Honestly I've been going through art block for like 3 years. And even if I drew, I never felt happy about it. It feels nice to see an artist I look up to kinda reevaluate their work and try to take a new step towards a refreshing direction that makes them happy.

I love how you combined watercolor and colored pencil. This is so beautiful. I read that many artists combine watercolor and colored pencil as you have, especially for illustration. It seems logical what you said about your art style evolving. Also, I wonder if trying new watercolor pigments or brushes might help with you. Siennas, ochre and Ultramarine blue can be very granulating. Maybe you might like the alternatives that aren’t granulating and are more transparent. For example, PY42 Yellow Ochre is less granulating than PY43 Yellow Ochre. Daniel Smith makes Quinacrdone earth tones that are smooth and transparent. Or you could mix transparent, non granulating colors to create the earth tones you seek. I love watching Dr Oto Kano KZfaq channel as she swatches and compares various brands of colors. She compares the Daniel Smith Quinacrdone earth tones that are more transparent and make cleaner mixes. Her videos have helped me make better color choices for what my style needs. You art is amazing! Wonderful to see how your art is evolving. Also, the Transparent Oxides earth colors are great mixing colors and non-granulating like Transparent Oxide Brown, Red and possibly yellow. Dr Oto Kano compares brands and you can pick which brand of a color has the properties you seek - or even a convenience mixture like Holbein Brillant Green. She helped open a new world for me with watercolor pigments. And their are other channels that swatch out colors. I do love how you blend the colored pencil with watercolor. You bring out the best of both mediums.

Ahhh so enchanting and magical! Adore all the nuanced colours throughout the piece

I love the way you use your watercolour! And I really love how the final piece looks. ❤️👀👌👌

Yes granulating pigments don't love being layered. They usually become very easy to lift. I'd suggest synthetic pigments that are smoother and don't cause granulation, but they are also much more pigmented. Similar to cerulean might be a phthalo blue/turquoise (but watered down). Knowing your pigments, and their characteristics can save an artist a lot of headaches. If a person that prefers to use many layers uses non-staining and easily lifted colors (ex., cobalt violet) it will be a much more arduous process and not very fun.

Don't beat yourself up over medium. The result is beautiful and entrancing. Every painting I've ever done always has that mid-point where I hate it and it's a struggle to make it work...and then it does!

I don't think you should give up on watercolors but to try to be more aware of what you like when using them. I really loved how it was going at the beginning even I could notice the muddiness you said and I absolutely adored how you managed to make it glow with the color pencils. Don't give up. I really love your videos and listening to you speaking of your struggles while painting makes me feel more calm with my struggles. Greetings from Mexico!!

I think using watercolour to fill in big spaces/do the first colours of the pieces is pretty smart to save on time and looking pretty, and then detailing with coloured pencils makes them a match made in heaven. The end piece is super pretty and inspiring 💞

I really love the background the granulation makes the vibe feel like she’s super cozy resting while there is a storm ⛈ like when in real life you’re in bed cozy listening to rain fall on the roof! I love it 🥰

You're definitely asking yourself the right questions. Follow your vision. The old methods and ways will always be there for you to come back to.

The end result is ABSOLUTELY STUNNING, Chris, and this melding of watercolor for the first layers and colored pencils for more controlled finish may just be the technique that helps you arrive at the exact look you’re going for. But, cerulean blue is a very hard pigment to use as a blender base. It’s generally highly opaque, and granulating, and with it’s tendency to appear chalky, it just doesn’t like to play well with others in multiple layers, at least not if clarity and transparency is the effect you’re going after. YEARS AGO, I stumbled upon a book called by Jim Kosvanec that helped me tremendously in understanding how the properties of individual pigments affect the mixing of transparent glazes. Unfortunately, the book is out of print, having been published in 1994, but last I looked, you can still obtain copies for a decent price on the used book market. He breaks down traditional watercolor paints into five categories: Transparent non-staining, semi-transparent non-staining, transparent staining, semi-opaque and opaque colors, and whitened and blackened colors. He explains quite well how to mix and layer the colors from each category, and how to avoid mixing mud and laying down dull washes and glazes. I read it as a beginning watercolorist, and to say it saved me countless hours of frustration would be an understatement. One of the things that bugs me is the way watercolor paints are being marketed to aspiring artists nowadays. The focus is on hundreds of boutique colors, often with ambiguous and unhelpful names that promise great results, but leave people confused as to why they can’t to get beautiful, clean mixes and washes. Traditional single pigment colors with traditional unsexy names, used in proven and age-old fashion techniques isn’t nearly so marketable anymore. It’s unfortunate.

