I’m often asked how I send fragile mixed-media pieces to galleries, buyers or events without returning to my studio with a heart in my mouth. Over the years I’ve developed a repeatable method for building a transport-safe portfolio that protects delicate surfaces and layered edges using...
Why I wanted to test gouache with soft-body acrylicsI've long loved the matt, opaque quality of...
When my studio shrank from a sunny spare room to a cosy corner in a shared flat, one of the hardest...
I once rescued a small pile of collage works that had been exposed to a leaking roof after a storm....
I keep my brush-cleaning setup intentionally small and solvent-free — partly because my studio is...
I spent a rainy afternoon last week photographing a new series that uses iridescent powders and...
I remember the first time I decided to use gouache as an underpainting in a mixed‑media piece: I...
I switched to Schmincke Horadam Gouache for my studio sketching routine about nine months ago, and the change surprised me in small, practical ways — and in some bigger, more creative ones too. I’d been using a mix of Winsor & Newton Designers’ Gouache and student tubes when I wanted quick colour studies, and acrylic when I needed fast, matte blocks of colour. The move to Schmincke felt...
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I love building layered collage backgrounds because they offer a rich, accidental language that can ground a painting, illustration or mixed-media piece. Working with found papers and acrylic medium creates depth, texture and surprises — and you don’t need a fancy studio to get started. Below I share my practical approach, favourite materials, workflow and troubleshooting tips so you can...
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