10-Day Painting Challenge

I stumbled upon a 10-day painting challenge on Instagram co-hosted by Canvas; the company where I got my awesome desk lamp that lets me easily make time lapse videos for my socials and decided to sign up.

The challenge was hosted by Blue Pine Arts; a boutique watercolor supply company based in India, included a private Facebook group (over 600 people!) that I joined where we all shared our paintings each day and how we felt about them and the challenge. I’ve seen challenges like this a lot over the years, but 10 days felt much more doable than a 30-day or longer challenge.

When I saw this challenge, I realized that I hadn’t painted anything since March. I needed a kick in the butt to make more art, and this was it.

Now, what to paint… often the biggest challenge.

Day 1:

I started with absolutely NO idea what I wanted to paint. Thanks to Facebook memories reminding me of an awesome camping trip I took to Kents Lake in central Utah many years ago, I decided to paint that lake from a photo I took.

Honestly, I don’t like this painting at all. I felt rusty. I felt like my hands didn’t know what to do, what colors to choose, how to make the brushes do what I wanted. I kind of gritted my teeth to get it to a finished spot so I could move on. HERE you can watch the Reel I made for this one.

Day 2:

I opted to paint something well within my comfort zone so I could have at least one painting I knew I would be happy with. I painted a galaxy sky on a 4x6 piece of paper with some happy trees at the bottom. I limited palette to only phthalo blue, imperial purple, indigo, and white gouache for the stars. I kinda love it. You can watch a Reel of this painting HERE.

Day 3:

I tried something new on day 3. Upon seeing a handful of other paintings in the FB group I opted to try some misty mountains and trees. I have always struggled with getting wet-on-wet to do exactly what I want. Usually, I have blamed it on the dry Utah climate. One artist explained how she soaked her paper in a bathtub for a few minutes before starting her painting and all I could think of was, “why have I never tried that?!?!”

I submerged a piece of 300lb watercolor paper in a bin and let it sit for 5-ish minutes and went to town with indigo to just see what happened. After that first wash dried, I went in with varying shades of dark greens and blues to add trees and I really love how it turned out. This one was a win. You can watch the process for this painting HERE.

Day 4:

Continuing on this trend, I soaked Day 4’s paper in water too with the goal to attempt an aurora borealis. There are a few artists on SkillShare who’ve done aurora tutorials and I have never been able to get the paint to behave the same way. I honestly hate this painting and I think I have a ways to go to figure out this technique, but at least I learned a few things.

First, soaking the paper for 10 minutes helped a ton, but part of it still dried before i finished the first wash. In the future, I’m gonna try to soak the paper for longer AND paint faster.

Second, I need to choose my colors more wisely. These washes granulated a LOT more than I wanted. Granulation = that grainy separation in pigment. I think I’m good to keep the indigo, but I need to choose different blues and purples that don’t granulate as much. I know some artists love granulation. I do when I’m painting things like rocks, stone, or sand. But I don’t like it for this.

Day 4 was a learning experience, and I have no video of this because my phone filled up!!

Day 5:

I started Day 5 with the goal to paint Horseshoe Bend in Arizona from a photo I took a few years ago. Then my family was invited to spend a day at a lake with friends, so that won. I got it sketched out and some colors blocked onto the paper and left for the day.

Also on Day 5, I submerged a couple of 4x6 pieces of paper in water for 10 minutes and threw some indigo or dark green on them to see what would happen. I had zero plans for what they would be, just decided to let the art gods take the wheel.

Day 6:

I finished the painting of Horseshoe Bend. It was a little challenging to be loose with some of the texture of the sandstone and to not get nitpicky on the details. I did a lot of squinting and stepping away from this one so I didn’t overthink it. Overall, I love how it turned out and it keeps the somewhat “illustrative” style that I love to do when I paint red rock. HERE you can watch a Reel of this painting process.

Day 7:

For Day 7, I took one of the little papers I submerged in water on Day 5 and threw on some purples and pinks to see what evolved; thinking I’d do another galaxy. I ended up with what looked like pretty stormy clouds, so I added a horizon and some simple waves and voila! a moody seascape! HERE you can watch the reel I made for this one. I’m think I need to learn how to make some different waves. In hindsight, this moody sky deserved some more turbulent waves.