9:07 "but I kept truckin on..and I made my bed, so.." Hahahahh I'm laughing cause that was such a cute way to put it, and because I can relate to this haaard 😂😂😂

First of all, I think you are an amazing storyteller!!! I love your work!! This one was different than your usual for sure... I think that it was bolder, but also it had a ton of depth. I always struggle with linework versus painterly as well. Admiring the linework of others and yet never committing to it in my own work... This piece has that great balance that I am always drawn to. In regards to your speckles... I believe a big part of it is due to the granulation, but also the hotpressed paper. I know it is so much smoother but I find those speckles always occur and I find it distracting after a few layers. Sometimes it is granulation, other times I think it is just the "pilling" of the cotton (I also use Arches HP). I hope you don't "give up" on watercolor... selfishly :p but that it becomes as you say a foundation for the painting. Thank you for always honestly sharing your struggles and joys, I appreciate you!

You have my favorite art style and have gotten me to push myself to follow my dreams in doing traditional media illustrations. I have so much anxiety toward drawing traditionally because it feels so permanent, but videos like these help me work out those feelings and be brave enough to actually try. Thank you for all your hard work and for showing us your absolutely wonderful artwork

First I want to say that your finished piece is absolutely beautiful! Looking at the granulation I don’t think it was a fail, I think it added character...adding to the dreamy vintage look of your style. I think you have the right idea about using watercolor as your base and other things like colored pencil & gouache to render and finish your work. I’m curious have you ever used inktense, Caran d’Ache watercolor pencils or neocolor? Perhaps adding watercolor pencils/sticks would be a fun alternative. Either way I think what you said made a lot of sense and could ease your frustrations when using mainly watercolor. Best of luck on your continued journey and ty for letting us follow you along ☺️

I ADORE watercolors, but have never been able to control them. Put a colored pencil in my hands and i can achieve even a painterly look, but watercolors??? Nope, not a chance. When i was trying to master them, i bought a ton (A TON) of really nice, incredibly expensive colors that now just sit there, silently mocking me. This makes me feel so much better, the idea of using them as a base layer and putting colored pencil on top. It's a comfort to know that even really gifted artists struggle with some mediums now and then. I love this piece, and the background is just *chef's kiss*.

As an artist u have the right and the obligation to experiment with different mediums. Sometimes we forget that we have many options to develop an idea. That part is what is missing in digital art. Go, do some sculpture, oil painting, acrylics, put all together. What we learn in one technique, will enrich the next one. Just like in life. Experience make u wise, a better person. Same thing with art.

Watercolor still remains a mystery struggle to me! I enjoy working with gouache more and adding some color pencil for further blending ☺️ But I do love the ethereal effects many artists I admire do with their watercolor artwork.

I actually like the granulation. To me it looks like a cosy children's illustration, the granulated look made it look like a dream, like fuzy and faded. But the final looks amazing as well 😁

im so surprised how much you can 'fix' with pencils! very beautiful!

I totally get what you’re saying about looking at past work and wondering how you were able to create it, and then getting disheartened (just made a video myself about that lol). I think you’ve naturally gravitated towards using watercolor as a base, so embrace it! Who knows, maybe you’ll go back to just watercolor in a few years, but this season of your art is mixed media. Much love to you

I've always loved the effects of using watercolors with colored pencils. They compliment each other so well, and using the colored pencils on top of the watercolors allows fine details to be achieved while making the illustration pop.

omg...the BG transformation is just pure magic!!!

