Behind-the-Scenes: How I created my newest studio paintings
Michelle Darwin Michelle Darwin

Behind-the-Scenes: How I created my newest studio paintings

See how I created the pieces in my upcoming collection, Walking Between Worlds

As you probably know by now, walking is my favourite way to get gather ideas for new paintings. The paintings featured here are part of my upcoming collection, Walking Between Worlds, and captures moments seen while on various walks around Nova Scotia.

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My Top Books About Artists and Their Gardens
Michelle Darwin Michelle Darwin

My Top Books About Artists and Their Gardens

Finding inspiration and companionship in the gardens of artists & creatives. A few favourite books + one video!

What does your creativity do for you? Does it bring you delight? Satisfy your curiosity? Give a means of expression, connection, or healing?

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Behind-the-Scenes: How I Paint From Life
Michelle Darwin Michelle Darwin

Behind-the-Scenes: How I Paint From Life

Top tools, quick composition process, painting plein air, and more

See the process I follow and the tools I use when painting from life. I share recent paintings of interior scenes painted around the house, as well as a few studies done plein air around the neighbourhood.

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Behind-the-Scenes: How I create studio paintings
Michelle Darwin Michelle Darwin

Behind-the-Scenes: How I create studio paintings

Top tools, sketching process, and more

Do you ever make something that surprises you and then go back over and over trying to figure out how you did it? What was it about that piece that just came together for you? How can you do it again?

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How do you get to know a new place?
Michelle Darwin Michelle Darwin

How do you get to know a new place?

I love getting to know somewhere new – and reconnecting with familiar places – by walking (new collection sneak peek!)

Walking is nearly always how I first get to know a new place. It allows me to experience it in different light, weather, moods, and seasons. I notice its people coming and going, its homes as their lights turn on for the night…

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Stepping Out of Your Creative Comfort Zone
Blog Michelle Darwin Blog Michelle Darwin

Stepping Out of Your Creative Comfort Zone

Expanding your skills by exploring an unfamiliar subject

In taking steps toward a goal, you will find that new steps reveal themselves to you, as you go. Sometimes they are simply next steps on the same path, other times they are a surprising new direction, a different perspective on your work, or an unexpected creative challenge. I share how to step out of your creative comfort zone, why it’s important to fill your toolbox with new skills, the importance of embracing mistakes, and how to incorporate your new skills into your unique creative style and voice.

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Moody Paintings of Interiors
Painting Gallery, Blog Michelle Darwin Painting Gallery, Blog Michelle Darwin

Moody Paintings of Interiors

The curiosity & excitement that comes when your work takes on new directions

I’ve been working my way through a self-directed online painting class. It’s supposed to be a landscape painting class, but since it’s been snowy and cold outside, I’ve been painting any and every scene I can find around our Montreal condo. It’s been an unexpected treat to have these paintings to remember our place by when we move to our farmhouse in Nova Scotia.

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Spiralling Upward: Finding the Motivation and Courage to Keep Going
Blog Michelle Darwin Blog Michelle Darwin

Spiralling Upward: Finding the Motivation and Courage to Keep Going

How to keep going when doubts, fears, and wobbles take hold

Making big life changes can be very overwhelming. It can be hard to keep track of who you are and so easy to be afraid of all that you cannot see about where you are going... It can be a struggle to stay motivated, remember why exactly you are trying so hard, and keep your vision for yourself and your work fresh. Take heart, you are not alone.

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A Year Without Alcohol: An Experiment in Creative Flow
Blog Michelle Darwin Blog Michelle Darwin

A Year Without Alcohol: An Experiment in Creative Flow

How cutting alcohol changed my creative practice

Over the past several years, I have been looking carefully at all of my resources – time, energy, focus, money, and well-being, to name a few – and have been looking at how I can optimize each of them. Since I became unblocked and began making art regularly, I have found myself discovering just how important creative flow is to my life.

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