Day 8:

For Day 8, I started a larger painting of a part of Kanarra Falls in southern Utah. I was too ambitious with my time on this one. I got it started, but then had to take my kids to soccer and taekwondo. So Day 8 was a work-in-progress.

Day 9:

My family decided to spend the day (a Sunday) in the Uinta Mountains fishing, relaxing, and escaping the heat at home. We spent the day at Pass Lake, which is one of the many lakes along the Mirror Lake Scenic Byway in Utah. My husband and my boys did some fishing (my husband actually did catching). And I painted this little scene. It’s always fun to paint outside when the breeze makes the paint dry super fast. I was also grateful for that breeze keeping the mosquitoes away.

HERE you can watch a Reel of what I pack with in my Art Toolkit when I’m painting en plein air and the supplies I bring. Also, HERE is a reel of me painting this one.

Day 10 (and 11):

For Day 10 I finished the painting of a slot canyon in Kanarra Falls. Well, it took longer and spilled into Day 11 too, but I’m happy with how it turned out. I used watercolor, ink, and gouache.

This painting is an example of one I will probably tweak in Photoshop after scanning it. I want to lighten and adjust the saturation in a few spots to help with depth. Even when the painting part is done, I still consider a few unfinished until I can play with them on my computer. This is why I don't sell very many original paintings (maybe for the right price). We'll see if I can get it to a place where I am happy with it. HERE you can watch a Reel of this painting process.

All in all I am SO happy that I signed up for this painting challenge. I needed to pull myself out of a rut and I needed to relearn how to MAKE time for myself and my painting.

Samy and Leo Painting

My friend and taekwondo master Samery asked me if I’d recreate this photo of her with her husky, Leo in watercolor and I was more than thrilled to do it for her. Corona Arch is one of my favorite hikes in the Moab, UT area as is apparent with how many times I’ve painted it.

This photo proved to be an interesting challenge with the position of the sun and shadows. Samy and Leo are sitting in the shadow of the arch with the sun behind the arch itself, but the shadows have been brightened up considerably. I chose to scoot them forward a little so I could give them a nice cast shadow. This grounded them to the rock better than when I tried to put them in the shade on an early sketch.

Of course, then I was left with what to do with the arch itself with the sun right behind it. The arch should be much darker than it really is and the sun causing a flare on either side. Rather than figure out how to do this in watercolor, I just gave everything a rim light; the arch, Samy, and Leo.

There’s just something cool about a rim light and a cast shadow.

What do you think?

I still go back and forth on whether these were wise decisions and I have debated brightening up the sky in that space where the sun is supposed to be, but the end result is still something I’m happy with. I’ll cut a custom mat for it before giving it to Samy.

Below you can view a TikTok video of the process in time lapse. I did continue to make a few changes after I stopped filming, but it’s pretty close.

10 Fun Facts About Me

Happy New Year!! I have lots of fun things planned for 2022 in my little world of painting and drawing, and I cannot wait to see how they evolve in the coming months.

My oldest son is 12 and he has aspirations to be a YouTube content creator someday… like many kids his age. He occasionally watches videos that give advice on social media marketing and asked me if I’d ever written a “Fun Facts” post. I haven’t, but figured I’d start the new year with a blog post and see how many I could come up with.

So here goes…

1. My son and I both tested for a Kukkiwon 1st degree black belt in taekwondo in October of 2021 and we both PASSED! It was really, really hard; both physically and mentally, but I’m so proud of both of us. I wrote much longer posts about my taekwondo journey and the test itself that you can read if you’re interested. We’ll get our black belts and certificates some time in early 2022 since they come from Korea.

2. I never developed a taste for coffee; not even coffee ice cream, and it took me until my 40s before I could enjoy a Frappuccino without cringing at the coffee flavor that most don’t even notice. I do enjoy a Frappuccino now and then and actually like the tiny coffee flavor now, so I wonder if I will eventually like coffee?

3. I hate roller coasters. They are not fun or exhilarating for me and I hate the feeling of falling or being dizzy. I will never skydive or bungee jump willingly. I even get a little anxiety when I fly if there’s any turbulence, but I love to travel, so I don’t let it stop me from exploring when I can.