13:00 Totally. If you absolutely love the character, you feel more inclined to finish the rest of the piece. Tho if you have a perfect background but a main focus you don't like, not so much. I usually do the eyes first in my drawings, because if I do them right, I'm obviously gonna spend time on the rest of the face. Love the piece btw, your a huge inspiration for me ✨💜

All of the finished pieces you've done with watercolor have been my favorites of yours, but I totally understand watercolor being a labor of love. 😔♥️

The transformation is stunning! I can totally relate with feeling frustrated when I can’t replicate the process from my previous works. When you first started incorporating colored pencil into your pieces (and working with colored pencils in general), I was so excited for you because it reminded me of how fun and amazing it felt working with multimedia. You don’t have to stick with one medium, the world of art supplies is your oyster! It’s super smart and efficient to use watercolor as a base and then render with colored pencil. I really admire how much you uses colored pencils to make your pieces since I feel like they require a lot of layering- but that’s what makes your art process unique and yours! When we can’t replicate our processes from before, I think of it like a means to evolve or experiment. I really loved this piece, it felt more so magical and dreamy with the colored pencils!!

I have a general idea of how you feel about mixed media but, I still don’t think you realize how OKAY it is to use mixed media and how beautiful your works are! I understand the frustration you had about this piece, with wanting it to only be in watercolor at first but, having to surrender to other media to complete the artwork. At the same time, You should feel proud of yourself for being able to let go and use all the tools at your disposal to make it match your vision and meet your standards. Do you know what I mean? 😅 Anyways, I still love your artwork and how you’re experimenting with mediums so, keep it up!

I love working in primarily watercolors too! I feel like since you have such a clear vision of what your piece should be, it doesn't leave enough room for watercolor to just do what it does. I feel like watercolor in particular is really a "have the end piece in mind, but lets see what happens on the page and work with that" kind of medium. I absolutely adore your work, and I would love to see a process without you fighting with your watercolor when you choose to use it. But please don't give up!

I love watercolors. It's the first painting medium I learned and I used it to make a lot of illustrations but, since I started using acrylics, I haven't been painting with watercolors much lately. If you try the fluid acrylics you'll see that it does everything watercolor can, minus the ability to re-wet the pigment. It might take up to a week or so to get the hang of, but your technical options will be expanded. You can use it on practically any surface. No need to use gouache for opacity or worry about muddy blending. You'll have far more control over the colors, which are far more vibrant IMHO. Nowadays, I only use watercolor when I'm travelling or quick sketches.

It’s so cool to see you paint with watercolor! Sometimes it has digital art effect or a fun story telling illustration style and I love it !⭐️😃😍 Can u pls make an in depth tutorial on how u do it ?

the thing with watercolour i believe is the less strokes you make the better., if you could calculate before hands the paint strokes you;re gonna do for the rendering, you might get a result more fitting for the media. it's definitely a challenge but it can be so much fun honestly I find all your pieces looks incredible by the end, i like the way you mix medias. i find this piece absolutely stunning! it almost looks like and oil painting! I'd love to get a print of it!~

That is the way I used to work. Using the watercolor as a base and then go over with colored pencils. The piece always came out well but last year I decided to try my hand at Inktober and it really helped me get better at painting and using watercolor. So this year I’m trying to do the reverse use mostly watercolor and minimal colored pencil. Perhaps that my help you. Inktober forces you to try a new material and definitely helps your painting skills. I cannot tell you how many times during that challenge I wanted to give in and use colored pencils. However I forced myself to stick with the ink and watercolor and over that month I got stronger and stronger at painting. I hope this was helpful for your watercolor struggles.

York watercolor struggle really resonates with me. I've been trying to make graphite and gouache work for me for the past 1.5 years or so but I just feel so done with them atm.

I think the end result looks gorgeous. I also think that using watercolours as a base for coloured pencil going forward would work very well for you. You have proven that you can make those mediums work together beautifully and I'm excited to see what more you can do with the intention to work with them together from the start.

