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Poll

MAY poll for future tutorials

  • Flowers- what type write in comments 21
  • landscape- ( places write in comments) 42
  • seascape ( where- New England, west coast, tropical etc) 79
  • techniques ( what do you need to learn? ) 28
  • urban sketching ( what places) 45
  • Still life( what objects ) 26
  • 2026-05-04
  • 241 votes
{'title': 'MAY poll for future tutorials ', 'choices': [{'text': 'Flowers- what type write in comments', 'votes': 21}, {'text': 'landscape- ( places write in comments)', 'votes': 42}, {'text': 'seascape ( where- New England, west coast, tropical etc)', 'votes': 79}, {'text': 'techniques ( what do you need to learn? )', 'votes': 28}, {'text': 'urban sketching ( what places) ', 'votes': 45}, {'text': 'Still life( what objects ) ', 'votes': 26}], 'closes_at': None, 'created_at': datetime.datetime(2026, 5, 4, 16, 58, 57, tzinfo=datetime.timezone.utc), 'description': None, 'allow_multiple': False, 'total_votes': 241}

Content

below is a poll click on which on you want to learn the most and in comments write appropriate answer to that question-

If I did not put a particular subject in the poll it's for a reason- These are subjects I am most comfortable with and can teach the best.

Comments

Ilona Garner

San Francisco, Paris , Copenhagen

Patrizia Schiozzi

The place does not really matter, as long as the seascape is abstract and loose

Jan Connors

Water reflections in landscapes

Lee Ann Zenko

I would love to learn how to paint desert landscapes.

Joni Falk

Want to learn to paint waves and reflections in water

laurie

I need to learn water control to eliminate hard lines and cauliflower. Would love more seascsprs and landscapes with perspective. Thx Ellen!!

Debbie

Acrylic- Fields of flowers beginner level

Debbie

Acrylic- beginner- landscape

Mary Lugo

NY urban sketches?

Peg

Any place will do. I have been interested in urban sketching and would like to try it

Karen Tancredi

Seascape rocky coastline, lighthouse, crashing waves

Paula

Painting water is hard for me...anything with water:)

SueLuvsthebeach

east coast seascapes, jersey shore boardwalks and beaches

Caroline

Technique - warm and cool colours and how to combine!

Lise

Seascapes .. New England

Ingrid Hansen

Paris, Seville, rocks, trees, perspective,

LoriG

Rainbow row S.C

Rachel

Tropical would be nice.

Katrina

Urban sketching… small town “cityscapes” please!

Heather

Monochromatic landscapes, flowers, etc. with different hues? Of same colour.

Carla Simpson

Small towns, villages, wineries, farms, rural landscapes

Dorothy Brennan

I love the “smooshed” cityscapes! 🏙️

Nancy

Less flowers please

Emma Jean

Landscape: desert southwest of USA

George

Pont du Gard, the French aqueduct bridge

Nancy Sherr

I'd like information on painting in the Senoran desert. Scenes of the southwest desert and painting in a dry climate. There are hundreds (maybe thousands) of tutorials on painting seascape, animals, florals....but rarely desert landscapes or city scapes. I live in Phoenix and painting in the desert is a challenge. For beginners it's just another set of challenges to master. It's not just the beautiful panoramic scenes of the red rocks or cattle or even the Grand Canyon. I'd like to paint the cities around me. The first problem is the very dry weather. No humidity. So, should I wet my paper on both sides? When I'm painting in my studio, which is a glassed in room with an east facing wall of windows and doors. How do I account for the dryness of the paper, mixed paint, etc? Water. How much? In my paint puddles and on the paper and paints in the palette I didn't really mean to go off on this tangent but I never see information on these problems. So, painting the Southwest with all the inherent challenges. Thanks!

Claudia daniels

I really need to learn more about shadows on different objects …flowers …buildings

Suzanne Burchman

Sketching and use of pen & ink for loose urban settings

Stacey

Seascape with crashing waves

Eva

Water and soft reflections, please

Eva

Orchids

Joe Coley

I love your seascapes but would like to see more Florida stuff. Also more ink and wash. These are my favorite. Any subject.