4. I took the class to become a soccer referee when I was 15 in an effort to earn a little money and maybe give me an edge as a player. I ended up being pretty good at it and the year I turned 17, I earned the title of Region IV Youth Referee of the Year; one of the top 4 female referees in the US under age 24. I got to travel to some big tournaments as a result; including the US Youth Soccer National Championships as a guest. I got to referee games with FIFA referees Brian Hall and Kari Seitz. Two years later, my brother earned the same honor and went a step further being chosen as National Youth Referee of the Year.

5. I spent 30+ years hating avocados; gross texture and flavor. It wasn't until I was pregnant with my youngest in 2014 that I started to like them and now I love them. Weird!

Goofy camp counselors. Made some amazing friends.

6. When I was 18, I had a job at a Girl Scout camp where I lived there all summer curating the arts & crafts program. My camp name was Batty; named after the cartoon bat from the movie Fern Gully. I have no recollection why I chose that name. I do remembering thinking bats were cool (still do) and maybe I couldn’t think of any other camp name, so it stuck. I had so much fun at that job that I dream of getting to do it again someday.... even though I would be 15-25 years older than ALL of the other staff members and the pay is pretty terrible. I even remember the words to most of the Girl Scout songs I learned growing up.

7. My maiden name is Tebow and my family is supposedly, distantly, related to the NFL player with the same last name. Not sure how we’re related, but his fame helped the rest of the country learn how to say Tebow correctly.

8. My husband and I dated for almost 10 years before we got married and it was mostly due to economics. When we both were in college, rent was already getting crazy in the San Francisco Bay Area, so we both stayed living at home well into our 20s. Neither of us wanted to spend a bunch on rent and have it keep us from being able to buy a house. Also, in 2001 we had 6 weddings to either attend or be part of, so we were OVER weddings for a long time. We finally got married in the fall of 2007.

Selfie in Lake Tahoe BEFORE there was even a word for a selfie… with a regular camera too!!

9. I am mostly left-handed, but ambidextrous with my feet; which comes in handy when playing soccer and in martial arts. I write, draw, paint, and eat with my left hand, but I brush my teeth and use scissors with only my right hand. I use tools like a screwdriver or hammer with both hands. I have never met anyone who has similar ambidextrous quirks.

10. I am a recipient of the Girl Scout Gold Award; the highest award someone can get in Girl Scouting as a youth. It’s the equivalent of the Eagle in Boy Scouting. My Gold Award Project involved painting a few murals in the hallways of my high school and polling the student body on whether they thought it could prevent vandalism and graffiti. I am also a Lifetime Member. These photos here show two of the first small wall paintings I did in the hallways of my high school. On the left I painted my friend Jamila and just across that hallway, she painted me. Then I did a version of Picasso’s Three Musicians. For my Gold Award Project I painted a really large piece of masonite (maybe 4x6 feet? I can’t remember) that ended up being hung in the main office. It had an earth in the middle and a bunch of faces of teenagers of different ethnicities around it. I'm kinda bummed I don’t have a photo of it finished… but also not that sad, because I’ve always been a better landscape painter, ha!

If you know me, were any of these new info to you??

15 Gift Ideas for Young Artists

Do you have a child in your life who is interested in art? A kid who always wants to draw or color, the kid whose eyes light up when there’s a craft project to work on, or the kid who proudly displays their artwork on the fridge? I was totally that kid growing up and nothing made me happier around my birthday than to receive new art supplies. I’ve compiled a list of items I would have loved to receive when I was a budding young artist.

Real quick…

One thing I would AVOID is probably kind of frustrating because it’s an easy gift: those big art sets that have a little bit of everything… colored pencils, watercolor, oil pastels, acrylic or oil paints, markers, and more. They are essentially a “try everything” set for new artists. I remember receiving a these sets when I was a kid and determining that I hated oil pastels or watercolor or colored pencils. I didn’t actually hate those mediums, but the quality of them in those sets was really low. They are some of the cheapest quality materials out there and when you’re learning how a medium works, they are really frustrating to create with.

