The Importance of Experiments
Playing with art by making studies and using many materials and various styles to paint the same thing, is one way artists develop skill.
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Jennifer Gillen
- Jun 5
- 2 min
Finding Inspiration in Food
I'm a notably bad cook, baker, and dinner-maker. And my sense of taste when it comes to food is not particularly fine. On most days, I...
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Jennifer Gillen
- Mar 12
- 2 min
Coming Back
Yes, real artists do quit. But they also restart. My last blog post was about exploring new avenues of creating. I wanted to know what...
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Jennifer Gillen
- Aug 18, 2022
- 2 min
The Systematic Nature of Watercolor
I like order and systems. It’s not what first comes to mind when people think about art. The popular idea about creating art is that it...
20 views
Jennifer Gillen
- Jul 28, 2022
- 2 min
Gray Background & Vignetting Removed!
Fixing the gray background on a botanical painting photograph.
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Jennifer Gillen
- Jul 16, 2022
- 3 min
Artist's Hand: Proof of Presence
Hand is the trace left by the artist that lets you know it was crafted by a human.
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Jennifer Gillen
- Jun 8, 2022
- 2 min
What's Up with White Backgrounds?
The straight-forward, no-nonsense appearance of white backgrounds is really appealing to me now. No, I'm not just being lazy! Keeping the...
20 views
Jennifer Gillen
- Mar 6, 2022
- 2 min
Shakespeare and the Camellias
A few weeks ago, I was on a long drive home from visiting my daughter who is away at college. Listening to audio books and podcasts helps...
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Jennifer Gillen
- Mar 5, 2022
- 2 min
The Camellias
Last February, I visited a botanical garden during an unseasonably warm afternoon. It was an overcast day. The clouds created moody...
22 views
Jennifer Gillen
- Feb 19, 2022
- 2 min
The Artistic Voice
If you can walk into a museum filled with art and identify the artists without looking at the placard, then you understand artistic...
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Jennifer Gillen
- Nov 27, 2021
- 2 min
Painting in the Time of Climate Change
How reading and climate change lead to a new painting series.
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Jennifer Gillen
- Oct 28, 2021
- 4 min
Collecting Original Art
It's human nature to collect things. A lot of people find joy in certain objects. My husband collects sports jerseys and sports...
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Jennifer Gillen
- Jun 22, 2021
- 3 min
Painting a Realistic Rose in Watercolor
How I paint large roses in watercolor. This is a technical post for those who are curious.
47 views
Jennifer Gillen
- Aug 26, 2019
- 3 min
Five Ways to Power Through
Some of my paintings take 50+ hours to complete. Here's how I make it through very slow work--and it's not just patience!
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