Studio Notes Issue 12 | November 5, 2026
One of my favorite parts of getting into the studio regularly is that sometimes my creative practice can take unexpected detours.
Unlike September, my goal for October was NOT to paint every day. October is always a crazy time at the museum, almost rivaling the chaos that is summer camp, and my attention is always divided between helping with big public events, hiring and training new school year staff, and getting into a grove with our school programs. Making it into the studio can be challenging on a good day, let alone when the day job is going full speed.
Despite taking it a bit easier with my studio schedule, I still ended up painting a lot these last couple of weeks. My upcoming holiday shop update has been the main focus, (hello ornaments!) but I found myself also needing a break from Christmas content.
Cleaning and reorganizing my studio found me re-discovering two paintings that I had started and never finished. I almost threw both of them away. But then I thought, well if I mess them up, I can always throw them away later. Thank goodness I didn't.
These two paintings are very different from each other. One reminds me of early mornings in the mountains, when the sun is just coming up over the treetops. The other is more fitting with the moody palette I have been using for my ornament collection. Both of them might be two of my favorite pieces from the whole year and they are both larger than I typically paint (even if 11x14 and 9x12 inches are still not very large in the scheme of things).
Working on this year's ornament collection allowed me to spend really focused time on a limited color palette, in this case the six graphite colors of my Gansai Tambi Japanese watercolor set. While many of my minis were drying, I found myself playing with these colors on larger pieces of paper.
When I am painting more loosely with watercolor, especially on a larger piece of paper, I find that I like to let the first layer of paint, which is often the most organic and unplanned, inform the direction I take the painting in for subsequent layers. Rather than exploring a mountain landscapes, the first layer of this painting reminded me more of the ocean and I decided to see where that idea could go. I grew up in Rhode Island so the ocean is one thing I truly miss about living in Colorado. This painting reminds me of the walking the beach in winter or on a stormy day, with its softer colors and the way the grass seems to move.
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I love how this painting turned out so much that I'm considering painting it a companion piece.
Probably the most unexpected surprise came from trying to use up some smaller scraps of watercolor paper. Every year, I like to paint some kind of decoration for my home. I have memories of making paper chains, homemade Christmas cards, and ornaments as a kid and I love to add something new every year as an adult.
Using my same graphite watercolors I played with very light washes and simple tree silhouettes on my scrap paper. This led me to experiment with my Shizen rough paper and I have to admit that I am obsessed.
My Shizen paper is a handmade, 100% rag paper, which means it is full of imperfections and the paint sometimes seems to have a mind of its own, but I find that I am loving the effects. I want to explore other colors and maybe even some of my metallic paints just to see what happens. I have also spent far too much time trying to figure out how to tear paper to create the perfect rough deckled edge for these simple paintings. I cannot wait to experiment with how to frame them and I think a set of two will be perfect.
The 2026 Moody Mini Ornament Collection is Coming!
I've made the hard choices and narrowed down my mini watercolor paintings down to my favorite 15 for this year's ornament collection. Each one has its own personality and vibe and I cannot wait to see which ones people gravitate towards. Each one is hand-painted on artist-grade watercolor paper using my Gansai Tambi Japanese watercolors. Each one comes in a glass ornament frame and is a perfect unique addition to your Christmas tree. They also make great gifts. If you want to enjoy your mini all year long, I love a mini magnetic acrylic frame. I'm hard at work getting each listing ready to go on Etsy, but here is a preview of the ornaments I have already started showing on Instagram. Next week, my Studio Notes will include a full shop preview so that you are ready to go for launch day. I'm hoping to add a few more surprises besides the ornaments, but you'll have to wait and see. If you want an email reminder for when the ornaments go live on Sunday, make sure to get on my newsletter list.
Save-the-Date Holiday Shop Launch
Sunday, November 15, 2026 at 1:00pm MST
This Week's Recs...
What I'm watching: What do you watch when you are feeling busy or a bit stressed? I tend to fall back on rewatching favorites while I work on my cross stitch on the couch (yes, more crafty projects, but this one is just for me 😉). The last couple of weeks, I have been re-watching The Crown. After finishing Prince Harry's book Spare I found myself craving more royal entertainment.
What I'm reading: I just finished V.E. Schwab's book Victorious, which is book three in her Villains series. At this point, I will read anything that V.E. Schwab writes, but the first book in the Villains series, Vicious, came out in 2013 and at the time, she didn't even know if there would be another book! Book 2, Vengeful, didn't come out until 2021, and the final book was released this year. If you are looking for a different take on superheroes this series might have some of my favorite characters ever.
Radom Rec: I've got another food one this week: this Crockpot Beef Bourguignon recipe. When the weather turns cold, I love a crock pot recipe and since my husband and I are busy bees (who isn't these days), whenever I can find the motivation to meal prep, I do. Now, fair warning, I am one of those people that think recipes are guidelines rather than actual rules and I ended up doubling the mushrooms and skipped the potatoes because I made mashed potatoes instead. Bon Appétit!
You Might Also Like
Handmade Gifts: My 2025 Watercolor Ornaments where I chat about last year’s ornament collection and a bit about the history of my annual ornaments.
Exploring Gansai Tambi: The Graphite Colors This is the color palette at the heart of my upcoming Moody Mini Ornament release.