Finding Solace in Watercolor- March 19th (Patreon)

Hey Artnerds!

Today is my 40th birthday. We're celebrating in a low-key way- visiting with friends, visiting with family, and a little watercolor painting. Earlier today, we went by my favorite art supply store (David's), visited Prince's Tea Room for a tasty lunch, and strolled Lafreniere Park to admire the ducks and squirrels. Not a bad 40th.

Last week, we had houseguests, so rather than pick up a brush and dive into a painting, I started several reviews. I usually have several reviews at different stages- sometimes I'll take a break right before the fieldtest, sometimes I feel inspired and finish the whole review save for the intro and outtro, sometimes I don't feel the need to fieldtest. So this is a normal part of my process, and allows me to pick at things as I have time and interest.

I always feel it when I don't get a chance to sit down and paint. I've mentioned it before, but I find painting to be really calming and centering, useful as therapy (although I also utilize traditional therapy), and as communication. In crunch times, something free and sketchy can be enough to help me relax and loosen up. No matter where we land with AI (and believe me, I am not a fan), I think traditional art- sketching, inking, painting, still holds tremendous value for personal growth and healing.

I often struggle with whether or not I should continue to create drawing and painting tutorials for Youtube. With the rise of Generative AI, I've noticed a decrease in tutorial views- and tutorials were always my least popular feature. I still feel that art education, particularly accessible art education, is important, and I hope that at some point, I personally see the tide change. There's speculation that at some point, people will value human-made art more, and will intentionally seek it out, and I hope those folks are right. But even if that shift doesn't occur during my career, I still think it's important to fight back by continuing to create and share art education information and resources, even if I have no idea what the future holds for me or any other artist.

People frequently comment on my watercolor- mainly that they dont understand how I have the patience for it. Rather, without watercolor, I don't have patience. But I understand what they're saying- watercolor is quite time-consuming, but it's that ability to sink into watercolor, to lose hours to mixing color and watching paint dry, that I find so appealing. I've tried all sorts of art forms over the years- digital, alcohol markers, color pencils, acrylics, and while I love sketching digitally, and I enjoy inking traditionally, watercolor is where I go to find calm and comfort. And while watercolor may not be that artform for you, I firmly believe that there exist an artform for each person that allows them to find that calm. I just hope some of my tutorials may help people on that journey.

Shirefest:

I don't have the physical endurance to sell at the Louisiana Renaissance Festival, but I would LOVE to pitch a tent at a small historical fantasy event. When Meghan at the Terrebonne Public Library reached out to tell me about Shirefest, I figured this was a perfect chance.

Morning sales were pretty good, but tapered off as we entered the afternoon.

If sales were the only factor, I think I would do Shirefest again, and hope that a second year and word of mouth might increase foot traffic. Getting up early multiple days in a row, driving to Houma, and setting up a tent for a one day show ended up taking a larger toll on me than I'd hoped, and I ended up with a Sjogren's mini flare. Naturally I tried to take it easy and recover, and I'm feeling much better, but dang I wish I could figure out a way to streamline outdoor shows. If yall have any tips to make setup faster and easier, I'm all ears. I'm looking for pop-up options.

Can I vent just a little bit? Customers at shows always ask us if we're in any brick-and-mortar stores. We've been trying to get my work into physical stores for a while, and we've made serious improvements to our pitch in the past year. Unfortunately, we still have no stores carrying our stickers, greeting cards, or art prints, but a few carry our books. This is the next big step I've been dreaming about, and I think having products at a consistent physical location would help a lot, especially since fairs and conventions take such a huge toll on me. We have a linesheet and a Faire account, and I need to prioritize getting my Spring 2026 product listed (it's photographed, I just need time to sit and put it in). I know it's tough times out there, especially down here in Louisiana, and I intend to keep trying. Cross your fingers that someone's willing to take a chance!

Creating Door Hangers:

I've talked about my library's Makerspace before- I've been using their laser cutter for some of my classes as well as for a couple personal projects. Their lasercutter can cut a variety of materials, but my library has thin plywood and clear acrylic available to purchase, so that's mostly what I've been working on.

Fleur de Lis suncatchers for Art Lab

Bead Dog Suncatchers (personal project)

The Makerspace also has a dye sublimation printer, so in February, I developed a class on creating illuminated letters (I went with a graphic fleur de lis as my second example, as I did a class on illuminated letters a couple years ago) to print onto totebags.

Bead Dog Door Hangers

These were cut from plywood, paintinged with Decoart paints (do not recommend these paints) and sealed wtih Krylon spray gloss.

Currently Working on:

Twin Louisiana Iris acrylic door hangers. These are about 12"x12", and I haven't quite decided if I want to color them using alcohol inks (messy, fumey, something I have little experience with) or paint them with acrylic markers or paints. While these are seasonal, they're not pressing as I should be painting

Love the Boot Doorhanger Demo

But I'm waiting on my gesso and acrylics (Liquitex Basics, I am so sick of Decoart) to come in.Love the Boot is kinda a Louisiana thing- Louisiana is also known as the boot due to it's shape, and Love the Boot is all about cleaning up litter and the local environment. For this design, I created an iconic shrimp boat outline with the Mississippi river coursing down the boot, and Lakes Ponchartrain and Salvadore marked out, as well as the boundry of St Charles Parish (since this is for a SCP program)

New Paintings:

Chicory Coffee

No exaggeration, as soon as people left, I was painting again.

Early Access:

Paul Rubens Qi Cai Hui Watercolors: https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-qi-152648822

Artistro Acrylic Markers: https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-152648708

DIY Project with the Library's MakerSpace- Bead Dog Vlog: https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-diy-152557871

Paul Ruben's Floral Fieldtest: https://www.patreon.com/posts/early-access-152506665

New to the Public:

Frogs & Waterlilies! Paint with Me- Start to Finish Waterlily Girl Painting Tutorial: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PaPrxsUc2E

Mushroom Bouquet Illustration & Working with Spoiled Watercolor Paper: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFrydwq8uoc

A Waste of Your Money- Amazon Basics Watercolors: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GMKF7LKQjoA