Just beautiful ... your thought process was very much like mine when I began to doubt watercolour versus colour pencil. Honestly they work beautifully together and so nice to see you going back to your lovely whimsical pieces. The other thought I had was struggles with highly pigmented watercolours .. often hot press paper is partly accountable but then if you use cold press you lose the ability to get good results from the colour pencil .. just a thought ... ☺️

I've known some artists who use colour pencils with watercolour namely Lioba Bruckner. I think it doesn't matter which media you use if it looks nice in the end and you're happy with it!!! Love your art style

It turned out great, lovely colours and super cute. It makes me happy

I quite liked it before the colored pencil. I also understand that painting something you don’t like or think is going poorly is very frustrating and discouraging. You need to be happy with the result regardless of anything else.

as a viewer, i think 'wow i love how this is going! why is she saying its getting worse?' as an artist i think 'i know that feeling. and being told hpw great it is will only make you feel worse..' chris, your content has been motivating and inspiring me for many years now, thank you for that! i know some pieces on this channel you love, some you probably dislike still. if there is a positive out of that negativity, i suppose its the fact that many people are still inspired to pick up their art supplies and make something. you really inspired me to get into traditional art after being mostly digital for 10 years now : > this piece is beautiful, ive been seeing bits and pieces on insta and i couldnt wait for the video!

I love the textured background, but then I love granulation anyway. Swapping out some of your opaque colors for transparent/staining colors would help. I love Sennelier for multiple layer glazing, but also us a lot of M. Graham.

Ahhhh it’s so pretty!! 😭😭 I honestly really love your watercolor/colored pencil mixed-media pieces, it gives off a different effect than your gouache or your colored pencil only pieces. I love the combination of the textures and how the nuisances of colors of the watercolors shine through and how the colored pencils completely changes the overall look and atmosphere! I might be biased because I use watercolor/colored pencils regularly but I find that it definitely helps make using the colored pencils process faster and gives it dimension. But you don’t have to listen to me, if the process isn’t fun then let it go. You should have fun with the process and not suffer through it all. C.F Payne is an artist who does amazing mixed-media work and popularized the oil rub technique and I think you might be interested in him and his process. I think he did a couple of yt tutorials on it as well. He was a guest speaker at my art college before lockdown hit and his process really helped me through my thesis and inspired me to go back to old works and rework them.

Personally the granuals added a vintage filter to it that adds to the story of vintage circus girl, that I 💕 love

How can I just be so much in love with your art... It's just amazing and every time you post I instantly want to grab a pencil and start drawing! (also I'm going though an art crisis too and it feels nice to not be alone)

Your watercolors/gouache vids are my favorite ones to watch.

This is a beautiful piece, so don't beat yourself up over it. In addition to the color pencils, consider soft pastels, especially pan pastels. They also play well with watercolor (and pencils), especially when applied carefully so they don't fill up the limited tooth of the watercolor paper. We have all these wonderful media, so not using them (together) out of some sense of "purity" or whatever seems pretty dumb to me. Just like building a house, concrete outside, carpet inside. Nobody in their right mind would leave the floor bare just because it bothers the purity of the concrete. It's the result that counts, and yours is (are) beautiful :-) Cheers - Folker

ooooh lovely. I also want to know more about the actual palette your paints are mixed on. I'm loving the layout and size.

Yes! i know that feeling! i am really happy you made this because i had similar issues this week and have been in a bad mood about it! on a side note, when i get that good feeling about my art and it has my best happy energy - i just stare at it! while its drying i can't walk by without stopping to stare!

Don't let your eyes play with your mind. Your work is quite unique. Don't be so hard on yourself.

Wow Chris, the illustration is so dreamlike and ethereal 😱🤩💐 The colored pencil, special effects detailing sets the pic apart and adds a sort of creamy tangibleness like I could reach out and capture it. I really hope you give yourself the freedom to explore, this was a treat to watch😊

So relatable with needing to love or like what you are working on. If something messes up or doesn't work how I like or is taking too long to fix, it makes me hate the piece and have negative association with it. Lately I've been learning to quick while I'm ahead, or accept the loss. Have you seen Carter Goodrich's older children's book illustration work? He used to do the colored pencil over watercolor based style for a long time! I really like his Nutcracker illos.