Deborah Eichel

I would love to watch a tutorial on the Boothbay Harbor, Maine swinging bridge. I know you did paint it once. You mentioned you were going to do it again, but I don't believe I caught the second one. I think you were going to save it for fall. I love that area. I don't live too far from there. Whatever you choose is fine with me, however. I love everything!

Sue Lamphier

Still life with bread, cheese, wine etc

Trudy Apple

Urban sketching is difficult, if course depending on location. But different facades, roofs, etc would be helpful. The more in it the better

Marie Meckel

I like the loose flower tutorials, and would also like to learn ink and watercolor.

Janet Swisher

Still life...bowls of fruit, wine, cheese... trouble with cauliflowers in my paintings

Cheryl

New England’s rocky coast😊

Laura-Marie McClain

Urban sketching somewhere with lots of street art/graffiti

Heather Marasse

Roses - I find them quite challenging and would love to improve on these beautiful flowers.

Linda Gosselin

Lakeside cottages with docks, boats, & summer scenes. Lake George scenes with mountain backdrops. 🥰

Joanne

Seascapes, dunes, sailboats,

Janet Jaeger

Tropical seascapes, Florida, palm trees

Richard Donahue

Seascapes/beach scenes; landscapes; boat and sailboats

Amy N.

More about light and perspective. Different types of shadows and their placement.

Robin B

tropical seascape, perhaps with a rainbow included :) Or a little surfer on a wave in a tropical beach setting.

Kelly Kolker

I'm fascinated by urban sketching. How would you approach a cathedral? I know they are so detailed, but you would simplify it down to make it doable. I'm curious about how you would do that.

Nancy Bohler

Semi-abstracts or abstracts please! More, more, more! 😊

Laura Jane

Seascape, New England with possible building

Jan

New England

Jan

The world around me

Monica

Yes! I wholeheartedly need help with all these

Monica

Landscapes with perspective, adding depth with layering, glazing

Lee ann

Anything with the ocean, rocks, boats.

martha nagle

wildflowers in a vase. Poppies, cornflowers, etc

Jo

Cities in Europe, Paris, Rome, Sicily, Lake Como

Lynne Morea

Pacific north west coastal

Terrie-Anne McInnis

Seascape with striking sunrises. Vibrant! I do enjoy everything you teach, though! Thank you 😊

Lynn Wilkins

Vase or Bouquet of flowers, variety

Leigh

European village urban sketching. Also love when we paint like the masters :)

Linda Miller

Seascape - North Carolina outer banks - sand dunes & tall grass

Connie Rego

Backgrounds that do not look blotchy

Connie Rego

Thank you for all you give us!

Helen K

Landscape; NY scenic drive Hawks Nest; waterfalls Poconos or Adirondack mtns, Delaware river

joni

I’m up for any of these except for still life. Would like to learn techniques on how to loosen up, not be so precise. I’m also wondering, at what point does an artist find their own style? I’ve been doing tutorials for a few years now and am getting decent at copying, but not seeing my own style emerge.

Deborah Bruno

Louisiana swamp, cypress trees, blue herons

Cathy Knapp

Still life of art supplies

Karen Garrison

I would love farm landscapes. I live in the middle of US no oceans

Bonny

I would love to learn how to paint clouds/sky

KimB

Landscapes--New England, rural Virginia, South Carolina marshes

Carole S.

I would like some tips on principles and elements of design.

Erin Barnes

I really love the Oregon coast, especially the beautiful Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock. I'm excited to learn how to paint water and waves, even though it has been a bit challenging. I'm sure with some practice, I'll get the hang of it and enjoy it even more!

Shari Wanderer

I would like to learn to draw a glass vase on gray toned paper.

Debra

Realistic merigolds

Maria Hay

Seascape Beach with waves

Suzanne

North West Australian coastlines with their pindan red cliffs, white sand and turquoise waters please. A drone view would be amazing 😃

Kellie Harris

Roses and techniques that show depth.

