close my commissions for now. I'm not sure when they'll reopen, but I'll keep everyone updated here. I'm still making art and I'm still listing it in my shop. If there's something that you'd like to see as a print, please let me know! 

I've been trying to practice the paper art technique in Procreate because I have an idea for a series. I haven't decided yet what I want to focus on, but I'd like to do ten to twelve little pieces of art in this style. I feel happier with these pieces, I think that they're starting to look more three dimensional. I downloaded some new brushes to make them look more like paper (which is also very exciting!). 

I'm very pleased with the digital paper whale art. I especially love the background with the layers of sea life that give the implication of an ocean. If you're following these pieces, what's a subject that you'd like to see done in this style? Let me know in the comments! 

I adore cut paper art. I've always been so interested in the different ways that artists can express themselves and paper artwork is amazing. I love the different shapes, textures, and designs that come from this medium. When I discovered that I could capture this same aesthetic through Procreate I couldn't wait to start making art. 

I was so disappointed with my first few designs. I realized that they didn't have the level of detail that I wanted them do. I began to add more layers until I was able to accomplish the feeling that I wanted the pieces to have. I've made this jackrabbit and a whale. I'm so excited to continue creating pieces that look three dimensional. I can't wait to see where this art goes! 

In June 2021 I decided I wanted to start working with digital art. My dad was a little worried that I was replacing physical artwork with only digital work. Procreate is another art medium - and it's become one of the main tools that I use to create (especially after having our baby in the summer of 2022). So, that summer I ordered a new iPad, I downloaded Procreate, I charged my Apple Pencil - I was ready. I decided the first thing I wanted to paint would be an avocado. I'd painted avocados before. They're something I'm familiar with and I thought it would be a great first painting. 

Learning new mediums takes time and practice. So, I stuck with it and I kept making art in Procreate. 

In the time that I've been using Procreate I've made some great pieces of art and I've made some real flops. I've experimented with different brush types and techniques so that I can stay more true to my style. My goal with the digital art that I make is that it retains texture. I don't want my pieces to look flat. I don' want them to look digital. I want them to look like they could be a physical work of art. 

you are given a chance to have fun and explore something you haven't before. The avocados are a reminder to lean into those feelings of uncertainty and discomfort - because eventually those feelings will fade. Keep on keeping on when you're trying something new and unfamiliar. 

I recently purchased a digital watercolor set for Procreate from Digital Art Junky and have been creating different pieces of art with the brushes - it's been a very exciting week for me. I told a friend that I haven't been this excited about a digital download since I was downloading skins for Catz and Dogz in the 1990s. 

The watercolor set came with thirty different brushes, five different paper textures, and some color pallets - very exciting. I love the different paper textures. The lack of paper texture in Procreate has been a quite complaint of mine since I downloaded the app. One of my goals is to try to imply as much texture as possible in my digital artwork. ​I've found myself making more and more digital art after the birth of my son. Moving into my studio with an infant is a lot of work. I have a hard time getting into creative flow when I have to be available for him and he's at a stage where he's very hands on. Most of my creating is done with he's napping and creating on my iPad is honestly much easier for me. I don't have to worry about material drying out, getting new water, finding a place to wipe my brush, having both hands free, etc. I can create everything in one space and I can come back to it as needed. 

I've painted a few different subjects with the new brush set. I worked on a bear, a house cat, and decided last night that I wanted to start working on a crow. This piece was different compared to how I normally work on digital art. Generally, I'll complete the background first (I also do this with physical art). I erase all of the color from my subject and do a base coat of a neutral color instead. Then, I add layer upon layer of color to the piece. With my crow I took a different approach. I didn't remove color from my subject. I kept the black. Instead of adding shadows, I added light. I felt as if I was working backward from the negative or empty space instead of working toward it. This piece was a lesson in light for me - and a challenge (I even found myself waking up in the middle of the night thinking about the need to add green for more definition - and I did. There is a faint, dark green outline all over the bird.). 

I'm pleased with the use of light in this piece overall. It's not the best digital work I've ever done, but it was a lot of fun and it is one of the more detailed and realistic looking birds that I've done (a lot of my work has a more illustrative style). I can't wait to see what comes from continuing to use these brushes! 

I downloaded Procreate in the summer of 2021 with a goal of expanding my work to digital art. I remember explaining it to my dad - digital art is a tool, just another medium. It's like oil paint or acrylic. I'm not going to stop making physical art. I just am looking to increase a skillset. I wanted to give myself time to get used to making digital art. I knew there would be a steep learning curve. Procreate comes with a good variety of brushes, and while I had seen a lot of advertisements for color pallets and for new brushes I didn't really feel like that was something that I was going to invest in. There are several brush combinations I like to use in my digital pieces that convey texture (which is very important to me). 

However, when I saw a tutorial on TikTok of Anna Markowitz's watercolor brush set at Digital Art Junky I knew that it was something that I wanted to invest in. 

I made my purchase and immediately started testing out my new brushes. The watercolor brush set exceeded my expectations. It came with a few new color pallets, some textured paper I could import into Procreate, and a variety of different brush types. Here are the top five reasons you should get this set: 

1) Blending brushes and design. The watercolor brushes blend colors together in a way that is far superior to the original procreate brushes - and trust me, I've spent all of my time making digital art trying to blend colors together more seamlessly. Not only does the main brush that I use accomplish this task, but there are other brushes that focus specifically on blending and color washes.
2) The pigment changes consistently with pen pressure. This is one of the coolest features of the brush set. If you apply light pressure, the digital pigment is not as strong. If you apply more pressure the digital pigment is stronger. 
3) Attention to detail. One of the aspects of physical art that I love so much is the potential for mistakes. Watercolor is a fairly transparent and unforgiving medium. I love that one of the brushes in the set is paint droplets. It adds either texture to your painting or a nice touch, a purposeful "mistake." 
4) Vivid color. This is connected to my second point, but it seems as if the color that comes from using this brush set is much more vivid than some of the standard procreate brushes. This is linked to the way that the brushes are more sensitive to pen pressure. 
5) Paper texture. I was not expecting the zip file to contain images of textured paper. There were five different textured paper files that came with the download. I was thrilled when I saw them and immediately began using them. One of the issues that I have with procreate is a lack of texture on the "paper" of the original app. It's why I try to use brushes that convey texture - to overcome that and to make the piece seem more like physical art. The digital bear featured above used the cold press paper file - and I adore it. 

I can't recommend this brush set enough. It's absolutely a new favorite and I can't wait to continue exploring the art that I can make with it.