wild and showed a brush that you said was great for cloud painting. The latest trend for RU-vid watercolorists has been paint boxes and brush sets specifically for florals but none for cloud paints and brushes....this just came to me. It seems like marketing because so much of the paints and brushes look just like the ones they and even I already have! I think ppl do great with basics and with my income that will just have to do with little bits of add ons here and there....but I do just want everything! LOL (seriously) Anyway, I am curious as to what brush you are using for clouds. Thans you for sharing your wonderful work and bits of your life.
Hi, Kathy! I'm so happy to hear you're learning watercolor despite some steep challenges.(I've begun to struggle with shoulder and joint issues, myself.) You are absolutely correct about "specialty" brushes -- a lot of it is marketing. That being said, I've found certain ones to be slightly more helpful for certain tasks -- like the Japanese ink brush I use for foliage, for example. The cloud brush video I believe was this one: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-WRWYwyDGMEw.htmlsi=s_PrPe1UWsLvBh9H&t=282 . I'm a creature of habit and tend to still use my Robert Simmons "Sapphire" #14 Round for skies, even though there's many others that would work just as well. Thanks again for reaching out. It's so awesome to meet other artists who love exploring this medium! If you ever have any further questions, let me know and I'll try to help out where I can. Bestest wishes, L :)
lovely video. I just loved it. great labeling of wildlife around you as you paint. and I learned alot about watercolour painting. i just started myself. Thank you.
Hooray! Welcome to the watercolor club! It's the bestest medium ever (but I am a bit biased.) Thanks so much for coming along and bestest wishes for your creative journey, L. :)
Loved going on your walk with you…interesting terrain and beautiful views…and once again so enjoyed (and learned from) watching your painting process…thank you for sharing the finished painting. Hope you had a fantastic lunch.😊
The power of the spritzer in the arid Southwest! I heard those strange noises in your video, but couldn't identify them. BTW, you've inspired me to enter a small plein air competition this October. Still haven't settled on a medium. We'll call it a learning experience.
Hooray for entering competitions! And yeah, water spritzers are a MUST if one is working 12 x 16 inches or larger. As to mediums: if I could go back in time, I'd tell my younger self to just use whichever one I was the most experienced/comfortable with. Painting on location is hard enough without trying to master a new medium at the same time (which in my case was oils).
True, true. 😄I've painted in my car before, but it's a little cramped. That being said, I'll keep that in mind for next time the weather's like this. ☕🎨
Please continue your bd your authentic self. I really appreciate each and every of your plein air painting adventures. When you need to take time off, do it. I understand and will be happy when you post again, whenever that is. Your health is way more important than my disappointment in not seeing a new video of your. Sorry I’m rambling..😊
Thanks, MC! Glad you liked the sound. I'm looking into a better setup for recording it for the vlog. Nine times out of ten, if there's a long stretch of music in the edit that means there was wind interfering with the microphone -- which happens a lot. (In the studio, it's because I have a parrot who is VERY loud for his size. He's squawking for attention even as I am typing this lol). 🔊🦜
I'm starting to appreciate your low humidity watercolor challenges. Wish we could split the difference between our humidity and your arid climate. Ah, well. Your roses turned out nicely, but for my money, the background really shined. Backgrounds are my weakness, but I'm working on it!
Thanks, Terri! 🥰Yeah, there's gotta be a place that's got ideal outdoor watercolor painting conditions. It's going to be 103F / less than 10 percent humidity this weekend here in Colorado. Ooof.
Thank you so much for posting your Plein Air adventures! I don't know how many people understand the work that goes into you doing this and I only know just a smidge from trying it myself!! It is a lot of work! Thank you! Thank you!!!
Thanks for recognizing that! 😅Painting on location is a challenge, for sure (especially with the added filming/editing element) but it’s always super inspiring to be out in nature and I always learn so much, that it’s totally worth it.
That was a beautiful spot and I love your painting!! I hope you can go back someday. ❤ The “buffalo jump” made me sad but that was probably because I lost my dog yesterday. We shared the last 15 years but it’s never quite long enough.
Oh Laura, Laura, Laura! I’m in a plein air group now! I had the most glorious time painting with my new found friends today. Can you tell I’m excited? 😆
I apologize for the lack of umbrella to shade the painting as I worked - the wind was so strong an umbrella was impossible! However as you can see my hat did an adequate job. 🤠
We're in our most hot and humid period in Tennessee, but soon I'm going to take my setup out for some plein air attempts. You are always an inspiration. My only issue is that you (not on purpose, but through experience) make it look too easy, even when you make mistakes! Thanks, Laura. You are a bright spot out there.
Hooray for getting out to paint! Yesss! 🥰🎨 I'm a bit envious as more humidity = more working time for soft edges. There's a reason the masters of the medium hail from places like the Airondacks, Florida and the UK. Wishing you many pleasant sessions of cool and hydrated creativity, L