Frequently Asked Questions

1. What medium do you work in?

There are a few things I like to paint and draw with; I use designer gouache mostly these days. For sketching I like a regular HB pencil, brush tip markers, and Prismacolor colored pencils. For digital art I used Procreate on my iPad Pro, usually with the 6B Pencil, Charcoal Block, or the Watercolor Maxpack and brushes by other artists. (bought separately).

I paint on Artist's Loft level 3 Watercolor Pad, 140lb paper, and for a sketchbook I use the Strathmore recycled sketchbooks. I'll occasionally purchase heavier weight paper (which means thicker paper) to play around with when I'm using gouache. I don't use acrylic/acryla gouache, I prefer the kind that stays water soluble even after it's dried, typically Winsor & Newton brand.

2. Do you take commissions?

Yes! Though I’m particular what projects I take on, I do portraits and other custom work! Please feel free to email me (see contact page and commission page for details) if you’re interested.

3. Do you sell prints?
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​Yes! You can get prints of work from my Etsy shop (see contact me page for link).

Here's a walk through of all the steps that went into painting this Toad Magician and Axoloticorn, which I did in 2020:

1. Sketch in the sketchbook, and cutting the proper sized watercolor paper. Sketchbook is Strathmore brand 9x12 inch, watercolor paper is Canson Cold Press 140lb. The weight refers to how thick the paper is, and I've found I like thicker watercolor paper a lot for gouache. I also like a toothy but smooth surface. I have limited access to good art supply stores, so I actually used what was technically the back side of the paper for this one because it was smoother. I should probably be using hot press paper, which is actually smooth. But hey, it works! Gouache is great like that.

2. Because the paper is so thick my light pad can't shine the sketch through unless I do an ink version, so I end up tracing it twice. Also I like to keep my sketches in my sketchbook and working around the wire spiral can be a pain with inflexible watercolor paper. I make a dark version on computer paper, and then trace it once more onto the actual watercolor paper. I have an Art Graph brand light pad.

3. Here you can see my palettes with my gouache and my cup of water all ready to go! I keep a paper towel on the side for dabbing off excess paint from the brush. Designer gouache is like watercolor, water can be added to it once it has dried to make it useable. My palettes are a mess. The brand of gouache I use is Winsor & Newton. I do not like acrylic gouache, so I don't use it! You can also see that I paint laying on the floor, because for whatever reason this is the only pose I'm comfortable in? I hate sitting in chairs, no matter what I do it hurts my back. So... floor painting it is!

4. The first layer of color has been applied. In this piece because the background won't be detailed, I just started in with the figures. If you're doing a complex background I find it's good to start with that. I do a lot of wet on wet blending to lay down the initial shading.

5. Adding some detail, more shading.

6. Final details being added!

7. Now I'm very very very carefully adding in the dark background. It's a bit scary to outline the figures, but if you use a nice small brush and go slow it usually isn't a disaster. Patience. You can see I started with a big brush and left an edge which I then went back in to fill with a tiny brush. I actually find this step really satisfying because things really start to look good!

8. Stars!

9. And the final piece!