I love how you didn’t give up ! She is such a cute character in her ruffled clown pj’s

I love the final result! It's beautiful and serene. And I think watercolour and coloured pencils work great together for your ilustrations. ♥️

You inspired me to use colour pencils in my watercolour paintings! I am coming back to traditional art after a long time doing digital art, and it really really feels good to do something else for a change. I absolutely adore watching your commentary because I can see how even one of my favourite artists still struggle with their piece, but in the end triumph! Thank you so much for detailing your experience with each painting!

This is so beautiful! I think the granulation and colored pencils give the piece such a beautiful, dreamy look!

I literally just ordered a print of this and am ecstatic! It is an honor to be able to support your art, you are literally my favorite artist.

I love watercolors, and You use them really well. I hope with practice I learn to do it like You 😊💞

You achieved a charming rich and delightful painting! The colored pencil created a wonderful look! Thanks for sharing!!!

Turned out beautiful👏! Suggestion: research the pigment properties of the specific colors you are using before you start using them on the paper! 🌈 Maybe only use granulating or opaque colors for the top layers, and use transparent or semi-transparent paints for the first few layers. You may also like to use paints that lift easily from the paper 🤷‍♀️, rather than ones with greater staining properties. Do some blending swatches on a scrap piece of watercolor paper to see how the colors you are using will blend together. Some paints just don’t blend well 🤷‍♀️. I like to use procreate to design the colors and lighting for a piece before painting because it takes less time than analog. Determine what medium to use based on the specific effects you are trying to create! I think colored pencil was a very good choice for this specific piece because you achieved some great contrasts and details in the foreground. I think the background could have been created using one wash of watercolor, doing wet-on-wet. Watercolors are great for magical wet-on-wet effects, if you have the courage to let them just do their thing. 💗💗💗 I’d suggest checking out Kendyll Hillegas’s videos; she does a lot of mix media artwork👍 , and she has a KZfaq channel. For wet-on-wet watercolor inspiration, check out Amarylis Henderson’s Skillshare classes. Oh and Yasmina Creates also shares some great tips for mix media (especially making dreamy watercolor effects) on her KZfaq channel and in her Skillshare classes! Thanks for your inspiration!!!💗💗💗 hope this helps!

I absolutely love the way you showed the moments you felt as though your painting didn’t feel great! I see artists’ artworks and feel as though I could never match up to them because they never have problems they share. ❤️

Really love this one. Makes me go back to my childhood.

I love watching your process and it always fascinating how you were able to JUST YOU WATERCOLOR ONLY?! I always end up using colored pencil and ink and white gel pen to get it how I want and its so cool to see you incorporate other mediums too! I love love using colored pencils with my watercolor art because its so much easier to clean things up and makes things sharper and smooth out the watercolor textures. It's so nice to be able to "save" a frustrating piece too. I spend less and less time in the watercolor phase now and focus on the other mediums I have more control over that I introduce into the piece. I think its all about spending that time in the parts of the process you get joy out of the most! For you, falling in love with the character you create! You always make such sweet, wholesome and whimsical art and as a long time follower on Instagram I love seeing you grow and grow! I personally love using watercolor with colored pencil and I think that's why I fell in love with watercolored pencils! I just love how portable they are and how I can just make art with them anywhere with little set up and mess. You should try watercolor pencils and water brush pens if anything you should just try them out for a fun experiment in your sketchbook I would love to see it (: PS: The "special effects* really make your pieces so magical and bring them to life! ♥

I am very late to the party but I had to pause the video to clarify a few things before they escaped me. I had nearly taken the title of your video literally...and found myself exclaiming out loud very early into your video "why would you ever give up watercolor?". I have to say I find your work is not only incredibly illustrative, it is emotive and full of depth. It brings a magical nostalgia to me immediately! What a gift you encompass 💗

what a beautiful outcome :D I have this way of getting myself to feel "obligated" to finish a piece if I don't like a certain aspect of it, or aren't looking forward to painting a certain part. I'll usually finish the character first, since I don't really enjoy doing backgrounds and then the "well I've gotten this far, now I gotta do the bgtoo"-kind of state that gets me through the entire process :')

the texture on your completed piece is gorgeous!!!!!!!!

Your watercolor art is inspiring, and relaxing to watch come together.

