Can illustration be fine art? In college, I had a hard time deciding what my major would be. I was seriously going back and forth between illustration and fine art. In the end, I chose illustration because there seemed to be a more practical use for it, and there were also more potential job opportunities…

Have you ever gone to an event where an artist leads you through a “paint and sip”? If you haven’t done that before, I highly recommend it, because it can be a really fun and entertaining way to spend a few hours. When you sign up, you’ll get a full explanation from the host or…

Continuing on with the rainbow octopuses… Even though the first rainbow octopus is just for practice, I think it still looks really cool. The background is too light with the white gouache on top; there isn’t a lot of contrast. But I was pretty happy with the technique I used for the octopus skin texture; it…

Have you ever been browsing and come across an image that made you stop in your tracks? I think that’s what I was doing when I saw this beautiful rainbow octopus image. I was inspired right away and decided to save it so I could paint it later. I had this vision of creating a…

My whole family really appreciates and loves music. When I was young, my mom always had the radio on, or she’d be playing a record while she was sewing. Music was always in the background in my formative years. My mom’s brother, my Uncle Tommy, made a mixtape for me when I was around 10…

I thought it would be fun to share some videos of the first “reveals” of pet portraits as they were given to the recipients.  Each recipient was delighted when I revealed the pet portrait, and I really enjoy rewatching these videos to see the moment of pure awe and happiness on people’s faces. I hear…

In college, my major was illustration at Cleveland Institute of Art. For my senior thesis project, I decided to create a children’s book about animals. I’ve always loved animals, and I believe that they’re full of intelligence and emotions, but I know that’s not how everyone thinks and feels about animals. I knew people who…

In the book Artpreneur, the author suggested that artists concentrate on what they enjoy painting the most if they want to take their artwork seriously as a business, rather than as a hobby. If the focus is on making artwork that YOU actually love making, then hypothetically, when people want more, you’ll be happier making tons…

Trying to figure out what to paint next is always a conundrum for me. In that moment after I’ve spread out a huge, intimidating blank piece of paper or canvas in front of me, it seems like I’m facing a vast white wilderness.   My mom had sent me a collection of beautiful new powder watercolors,…

When I painted the original purple abstract octopuses in 2020, my friend challenged me to make a larger version of them. Those paintings are 18” x 24” each, which is already pretty large. But my friend wanted to know if I could paint six of them, and then combine them as a sextet, thus creating a 4.5-foot…

It’s very tough for me to be enthused about a drawing challenge when I’m stressed by daily business responsibilities and life in general; AND when the Inktober prompts are not inspiring! So, I’ve decided to continue Inktober on my own terms: I will just pick and choose the prompts I want to draw, and I will do them at…

Well, we’re halfway through October, also known as “Inktober,” and I’ve only done a few drawings based on the Inktober prompts. Inktober was created by Jake Parker in 2009 as a challenge to improve his inking skills and develop positive drawing habits. It has since grown into a worldwide endeavor, with thousands of artists taking on the challenge…