• Cherry Bean (Salinas, CA) Watercolor and Gouache

    Cherry Bean (Salinas, CA) Watercolor and Gouache

    The Cherry Bean Gourmet Coffeehouse & Roastery is located in Salinas, CA in the heart of Oldtown Salinas. This is done with quite a limited palette of titanium white (gouache), zinc white (gouache), perylene maroon, quinacridone gold, burnt sienna (goauche), ultramarine blue (gouache), permanent yellow deep. My full palette can be found here. This has been…

  • Hahnemuhle Watercolor Book Review

    Introduction to the Hahnemuhle Watercolor Book Today I have a Hahnemuhle watercolor book review! It was a bittersweet feeling to complete it, but I now know the ins and outs of it well enough to give a proper review. Hahnemuhle (AKA Hahnemühle) is a German fine art paper company started in 1584. I visited California Art Supply…

  • Mastrena (Starbucks Painting in Gouache)

    Mastrena (Starbucks Painting in Gouache)

    A painting of the Mastrena espresso machine in gouache and watercolor, I was originally intending on making this in casein, but forgot all my casein paints at home.  I hope you enjoy peeking at the process as much as I enjoyed painting this. I’ve been reading the book Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life…

  • Casein Painting Process: Starbucks Display

    Casein Painting Process: Starbucks Display

    Starbucks Display (Casein Painting) I visited Starbucks a while back and decided to do a casein painting of their display. Casein is by Richeson Casein, one of the very few fine art casein manufacturers I know. I’m using colors out of the Jack Richeson’s Gurney Pack and have been playing around with the limited amount…

  • PureRef Tutorial (One of the Best Art Reference Tools)

    PureRef Tutorial Today I’ll give a brief introductory PureRef tutorial and why you should download it. It’s one of the best tools for viewing and organizing reference images into what I’ll call reference boards. PureRef is available on Windows, Mac, and Linux. What is PureRef? The website defines it as “The simple way to view…

  • Rosetta Stone Bookshelf in Casein (Process)

    Rosetta Stone Bookshelf in Casein (Process)

    The Rosetta Stone bookshelf at a Barnes and Noble, painted in casein.

  • Current Watercolor & Gouache Palette May 2017

    Current Watercolor & Gouache Palette May 2017

    While refilling some pans yesterday, I decided to jettison some colors I wasn’t using and add some colors I use a lot to my Pocket Palette. I usually carry a separate gouache and watercolor palette, so I decided to combine them in my smallest palette, saving on space and fuss. My color choices are just…

  • From Denver, With Love, Allen (Urban Sketching, Drawing, and Painting)

    From Denver, With Love, Allen (Urban Sketching, Drawing, and Painting)

    I visited Denver, Colorado earlier this month to table at DINK. I took a different approach to drawing on location, opting to just do quicker sketches inside my travel journals, as opposed 9 x 12 inch bristol sheets. Denver was a lot of fun and I hope one day I can go back. Let’s take…