I think this is very beautiful. I love the layering of colored pencil over the watercolor.

can’t wait to get this as a print Chris! i love how it turned out 🤍

I enjoy your process. Especially with your illustrations. My favorite is when you overlay using gouache. Glad to see you back to painting characters. Hope to see more!

That's so beautiful!

Nooooo, don't give up on watercolour, I like your technique. I totally suck at it, but love it too.

I know initially, you didn't like the grit (and I'll admit, I didn't either) but I think in the end it added so much to the piece! With the colored pencils layered over it, it gives a really interesting texture that reminds me of old art, like this was found in a children's book from a century ago or on an old worn tin. I really like it, I think it adds to the warmth of the piece because it draws on nostalgia. A foregone time when you slept this happily and peacefully, dreaming of adventures in distant lands.

I am in love with thatt background, u did an amazing job

I love how this turned out. Always a treat to see a new video from you 💕

I have been anticipating the process of this piece ever since i saw the sneak peaks on ig, and ohmy what a dream!!! Its so much better that what ive expected 😍😍 love ur works as always, chris ✨✨

your works are gorgeous as always Chris ;)

I love the soft look of the final painting! I think that the usage of pencils is honestly really nice. I hope you keep using them! Smth i noticed while you were talking about why the painting wasnt turning out with the paint was the granulation, but i’m honestly a little confused by that. I’m sorry if i’m overstepping, but it seemed to me like the biggest problem was that the first layer was a complimentary color to the one you put over it, neutralizing it and making it less vibrant. I could be wrong, but that sienna really stood out to me though the whole process through to the final piece.

I love your art! Its beautiful

That's beautiful, i love it, don't ever stop watercolors 🌊💦🌊

Wow! It turned out so beautiful!

I'm in love in your art style, colours, illustration are all such like a dream world

it looks absolutely beautiful! oh my gosh

Love it so much! I personally love to watch you using both, watercolors and colored pencils together, you inspired me to try do the same🤩, thank you so much as always for the inspiration 🥰🥰🥰🥰

endless love for your paintings

It's really lovely and amazing ^^ I really love this style!

I love 💕 the finished textures of the background and the moon, the areas of light clouds, the stars and the lines. I think it turned out so beautifully.

This is one of my favorite pieces you've ever done and that's saying a lot. I will buy a print of this in a heartbeat.

I love how you worked through this and didn't give u. that is such an inspiring trait. I also really been into your work a lot more lately this new approach is amazing and so magical but yeah if wasn't clear already I love this!

Ive been using alcohol markers to lay out color and do a simplistic underpainting, then render everything out in colored pencil. It takes time, but i enjoy the result.

I have really similar struggles so I appreciate you talking about it. I need to stop thinking so literally too.

About the cerulean blue, there are smoother ceruleans from other brands, like Schmincke and DaVinci

It's stunning, the colors and composition are beautiful! I am right there with you, sometimes you just gotta push through and it's so worth it!

Awww its so pretty!! I love the details and colors!! Even with you added the little special effects in the piece. It turned out super cute!!

I love your art style it’s so satisfying to watch you painting it 😍

I too have some problems with watercolors lately ( I've been focusing more on gouache and digital art and somehow lost connection with WC) and I think the less I work it the more I like it so, maybe, your idea to use it as just a base for colors and then go in with other mediums might be worth a try. Also, tbh, I thought the piece was lost when I saw all that granulation at the beginning but you saved it brilliantly, awesome work!

I love your arts

Your linework is just as beautiful as your painting style ❤️ you're such a great inspiration, Chris

It turned out beautifully! I love your style both in the earlier works and now:😁

I really love the storytelling ability you have, in addition to your (killer) painting skills. You are an incredible artist! Also, a sidenote, I literally signed up for Skillshare because of you and Arleesha.

I am OBSESSED with your style. :) So beautiful

I am glad to see a new video! I have watched almost all of your videos for inspiration since I get art block from overworking, so to see a new video is a plus! Trying new materials and styles do help with such things. Hopefully you will be more inspired in the days to come! Can't wait to see the shop's updates and new videos! 🗒🖌✏🇵🇷