I’ve been wanting to start a perpetual journal for a while now and I finally dove in! I wanted to do a quick writeup since several friends have asked me about it. First off, what is a perpetual journal, you ask? It’s the brainchild of Lara Call Gastinger, and in Read more…
I love tinkering with my palette and switching it up for the seasons. I put together this fall/winter version in my Art Toolkit Folio so that I could play with lots of reds, oranges and yellows plus have some moody darks and easy ways to mix snow. I also tried Read more…
I just finished up my Laws Sketchbook for Nature Journaling and thought I’d post a review. (Find it HERE in Jack’s shop.) For those who haven’t heard of him, John Muir “Jack” Laws is one of my heroes — I think of him as the father of the nature journaling Read more…
Do you ever dream about watercolors? I do! And I had a dream about a new Art Toolkit Folio palette configuration and had to try it! 🙂 Say hello to my new setup for World Watercolor Month — on the left! I had been using this as a mixing palette, Read more…
A few weeks ago I received an exciting package from Maria at Art Toolkit: the new Explore Palette! The palette contains 6 Van Gogh® by Royal Talens watercolors: Transparent Yellow Medium, Permanent Red Light, Phthalo Blue, Yellow Ochre, Quinacridone Rose, and Payne’s Grey, 2 large mixing pans, plus 6 extra Read more…
I spotted this Tumuarta sketchbook on Amazon and noticed that it was 25% cotton and just had to give it a try! Here’s my review now that I’ve finished filling it up. The Pros: That 25% cotton really does make a difference! I got great granulation in my washes, brighter Read more…
I’ve been on a quest the last few weeks to find my ultimate ultramarine blue and I wanted to share the results with you — but first, the backstory! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Lisa Spangler (@sideoats) //www.instagram.com/embed.js The Backstory I’ve been using ultramarine blue from Read more…
I was honored to teach a workshop at Nash Prairie Preserve near the Gulf Coast of Texas, an extraordinary place protected by The Nature Conservancy. Less than 1% of the Great Coastal Prairie still exists, and barely a fraction of it is unplowed like Nash Prairie. It is truly a Read more…
I’m honored to be featured in the Spring 2022 issue of the Texas Prairie News, the newsletter of the Native Prairies Association of Texas! The newsletter is available online as a digital PDF here on the NPAT website. The Native Prairies Association of Texas (NPAT) is a nonprofit land trust dedicated to the conservation, Read more…
I’m going to be teaching an in-person workshop near Houston and put together this palette for the students and had to share. It’s designed for ease of mixing out in the field and the colors of the Texas Gulf Coast Prairies, but I bet it would make a great everyday Read more…