When I create a watercolor painting, sometimes the paper buckles and warps, depending how much water I use in the painting. This post shows how I flatten those warped paintings. Here you can see how my small paintings warped. Start with a flat board or surface. I'm using a clean piece of paper, too, because … Continue reading Flattening watercolor paintings 6.16.2022
In my most recent series of paintings, I'm still using oil pastel and wax markers and graphite and charcoal. And I've added another element - paper. I've had an old dictionary for years and almost gave it away to charity last year. Instead, I kept it, and decided that I should finally just DO something … Continue reading new painting 6.3.2021
In August of this year, I learned about a collective, community mural to be displayed on the University of Wisconsin campus here in Madison. Any community member could participate in this socially distanced art event, called "Threads of Hope." One could use any media they wanted, as long as it fit on an 8x8 inch … Continue reading community mural 10.22.2020
A couple summers ago, I took a watercolor class where I learned that I could make a variety of colors by mixing only primary colors together: blue, yellow and red. All my long life, I've used pre-mixed colors in my paintings, and even though I mixed those premixed colors together to get other colors, it … Continue reading watercolor charts 2.6.2020
Over the past few years, I've started to make a list of art goals every January. One of my goals for 2020 is to finish all my paintings that are in progress. I'd like to finish these before I start any new paintings, but that remains to be seen:) Here are three little watercolors I … Continue reading watercolor leaves 1.16.2020
Here's the latest installment in my 100-day self portrait series. This set numbers 51-65. 51. sticker cutout52. clay53. after Egon Schiele (attempted)54. watercolor55. blind contour with colored pencil56. woven watercolors57. leftovers glued together58. graphite paper tracing and watercolor59. wire60. spent petals from mothers day bouquet61. pink (junk mail)62. profile in pencil with orange background63. as … Continue reading #51-65 self portraits 6.6.2019
I meet with a friend each month and we paint together. After taking a watercolor class last summer, we agreed that we wanted to continue painting. We weren't sure that we'd have the self motivation to paint on our own, so this monthly co-painting session keeps us painting! These three paintings are all from those … Continue reading recent watercolors 4.11.2019
Last summer I took a watercolor class taught by local watercolorist Lucy Shirek. One of our projects was a sunflower, and part of the plant was supposed to be painted outside the border of the main painting. During one of my daily walks, I stopped by the nearby community gardens where giant sunflowers are grown … Continue reading sunflower painting 2.14.2019
Last year, I took a 6-week watercolor class. Although I earned an art degree in college with an emphasis in painting, I didn't take watercolor or oil classes during my college years. I've dabbled in watercolor on my own, but thought it was time I learned some 'real' watercolor techniques. And that's why I took … Continue reading watercolor 1.10.2019
Rachel Imsland, Artist 