Instead, find out what medium they are playing with at the moment and buy some higher quality versions; depending on your budget of course. If you can only spend $20 or $30, get a smaller set of high quality markers like Copic or Tombow. Get some fine line pens from Zebra Fude or Faber Castell. Consider some quality watercolor pencils and a brush or a dabbler set of paints from a known and easily available brand like Grumbacher, Daniel Smith, Holbein, or Winsor & Newton. You can usually buy these at Michael’s or JoAnn or shop online at Blick Art Materials. Blick even has a couple of brick & mortar stores in the US.

Still not sure what to get? Reach out to an artist and ask. I’m always happy to make recommendations!

Lots of affiliate links in this post. If you shop from them, please accept a wholehearted thank you!

Sketchbooks - Sketchbooks come in a seemingly infinite number of sizes and styles from pocket-sized to oversized with just as many varying types of paper. If your budding artist likes to do both painting and drawing, consider a sketchbook filled with mixed media paper or watercolor paper. If they are only into drawing, charcoal, and/or markers, then a drawing pad or sketchbook would be great. I’d stay away from newsprint because the paper is very low quality; think of the quality of newspaper. You can even level up on your gifting game and head to Etsy for a personalized sketchbook with the artist’s name on it.

Drawing Set - Different from low-quality art sets! It wasn’t until I was in middle school that I learned about the different hardness and softness of pencils and what I could do with them… and why I always smeared everything I drew with a No. 2 pencil with the palm of my left hand. My son was impressed when I explained why I didn’t want to use his No. 2 pencil to sketch out a watercolor painting because it would leave me with smeared graphite that I would have to erase. A drawing set along with a year subscription to Skillshare or another online learning platform would make for a wonderful gift.

Mini Canvases - My kids and I love to paint on little canvases. We have some 4x4 inch canvases right now, but I have seen as small as 3x3. And some of these little canvas kits come with a tiny easel to display the canvas. They are seriously so cute and can make for fun, custom ornaments if you can add a string or hook to the top.

Calligraphy/Lettering Book - A lot of creative kids these days are interested in learning calligraphy and stylized lettering. How about getting them a book that is geared to learn just that? This book is designed to help teens learn how to write in cursive too, since many schools aren’t teaching it anymore.

Brush Tip Markers - If you’re gifting a book on lettering or calligraphy, how about some awesome markers to go with it? Pricing can vary from brand to brand, but the ones I’ve used and love are Tombow, Prismacolor, and Copic. I have often seen Tombow and Prismacolor markers on sale at Michael’s. For black, waterproof markers I use Zebra Fude and Faber Castell Pitt. If I’m doing an ink drawing that my son is going to paint on top of, having waterproof ink is essential.

Tie-Dye Kit - How about teaching your child how to tie dye? First off, try to avoid using pre-mixed liquid dyes from Rit. Their dyes aren’t colorfast, which means they will bleed onto everything in the wash and fade little by little with every wash. Tulip makes wonderful kits that use a powdered dye that is meant to last longer after washing and the dye won’t bleed onto other fabrics when the directions are followed. This tie dye kit from Dharma Trading Co only has three colors, but it uses super high-quality dye and includes soda ash; an ingredient that guarantees more vibrant and colorfast results. When I’m doing ice dyeing, I use Procion dyes from Dharma Trading Co.

Window Crayons or Markers - Where were these when I was a kid?! I would have been ALL over these to decorate my bedroom window for every holiday. These are supposedly very washable and super fun to use. I may be getting those markers for myself this Christmas.

Scratch Boards - My my youngest son told me I needed to add this to the list. He loves these black scratch boards to draw on. He’s done a few kits that have a drawings already on there and some where he just draws what he wants and he loves them. Best of all, these are fantastic for travel as they use minimal supplies and are relatively mess-free.

Friendship Bracelet Kit - I have so many fond memories of making friendship bracelets when I was young. Most summers I had a bracelet-in-progress in my pocket or safety-pinned to my jeans. My kids recently asked me to make them a bracelet and I was both touched and kind of shocked. You can buy embroidery floss at craft stores inexpensively and put a kit together yourself or you can spend a few bucks more for a kit that includes an instruction book. I would typically opt for the embroidery floss on its own and then head to YouTube for instructional videos. For younger kids who might need help with the fine motor skills needed for friendship bracelets, I’d look at one of the looms out there, like this one.