Josh

Chesapeake Bay area seascapes

Pat

Tropical coastal LD some waves

Susan

Anything involving waves and rocks please!

Deirdre ‘Holly Girl’ Greene

Making the water reflect, show movement and it will seem silly but the ‘basics’ of the rocks, seaweed, trees, driftwood. Love Cape Cod/New England beaches and lighthouses. Thank you for asking

Ellen

Streets in Europe

Annette Vandenberg

Great Lakes paintings and I love the small paintings and wouldn’t mind more tutorials on those.

Anne-Marie

Layering of colors, especially to create to create depth. How to make things look like there’s a light source.

Gulla

All of the above. :-)

Leslee

French , Italian or Greek towns… maybe Estonia 🤓

Leslee

Voluptuous flowers, e.g tuberose with Oriental Lillies and peonies, …with Stems inside a glass vase 🤓

Joan Cole

Tropical seascape

Flora Beard

Thanks for the all of the wonderful advice. I would like to try painting a dog’s face, any suggestions? I love seascapes

Peggy Deering

Techniques- layering colors, value, substitutions for colors

Karen Durkin

Seascape . Cape Neddick lighthouse.

Gina LaBlanc

Urban sketch, France or Italy shop or restaurant

Max

I’d like to learn how to paint in a loose style, washing out hard lines

LIsa Michelle

Ellen has tons of awesome videos on clouds. You can search in here for all her videos.

LIsa Michelle

Start changing things up…..different colors, brushes, fill in flowers instead of a bush, add more or less trees. Change the main focus up in your watercolor.

joni

Thanks, all good suggestions

LIsa Michelle

I love your abstract landscapes maybe a coastal stormy summer one with dark dark💨 and the sun being taken over 🤩

Princess

Seascapes tropical

Princess

Glass ware like martini with olives in it

Tanja Brownlee

Northern Vancouver Island or Haida Gwaii (Queen Charlotte Islands). If you really want to do flowers over the next 4 months, perhaps Clematis or Cyclamens.

Deborah

Haystack rock in Oregon

Michele Bougas

I need help with blending and hard lines

Valerie Agahi

I would love to learn more about perspective in watercolor.

D. Malin

I also would love to learn more about perspective. For example, any of the above objects sketched for watercolor.

Laurie Hendricks

Urban sketching - simplifying what you see and not worrying about the details. Florence, Rome, Greece, Scotland, Charleston.

Deb Miller

Housing in downtown London. (Not the apartments) side by side houses.

Ellen D

seascapes/lighthouses in New England

Phyl Hartigan

urban sketching international street scenes with perspective

Alice Moore

terraced tea plantation in Kenya, India, or Malaysia

Amy N.

A few more ideas to consider: Painting the same tutorial (like the NY park one you just did) in each season. Maybe a skill builder series that can be used as references. For example, different trees through seasons. The same building with shadows but the light coming from a different angle. Three different views of the same flower.

Lise-Marie

A big painting of the kiss painting by Klimt 😀 I guess that would technique. Technique on his technique! 🖼️ 😚

Myra Oakes

I really need help with oceans, mine seem flat. I have some great pics of the Oregon coast I could send you.

Anita Yedema

French vineyard? (BURGUNDY?)

Linda Markarian

Urban sketching - New York, a New England town

Ellen Crimi-Trent

I just did a bunch of desert landscapes - did you see them? there is a few from AZ - you will need to work fast in dry climate like AZ- you can try the technque of wetting the back then the front to help for sure!

Lynn

Famous landmarks

Beth

Urban scenes -- help with perspective.

Mary Susan Gipson

Tropical flowers ie desert rose, hibiscus, orchids, cactus and succulent blooms, beach sunflowers, morning glories on the vine, poinciana and jacaranda trees.

Heidi Martin

I love your landscapes and flowers but honestly Ellen I think we love everything you do! The mini madness monday collection taught me so much.

Terry Muessig

reflections! Trees, rocks, waterfalls...

Nancy Ann Barr

misty soft forests and flower filled valleys

Karla with a K💕

Techniques on color theory ..How to choose colors etc.

J C

Buildings in old town France and Italy