I painted this scene from life in our living room. It was a very enjoyable painting session even though the lighting conditions were a bit challenging. Gouache on strathmore grey paper for mixed media. Approx. 9x8 in. The only source of light was a warm light table lamp. I had to use my small portable led lights to illuminate the painting because any additional source of light would have affected the lighting of the scene. I’ll include a couple photos of my setup below. ? Want to know more about gouache? Download my free 20-page PDF, “Everything you Need To Know About Gouache” Downlo ..read more

Gouache study in my moleskine watercolor sketchbook ..read more

  "Vibrant Bouquet in a Vase"  7.5x10 in Available on Etsy here ..read more

I often get asked about my color palette, brushes and the other equipment I use with gouache. I know it's not always easy to decide what you really need for a better painting experience, so in this article, I will try to help you make your decisions easier and tell you what works for me and why. Art supply stores are filled with dozens, if not hundreds, of paint tubes with beautiful colors, so how do you decide which ones you really need? The answer is pretty simple - you can mix all those beautiful colors if you pick the right pigments that will allow you to mix any color you see, no matter w ..read more

The world we live in is amazingly beautiful. The colors and tones observed in nature cannot be captured by any digital device, so if you really want to see an ultimate beauty in your paintings you need to learn how things look in reality. To do so, you have to paint from life from time to time. Flowers in a vase on a windowsill, your own reflection in a mirror, your room… anything around you can become a decent subject to paint. When the weather is fine you can go to a park and make a couple of small sketches. By painting from life you explore the true colors and value relationships of nature ..read more

I’ve often been asked about varnishing gouache paintings and framing them without glass, similarly to oil or acrylic paintings. So, in this post, I´ll describe in detail my process for varnishing gouache paintings, while at the same time preserving their archival properties. I am very excited about this tutorial because being able to varnish my gouache paintings and frame them without glass has made a huge difference for me and it might be a revelation for you too! What I realized while varnishing my gouache paintings is that varnish restores the true characteristics of the colors. It makes ..read more

I have to apologize for my blog's behavior - it sometimes sends the same posts out for several times... I am working on moving the blog to another platform that hopefully will not have this issue. I painted this cyclamen in my studio from life. I had to work really fast in order to capture the fast moving light and the warmth of this scene. My love gouache is always the right medium for this kind of tasks!  Gouache on thick gray paper, 9 x 11 in.  Available at lenarivo.etsy.com  ..read more

I like to be at home, in my studio, my comfortable zone, but when the weather is nice I always have to force myself  to go to paint to a location. Because I know I need to. Because I know no photo can capture the spirit of summer, the summer that won't last long. I also know that gouache will never let me down and I will definitely be able to take a piece of the summer with me in my watercolor pad ..read more

My third and fourth studies from July 8   Gouache on Saunders Waterford 140 lb NOT paper ..read more

My second study from July 8.  Gouache on Saunders Waterford 140 lb NOT paper ..read more