This month was a month full of focus and painting for me. I somehow created 58 paintings - almost 2 per day, while still working a day job. I’ll share what I learned, my process, experiments, and results for this month of focused painting. All of these paintings are inspired by places I’ve traveled to or people in my life. Having inspirations like this allows me to connect on a deeper level to my work. Painting these places and people brings me a sense of peace and I’m happy I get to share it with you. Preparation & Planning With a large majority of the 58 paintings I created, I began pla ..read more

The art of ink sketching is a delightful, expressive endeavor that allows us to capture scenes with a lot of fun. So grab your favorite sketching tools, and let's dive into the world of ink. Step 1: The Foundation - Pencil Sketch The sketch begins with a humble pencil in hand and a blank sketchbook page awaiting your vision. Start by drawing a basic, quick pencil sketch. The key here is to maintain accuracy without obsessing over perfection. Embrace the notion that your sketch is simply a sketch, nothing more. Oh, and don't forget, a reference photo is always a good thing to use when possible ..read more

If you've been following me for a while now, then you know I took a plein air painting trip to Pakistan last September. And while I was there, I filmed and vlogged some of my experiences and paintings every day. To be honest, I'm still a bit behind on editing the videos from Pakistan, but I'm trying to work my way through them - more to come! Today, I'd like to share with you what it was like on the first day of painting in the mountains of northern Pakistan. I. The Drive We left early in the morning from Islamabad and started driving towards the north with Batakundi as the destination for the ..read more

Something I've struggled with for so long is balancing all of the creative outlets I enjoy in my life. If you're like me, I imagine you've tried a few different creative hobbies once or twice before. Things like drawing, painting, playing guitar or piano, doing puzzles, learning magic tricks, doing origami, photography, learning languages, graphic design - the list could go on and on. That's a list of some I've done (and some I still do). In the past, I used to follow my feelings and do whichever one I felt like doing at the time. This was fun and it somewhat worked for me, but as time went o ..read more

One of my favorite paintings from last year. Plein air painting from Passu, Pakistan - just a couple hours drive from the Chinese border. Hey there, how's it going? Finally a new year, so I wanted to catch up with you again. I wanted to share with you a lesson I learned from last year - and also share a short list of some of the most valuable content I created last year. Lean Into Uncomfortable Situations Have you ever been in a uncomfortable situation which was ultimately beneficial for you, but rather than staying - you left or backed out of the situation? And regretted it? I’ve done this p ..read more

What do you see when you look at a blank piece of paper? If you're anything like me, you see the most scary and intimidating, valuable canvas, which will easily be wasted as soon as I start to draw anything on it. But look, I mean, it doesn't have to be this way, right? So in this video, I'd like to share with you 7 Strategies to Overcome the Fear of Ruining Your Art. #1 - Realize that your art isn't permanent Nothing is permanent. Even if you've been to a museum and you see these hundreds of years old paintings, they're all falling apart. Even though they're trying to conserve them. I think ..read more

Over the years I have had many, many people contact me and ask me if it's too late to start drawing or painting? Is it too late to start creating art and follow their passion? The funny thing is I have had teenagers who were half the age of me, tell me that they feel like it's too late for them to start. They're 14 and 15 years old and they already feel like it's too late to start now if you're a lot older in your 60s or 50s or even 40s and you're reading, this you're probably laughing right now because that is just so ridiculous for a young person to think. I feel just the same about somebod ..read more

Better Decision Making One thing I’ve probably learned the most from painting from life, especially outdoors, is the importance of making decisions. When doing plein air painting or travel sketching on location, there’s no time to waste - especially in the morning or evening light. It changes so quickly and all I can do is take action. Of course, just like anything this will create pros and cons. There’s many situations and painting that I wish I would’ve chosen differently but that’s how it goes. There’s no possible way I can know what the right decision will be at any time, so I just have to ..read more

When I was a kid, I loved to draw all the time. It was something I loved to do and I could sit down and do it for hours. Trying to replicate the cartoons I watched or the characters I saw from a book brought me a lot of joy. But eventually, around the time when I was a teenager and in highschool, it didn’t feel quite the same to me anymore. Drawing became a chore for me. Once I discovered painting and how much I enjoyed it, drawing was pushed to the side for me. From then on, I really only drew to keep my skills sharp and to help to improve my painting. Painting is basically drawing with shap ..read more

I have had many times where I become frustrated while creating art, whether it be a pen & ink drawing or a watercolor painting. I would guess around one-third or even more of my art is just garbage - or not quite the quality I was looking for. This is just how it is sometimes. But I’ll be honest, it always used to bother me. I would get annoyed or upset and it would ruin my mood for a little while. There’s something about investing an hour or two of work and creative energy towards a piece of art - only to have it turn out badly in the end. Of course, when I created something I thought wa ..read more