The Best Watercolor Pencils for Beginners
Watercolor pencils are great when you’re on the go, which makes them easy to take anywhere for practice. Here are some of my favorites and ones I’ve seen good reviews on.
Best Planner for Creatives: The Artist Project Planner
Planning your art process is a critical part of growing as an artist. Before using this planner, I would create an initial sketch and just start. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no correct way to plan or create when it comes to your artistic process, but I realized I needed a more organized way to capture all of my ideas. Enter: The Artist Project Planner!
Paint With Me Session from the Watercolor Made Simple Book
After releasing my newest book, Watercolor Made Simple, I asked for honest reviews in exchange for an invite to my (then) live painting session to paint the swallow project from the book!
Holiday Gift Guide for Watercolor Artists 2023
It’s the most wonderful and chaotic time of the year! I know how stressful shopping during the holiday season can be, and trust me, I get it. If you’re shopping for an artist in your life or want to send this gift guide to someone who needs ideas shopping for you, this gift guide is the perfect place to start.
Sketch & Paint: New Watercolor E-book by Nicki Traikos
Have you ever wanted to learn watercolor painting but aren’t the greatest at sketching or drawing? I get this comment a lot! People tell me they don’t know how to sketch anything; therefore, they can’t paint anything that feels “finished” or “polished,” so I started creating my Trace and Paint books.
life i design Class Reviews from Watercolors Made Simple Reviews from Students
I recently asked my students inside our student-only Facebook group to share some of their artwork from a class they had taken with me, and the results are AMAZING. I always enjoy scrolling through our feed and seeing the beautiful artwork created, and the amount of TALENT everyone has. The passion for creating art really does shine through their work.
Back to School Shopping for Watercolor Artists
he back-to-school season should be a holiday! Some are excited about this time because it means getting the kids out of the house for 6 hours a day, while others are excited to start the new school year. Whether you’re attending school or sending kids back or both, this time of the year is perfect for shopping!
3 Projects to Help Artists Paint More: Watercolor Made Simple Book
Wanting to start a new skill is daunting. It's overwhelming with all of the free and even costly online tutorials, courses, and blog posts.
Sketching for Watercolor Painting for Beginners
Explore sketching for watercolor and discover how it sets the foundation of your paintings.
The 5 Characteristics of an Artistic Person
Being an artist takes courage. It requires embracing vulnerability, diving into the unknown, and expressing yourself authentically. You are embarking on a remarkable journey of self-discovery, and I’m here to cheer you on every step of the way.
8 Items you Need in Your Home Studio to Stay Creative
Cultivating a sanctuary to create in is one of the key ways to ensure that creativity stays at an all-time high. This looks a lot different for a lot of people, whether you are painting, writing, or photographing your day, but the basics are relatively similar.
New Art Update
When I first started life i design over 10 years ago, I wanted to be a working artist. What does that mean exactly?! It means my goal was to make art, sell my art, and make a living from it! I wanted to demystify the whole “starving artist” persona. I wanted to be a thriving artist!
I wrote a new book! Introducing Watercolor Made Simple THE BOOK!
I am so excited to share that I have written a brand NEW book! In the past, I’ve created two Trace and Paint books to help you skip the sketching and pressure and get straight to practicing watercolors. This new book goes above and beyond those two with techniques and step-by-step painting projects, and I am so excited to share it with you!
Travel with me to Iceland, Denmark and even Sweden!
Enjoy a few trip highlights as I share my experience in Iceland, Denmark and even Sweden!
The 100-day Project: What Creative Project I’m Doing & How!
Join me during the 100-day project! I’m really bad at being consistent. I start off with such great enthusiasm and then get distracted, busy, bored… you name it! Every year when I get an email about the 100-day project again, I get excited, commit to doing something for 100 days, and get busy planning my goal. Join in on the fun!
Winsor & Newton Watercolor Tutorial - “Northern Lights”
This Northern Lights watercolor tutorial is going to be so much fun! On January 17 at 1 PM CT, I’ll be going live with Winsor & Newton to offer this 100% free watercolor class. Join me in this Paint-With-Me style watercolor tutorial session hosted by Winsor & Newton and Michaels Craft stroes, where we’ll explore bright and dark colors for this exciting piece.
Watercolor Painting Tutorial in Watercolors Made Simple Student’s Facebook Group
Hey Watercolors Made Simple students! I’m going LIVE on January 12th in the Student’s Facebook group! Last month, I asked our students a few questions in a survey I sent out, as I wanted to learn more about how I can best support you in your art journey!
Paint With Me at Sketchbook Party Hosted by The Pigeon Letters
Join me at the Sketchbook Party live online weekend creative retreat! I’ll be teaching a fun watercolor sketchbook spread and showing you what to do for an extra boost of creativity.
Paint "Wheatfield" With Me! - Winsor & Newton Free Online Watercolor Session
Join me on September 20th, 2022 at 1:00 PM CST for this free online painting session. I’ll be sharing some of my favorite techniques using Winsor & Newton Professional Watercolor brushes and watercolor paper to bring this piece of art (below) to life!
New! Private Art Lessons and Coaching
We are excited to announce new private lessons and coaching sessions offered at life i design. Come check out what we have been cooking up!