Paint-by-Number Kits - There are loads of different paint-by-number sets out there with difficulties ranging from preschool to holy-crap-this-is-hard-for-adults. I spent a few months on a rather advanced one that I made for my son and even with my experience with painting, it was a really fun challenge. There are so many out there to choose from, so have fun. They are great for kids who don’t think they are “artistic” or they can’t think of what to paint when given a blank canvas. And this still gets them working on fine motor skills and helps them learn about color theory and using different colors to show depth.

Spirograph - I had a Spirograph when I was a kid and I would spend hours playing with it; creating fun designs. It’s a wonderful tool that uses gears to create beautiful tessellations. There are countless ways to create artwork. I remember learning about mandalas and applying them to my Spirograph creations. Drawing with a Spirograph also helps build fine motor skills and I’m sure there’s a math lesson in there too.

Travel Watercolor Kit - Multiple brands make travel-sized kits for travel that would be perfect for kids who are getting into painting. Teaching painting en plein air is a wonderful way to instill a love for painting and travel together and can teach about composition. These kits fit wonderfully in backpacks, fanny packs, and some are even small enough to fit in your pocket.

Paint Your Own Wooden Craft - Melissa & Doug makes kits for kids where they can paint their own race car, airplane, or train and the kits come with paints and a brush. There are kits where kids can paint wooden magnets, resin trinket boxes or a resin dinosaur or unicorn bank. How about a garden stepping stone or ceramic turtle? My kids have always loved these sets, but now that they are a little too old for Melissa & Doug kits, we cruise the aisles at our craft stores where they sell wooden treasure boxes, birdhouses, signs, and more. They’ll pick out an item along with a set of inexpensive, acrylic paints and a couple of brushes to make their own painting kit. We have also made these kits to give as birthday gifts.

Watercolor Pencils - Watercolor pencils are a wonderful way to introduce a young artist to watercolor painting and color theory. They draw or color with these pencils and then go over their drawing with a wet brush to blur lines or blend colors together. These are great at teaching how different colors blend into each other without having to be aware of what paint is on their brush. My youngest had been frustrated with his lighter colors getting muddy because he would forget to wash the brush when going for a new color. Using these pencils kind of skips that step and he loves getting to see how beautiful the colors blend together. These ones from Faber-Castell have an ergonomic grip to help little hands hold the pencils easier.

Craft Kits - Every craft store like Michael’s and JoAnn’s has a variety of different craft kits designed for kids. There are kits on how to make paracord keychains or bracelets, making jewelry, kits on crocheting, quilting, or knitting. An at-home pottery wheel, a kit for modeling clay, rock painting, and window sun catchers, and I have seen kits that introduce sewing, counted cross stitch, and embroidery too.

Whether your child is in preschool, high school, or in between, receiving a gift that helps fuel a passion for creativity sticks with them for a long time.

Product of the Month - August 2021 - Canvas Lamp

A while back I raved about the little iPhone clip and ring light that I got from Amazon during the pandemic. Well, I’ve upgraded to something that is working better for me. Introducing my Canvas Lamp!

I first saw this awesome lamp through an artist I follow on TikTok. She did a video showcasing the top five products that help her run her small business. This lamp was one of them and she even included a code for 10% off. I was sold!

BTW, I’m on TikTok now, look me up! Alex Tebow

This is such a neat tool! The lamp can hold my iPhone 11 easily and it can be adjusted for a variety of smart phones, cameras, and even a GoPro. The base is heavy and sturdy and has no issues holding the weight of the lamp and my phone. I can pivot and adjust the position of the light for direct, overhead painting or I can turn it on an angle like I have been doing with my phone on a little tripod. I can even turn it around and use it in selfie mode if needed.

The Canvas Lamp also came with a clamp to let me attach it to the edge of a table if there isn’t room for the base or if I don’t want to use the base.

The ring light itself is awesome and the brightness is adjustable along with the color and tone of the light. It can be warm light, cool light, or somewhere in between.

Even if I’m not shooting a video of my painting, the light itself is fantastic just to work with and easily adjusted to where I need it.

I cannot wait to share some of the videos I’ve been making with this wonderful tool. Highly recommended!!