Artful things

Category: Uncategorized

  • Looking back at your first works

    Reflecting on my first watercolor masterpiece, I was initially disheartened by its flaws. Yet, this moment of self-reflection became pivotal in my artistic growth. It reminded me that every creation, no matter how imperfect, contributes to our learning journey and the evolution of our skills.

  • Fun with texture and granulation

    Being primarily a landscape painter, I love working with granulating paints. You can’t go wrong with Daniel Smith if you want interesting textures and granulation. This goofy snail was painted with Daniel Smith lunar earth, ultramarine blue and burnt sienna. I love the strange effects I got when playing around with layering the lunar earth.…

  • Monochrome

    Monochrome

    Ditch the complexity and embrace simplicity. Play with black to find your artistic escape and spark new ideas.

  • Inspiration

    As a landscape painter, I find most of my inspiration from being out in nature, and I have a particular love of the ocean and the forest. There’s something about the sights, sounds and smells that always reminds me why I paint. Trying to capture the beauty of nature gives me a purpose. This photo…

  • Do events in the world creep into your paintings?

    Just a question fueled by curiosity. I find sometimes that when there are a lot of crazy things happening in the world and I go down the proverbial rabbit hole, I see it in the mood of my paintings. It might be as simple as a color choice, a moody landscape, or some element I…

  • Hello World…Again.

    My name is Ionia, and this is my new blog, Artful Things. After a long break from WordPress, where I’ve run my book blogging site (Readful Things) https://readfulthingsblog.wordpress.com for many years, I’m back and doing something a little different. In the background of books and reviews and all things reading, I’ve been an artist for…