Springtime Artist Features
We love sharing the work and stories of inspiring artists. Read about Brittany, Carola, Julia, and Linda in this blog post!
By The Art Toolkit Team
Brittany Greene
Brittany Greene is an athlete and artist based in metropolitan Washington, DC. Watercolor is her medium of choice, and she uses it to capture the inspiration she gets from her surroundings and her childhood. Her paintings depict vibrant places and dynamic portraits that invite the viewer into her world.
Brittany always begins with a light sketch with a 4H pencil before going in with layers and layers of watercolor (usually, Daniel Smith paints). “My grandmother, who I’m named after, used to paint with them, so in a way, painting with them makes me closer to her and also like I’m continuing her legacy,” Brittany says.
“I’m so grateful for art. It’s helped me express myself, connect with incredible people, and, most importantly, it has helped me embrace myself and my perspective. There’s something really special about realizing no one sees the world like you do––that’s a gift.”
Thank you for sharing your beautiful work with us, Brittany! To see more of Brittany’s art, give her a follow on Instagram or check out her website. Photos courtesy of Brittany.
Carola Sallis
Carola Sallis is a self-taught artist based in Vancouver, Canada. In 2018, she started sketching flowers and continues to do so today. Her floral works have turned into her relaxation routine. By incorporating a unique style of abstract watercolor painting and freehand floral drawing, Carola focuses less on the piece’s outcome and more on putting her hand to paper and going with the flow.
“Art has brought me self-confidence as an artist and a community of like-minded people to engage with. With practice, I have found my own style and have learned that you don’t have to do art the same way as someone else in order to be part of an art community,” Carola reflects.
Carola fills her Art Toolkit with Daniel Smith and Windsor & Newton watercolor paints, various fountain pen inks, fine liners, and glass dip pens. She also enjoys using fountain pen-friendly notebooks such as the paper found in Hobonichi notebooks (Tomoe River Paper), since they can withstand some watercolor use.
Her current Pocket Palette includes paints from Daniel Smith (Hansa Yellow Light, Pyrrol Scarlet, New Gamboge, Phthalo Blue, Quinacridone Rose, and French Ultramarine), Windsor & Newton (Sap Green and Mauve), and Grumbacher Academy (Payne’s Gray and Chinese White).
Thank you so much Carola for sharing your work and wisdom with us! You can keep up with Carola on her website and on Instagram. Photos courtesy of Carola.
Julia Kuo
Julia Kuo is an incredible picture book illustrator and author. For a long time, Julia would carry a paint tin, black pen, and sketchbook on vacations and outdoor adventures. However, using analog materials became a luxury as her spare time shrank. She has been working digitally for a while now, using her Cintiq tablet and Photoshop, which allow for efficient revisions and make meeting deadlines more doable.
“As my work has gotten busier, it’s become harder to find time to draw for fun—I suppose that’s one of the drawbacks of making your hobby your profession. However, I’ve leaned into all the ways I can still enjoy art in my downtime without drawing—like reading a graphic novel, working on a beautifully illustrated puzzle, or admiring the beauty of the mountains all around me here in Seattle!”
Thank you for sharing your work and how you engage with art, Julia! To see more of her work, follow her on Instagram and check out her website. Photos courtesy of Julia.
Linda Marcille
Linda Marcille worked as a full-time gallery-represented artist, creating landscape paintings with French dyes on silk, until a disabling illness forced her to close her studio and made her homebound. Since then, one thing that has kept her going is her daily creative practice. Linda created an “Art Nest” by surrounding her recliner with art tools to remind her to be creative during painful times when she can’t get to her home studio.
Having a daily creative practice has been restorative and healing for her; she finds she’s much less aware of pain and fatigue while making art. Linda wanted to share this discovery with others impacted by chronic illness, pain, grief, and isolation, so she created a YouTube channel called “Beginner’s Mind - Art Mind.” There, she shares with her viewers the healing power of having a daily creative practice.
