This new season brings with it a host of new artistic possibilities. Embracing the Cozy Winter Studio Mood We never paint with perfection in mind in my studio. Winter painting is all about bright and cheerful seasonal whimsy, the soft snowy greys of skies and landscapes, and the pleasure of revisiting traditional motifs like oldRead more ⟶
Author: Diane
Join our first ever Daily Challenge with a PRIZE! #myquiethome
Paint Your Quiet Home This May, Diane Antone Studio is thrilled to announce our latest community event: the “Paint Your Quiet Home” Daily Challenge. If you’re like me, a quiet home is a wonderful blessing and it deserves to be celebrated – which is what we’re inviting you to do in this month’s challenge. ThisRead more ⟶
Letting the Water do the Work: Painting Blobby Blooms!
It’s a familiar moment. You sit down with your paints, thinking it will be a quiet, relaxing half hour, and within minutes you’re clenching your jaw, frowning, concentrating hard, and desperately fiddling with a wash, trying to get everything just right. The petals aren’t quite right, the edges feel awkward, and somehow the whole thingRead more ⟶
Painting with Freedom: Finding Joy in Watercolor Leaves
There’s a quiet pressure that often creeps unbidden into our creative lives. It’s the feeling that we must study before we’re “allowed” to enjoy what we’re doing. Watercolor painting, along with many other pleasurable activities, seems to carry too much of this weight. We think that once we’ve learned enough, then we can start toRead more ⟶
You Have the Power
Nowadays we are finding that, all too often, life just feels overwhelming. The constant bombardment from all the different media competing for our attention raises our blood pressure. We often find ourselves assaulted by noise—whether from crowds, music, traffic, or building works—and, if you’re like me, you find yourself increasingly seeking the calm of aRead more ⟶
Boost your Brain: Gentle Ways to Spark your Creativity
There are days when painting comes naturally, but more often you sit down in front of your paints and the ideas simply don’t arrive. There’s always something else to do—run the vacuum round quickly, put a load of laundry on—anything to avoid having to make a decision and get started. We’ve all been there. IRead more ⟶
Join the #BuildABird Watercolor Challenge!
How to Join In Are you ready for a fun and creative daily watercolor challenge? Introducing #BuildABird, a whimsical and playful way to design your own unique birds, one step at a time! Whether you’re a beginner or an experienced artist, this challenge will help you loosen up, experiment with different shapes, and build aRead more ⟶
I’ve cancelled Christmas this year!
Every year I say the same thing, and every year so far I’ve changed my mind at the last minute. This year will be different! Has your Christmas been cancelled this year? I was sad to hear from a good friend that this year her usual hosting of Thanksgiving had been cancelled for family reasons.Read more ⟶
Why REAL ART Matters in an Artificial World…
…and why I’ll never fake my watercolors! We used to worry about copying other people’s work and whether that made our own work less authentic, but now we have something much bigger to worry about — telling the difference between an artist who’s creating a real painting, and a channel which creates the false illusionRead more ⟶
#buildabird Challenge Stage 1 – Bodies & Legs
As our #buildabird challenge shifts from designing bodies and legs to imagining wings and tails, here is a look back at how I approached Stage 1 of our April Daily Watercolor Challenge, and some of my favorite body and leg creations and combinations. I started by trying to cover all the bases of the promptsRead more ⟶
Crafting the Perfect Fall Palette: A Guide to Mixing Colors for the Season
Discover how to select and mix a perfect fall watercolor palette with just six essential colors. Explore tips for creating rich autumn tones using top watercolor brands like Daniel Smith, Winsor & Newton, Michael Harding, and more. Perfect for artists looking to capture the beauty of the season.
Embracing the Joy (and Chaos) of Watercolor Painting: A Playful Guide for Beginners Over 60
Watercolor painting is like dancing with a slightly tipsy partner—unpredictable, spontaneous, and full of surprises. If you’re over a certain age and diving into watercolor for the first time, congratulations! You’re about to experience an art form that’s as much about letting go as it is about creating something beautiful. Forget perfection; this is aboutRead more ⟶
Exploring Etegami Art: A Watercolor Journey for the Soul
If you’re someone who loves watercolor painting, enjoys creative expression, and values a personal touch in art, then etegami might be a delightful new adventure for you. Etegami, which means “picture letter” in Japanese, is an accessible and heartfelt art form that combines simple watercolor illustrations with thoughtful words. This art style is perfect forRead more ⟶
Starting Your Journey with Watercolor Painting
Watercolor painting is a mesmerizing art form best known for its characteristic transparency and fluidity. Unlike most other mediums, watercolor offers a unique interplay of light and color, resulting in paintings that can be either delicate or vibrant. If you’re considering adding watercolor painting as a hobby, these essential tips and insights will help youRead more ⟶
Ripening Creativity: The Art of Switching Styles
Gardening can teach many life lessons, perhaps especially the arts of timing and nurturing – and today I realised that trying to grow tomatoes in less-than-ideal weather has offered me a new perspective on creativity and the artistic journey. Imagine a garden where the tomatoes, heavy with promise, cling to the vine. The weather, however,Read more ⟶
Love at First Sight?
How I Fell in Love with Acrylic Markers Sometimes all we need to get our creativity fired up is for something new to happen. What happened for me a couple of weeks ago was receiving a package from Lightwish, which contained a set of acrylic markers. Coincidentally I’d just watched a Danny Gregory video whereRead more ⟶
Everything You Need for your Christmas Paintings in one place!
Seven Hours of Non-Stop Christmas Watercolor Tutorials – in just Two Videos! Our latest LOOONG video is now up for your enjoyment! Last week we collated eleven of our most popular and fun Christmas videos from previous years into one four hour long video for your convenience and enjoyment – and today we’re bringing youRead more ⟶
Diane Antone x Craftamo Brush Set – Second Issue
Second Issue of Diane Antone x Craftamo Brush Set available now to pre-buy! Our first limited edition issue of the Craftamo brushes sold out completely within hours! We were delighted to be able to persuade Craftamo to produce a second run, which will be shipped mid-December, and which you can buy NOW on the CraftamoRead more ⟶