art questions | painting supplies

Hey guys! Over the last year or so, I've been asked pretty frequently what kind of paints I use. I thought it would be best to put together one, central post to steer people towards. Also, there's been a couple other art-related questions that I'll answer too!

Have you always been artistic?

I've always been interested in art, yes. When I was little I would "write" books, spending hours illustrating each page with crayons and colored pencils. Little by little my style of art has shaped into what it looks like today!

How did you learn to paint?

I'm not quite sure when I picked out painting as my favorite art medium. I took what I had been doodling on scraps of paper and over-embellished to-do lists and translated it to brushes and paints. Since then, practice, practice, practice.

How did you learn to paint fancy quotes?

I've always loved experimenting with my handwriting. Anything I can write in a "fancy", "scripty" way, I will. Again, just practice, practice, practice!

What kinds of paints do you use?

All the paints I use are easy to find and affordable. Nothing too fancy. I'll place the links of where to purchase them in their descriptions. Here we goooooo...

WATERCOLORS

These are my favorite kinds of paints. I find them to be the most flexible and forgiving of the paints I have.

This was my first watercolor set. Reeve's brand that I picked up from Hobby Lobby once upon a time. Though I hardly use these anymore, they are a good place to start.

My favorite, most used, watercolor set! The colors are beautiful and smooth. Daler-Rowney brand. Check them out here.

My larger watercolor palette. I don't find these to be as smooth as the ones above, but if you don't want to mix as many colors, this is a good set. Artist's loft. Check them out here. 

These are liquid watercolors that have a little dropper for dispensing. These are great for painting quotes. Dr. Ph. Martin's brand. Check them out here.

For these watercolors you can add water to adjust the opacity. I haven't had much practice with these, but so far I like them! Staedtler brand. Check them out here.

ACRYLICS

Okay, so acrylics are probably my least favorite paints to use. I could definitely experiment with them more, but for my type of paintings I don't use them often.

These are the acrylics I use on rare occasions. I would like to practice using them some more. Daler-Rowney brand. Check them out here

GOUACHE

Alongside watercolors, these are my favorite. I actually accidentally stumbled upon gouache, thinking I was buying acrylics. I LOVE these. They have more of a "matte" look than acrylics and the texture is easy to work with.

I have had multiple sets of these gouache paints and I repurchase them every time I run out. Reeve's brand. Check them out here.

xo.

what home feels like

We've been back in Kansas for about a week and a half now.

When we reunite with people there are two types of one question: one that wants the easy answer, then one with more understanding. The latter adds "or do you miss it?" to "Is it good to be back?"

You know, it is good. Strange. And good. And confusing. And good. It's not a contest between the two places. They both hold events and people that we'll always remember.

How does it feel to be home?

To sum it up in a sentence:

Like everything is the same but me.

TRAVEL DIARY - Virginia Beach

During our stay in Virginia, we headed down to VA Beach for a weekend. We stayed on the boardwalk, we rode bikes around, explored different shops, and tried to keep the cold ocean from brushing against our toes. It was good time. One of the best we had in Virginia, in my opinion. So here's a lengthy, Travel Diary installment documenting our times.