Learn to Paint Podcast

Welcome to the conversation with Catherine Freshly. In the interview, you’ll learn how to give yourself permission to explore even when what you're already doing is working, what can stay consistent as your work changes, and why putting in the hours at the easel can lead you somewhere you could never have planned in advance.
Bonus Conversation [Art Club]
For landscape painter Catherine Freshley, light is a huge part of what gives a place its feeling.
In this bonus episode, Freshley talks about what she looks for when painting light, from identifying the light source to noticing how the color of light changes throughout the day. She also walks us through how she builds her skies and clouds in acrylic, and why sometimes capturing the light means moving away from what you see in your reference photo.

Learn more about Catherine Freshley:
WEBSITE | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK
 The 20for20 Art Challenge is almost here! You’ll commit to your art for 20 minutes a day for 20 days. Prep Week is underway, but there’s still time to join us, choose your project, get your materials ready, and make a plan for your 20 days. Registration is still open, so if you’ve been thinking about joining us, now’s the time! Join us here today!

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Over the past six months, Louise Fletcher (Ep.48) has stepped away from a successful teaching business to devote herself entirely to developing a new body of work. 
But this conversation isn't really about making a career change.
It's about something every artist faces sooner or later: what do you do when an instinct about a new direction won’t go away.
In our conversation, you'll learn why artistic clarity doesn't come from thinking—it comes from making the work, discover how to balance exploration without constantly chasing the next new thing, and explore why trusting the next step often means letting go of the certainty you wish you had.
Learn more about Fletcher here:
WEBSITE / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK / YOUTUBE
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Watercolorist Steve Griggs is back on the show to talk about painting large. But not just large, super super large in what he calls grand. In the conversation you’ll learn how you might need to adjust your materials, how you'll want to rethink your space, and how to work yourself up to paint large or grand.
Past Episodes with Steve Griggs:
The Artistic Power of Sketchbooks with Steve Griggs (Ep.113, Mini)
Episode 59: Feature 
Learn more about Steve Griggs here:
WEBSITE / WORKSHOPS / YOUTUBE / INSTAGRAM / FACEBOOK
 The 20for20 Art Challenge is almost here! You’ll commit to your art for 20 minutes a day for 20 days. Prep Week is underway, but there’s still time to join us, choose your project, get your materials ready, and make a plan for your 20 days. Registration is still open, so if you’ve been thinking about joining us, now’s the time! Join us here today!

Support the show

Past guest (Ep.79) Allison Moir-Smith is back to talk about a project that encourages us all to use the time we do have, to paint. The project: 20  minute portraits from life. That’s start and finish, 20 minutes. And even if you don't paint portraits or want to work in this particular way, I think you’ll find the conversation has great ideas to pull into your own practice especially if you have limited time. 
In the conversation you'll learn why Moir-Smith believes "sets and reps" are one of the fastest ways to build your skills, discover how she designed her portrait project around her own personality instead of someone else's expectations, and explore how limitations like a 20-minute timer can actually lead to more joyful, expressive paintings.
Learn more about Moir-Smith here:
INSTAGRAM | WORKSHOPS
 The 20for20 Art Challenge is almost here! You’ll commit to your art for 20 minutes a day for 20 days. Prep Week is underway, but there’s still time to join us, choose your project, get your materials ready, and make a plan for your 20 days. Registration is still open, so if you’ve been thinking about joining us, now’s the time! Join us here today!

Support the show

The podcast has been on hiatus... but it's back!
Today I'm talking with artist JaFang Lu.
In the conversation you’ll learn how to adjust your paintings based on your light source, how to build up to form, and you’ll explore a process you can try immediately on any subject.
Process is such a big part of what it means to be a painter. And we spend a lot of this episode talking about both the process Lu teachers her students but then also how she changes that process for her own work. And while we’re talking about figures, you can translate this approach to any subject.
Learn more about Lu here:
WEBSITE / WORKSHOPS / INSTAGRAM
 The 20for20 Art Challenge is almost here! You’ll commit to your art for 20 minutes a day for 20 days. Prep Week is underway, but there’s still time to join us, choose your project, get your materials ready, and make a plan for your 20 days. Registration is still open, so if you’ve been thinking about joining us, now’s the time! Join us here today!

Support the show