I'm so excited to announce that one of my classes at Pushing Colored Dirt begins tonight at 7PM.  Our classes are online and are taught via Zoom.  My class tonight is Watercolor for Beginners, but I'm also teaching Pet Portraits for Beginners which begins this Friday, July 31st and you can still sign up for it.
​  Also, you guys should sign up for our PCD newsletter.  I'll be sending out news, information about classes, some cool art history facts, quotes and general advice about art making.  You can sign up by visiting our PCD homepage and scrolling down to subscribe.
   I know I haven't written on this personal blog in a while, but I did write a long blog post over at PCD that you should check out.  I wrote it about inspiration, influences and idol worship.  If you ever feel lost as an artist (or person in general) give it a read and I'd love to hear your thoughts.
​  Have a wonderful week everyone, much love.

   You can read more about these colors and purchase your own set by visiting: https://www.naturalpigments.com/watercolor/paints.html

  I'm quite excited because my order from Natural Pigments arrived today!  The shipping was fast as always!  I ordered a few items that I needed and some new things to test out.  All the items were beautifully and thoughtfully packaged; Natural Pigments even used old shipping receipt paper to pack the boxes.  That's really resourceful and I appreciate the thought put into it.  
  Another great touch is that the paint tubes were individually packaged with half pieces of biodegradable styrofoam used to keep the tubes safe.  There's nothing worse than getting a tube of expensive paint shipped and opening it to find that the tube is crumpled!  These tubes are immaculate and don't have any dents at all.

  As I said, I ordered a few tubes of oil paint and some supplies that I needed, but I also got some watercolors that I'll be testing out and doing a review of very soon.  I'm super excited to be using such beautiful products and I highly recommend Natural Pigments to anyone looking for quality products.  Have a great weekend everyone!

  I made a 2020 resolution to choose quality above all and it starts with companies like Natural Pigments.  It's easy to think that great materials will automatically make you a great painter, but it obviously requires dedication and years of practice; what's also true is that the materiality of painting is very important to the final result.
  Within the last few years, I've been becoming more and more of a purist when it comes to my materials.  I've long been a fan of 19th century paintings, which is why I was so happy to discover Natural Pigments.  I had the opportunity to meet the founders of Natural Pigments back in 2013 at a portrait painting conference in Philadelphia and they were some of the nicest, most knowledgeable and generous people I've met.  
  If you're interested in techniques and materials of the past (like me), then you'll be very happy to read through Natural Pigment's website.  And if you've ever had questions like: Do I need to wait six months for a painting to dry before I varnish it? then check out their resources page which has a link to technical articles to answer a bunch of painterly questions.
  Another reason I like their paint is because their pigments and paints are hand ground which results in larger particle sizes of pigment and ultimately a more luminous paint (this is especially important for watercolor painting).  Another important process is the way their watercolor pans are made, As it says on their website: "Unlike pan watercolors made with the extrusion process, Rublev Colours Watercolors are poured—a process preserving the integrity of each color and resulting in semi-moist cakes that respond instantly to a wet brush."
  I just purchased a set of watercolors which I'm eager to try out and write a review of.  Go check them out yourself and enjoy their amazing paint!!