When I first started creating landscape paintings on the computer, back around 2005, 2006, I thought digital tools would solve everything. I had the undos, the infinite possibilities, the comfort of working without consequence. I’d been a commercial illustrator for 13 years, comfortable...
This week’s painting is called Woodland Passage, a 5×10 inch oil on panel. The genesis was simple: I caught some B-roll in a video, liked the pattern of the trees, got rid of the people and the buildings, and went to work. I...
Today we are painting a forest scene of a woodland with a path cutting through. This started as a screen capture I pulled recently. The original had some different elements, but the tree structure caught my attention. I ran it over to my...
There’s a paradox at the heart of painting that every serious artist eventually confronts: the pursuit of perfection will either propel you forward or paralyze you entirely. The difference hinges on a single concept, functioning perfectionism, and understanding it might be the most...
The painting I’m bringing you today is called Arcadian Road. It’s a 4×6 and I painted this a couple weeks ago. The Palette and Reference Philosophy This is our palette. I have a palette with all the tags on it in the video,...
Transcript and Key Insights We painted this scene before. It came out really excellent. A lot of times that can be the spark behind painting something again. I wanted to do a 4×6. Wanted to make it tonal. Wanted to make it something...
Welcome to Easel Talk 43. The topic for Easel Talk 43 is: Using nature, not Imitating it. This goes for reference photos, working plein air, whatever you’re trying to do. Imagination Without Reference In the absence of reference or working outside, you could...
Transcript and Key Insights It’s morning, 9:32 on the 29th of April, 2026. Clear blue sky, no clouds. We’re going to make a painting now. This reference has one big issue. What I call all in a row syndrome, distant row of trees...
Every color on your palette should earn its place Welcome back. This is part two of our palettes and pigments deep dive, we’re picking up where we left off with the oranges and reds. I’ve got two solid outlines to get us through...
Today, I’m sharing Violet Woods, a 6×8 I painted last week. It’s based on a landscape I painted in around 2019, you can still find that wider version on the channel. This is a cropped, more intimate take on that same scene. The...