October 25, 2026
The underwater portrait in blues: a beginner’s honest review
An honest beginner's review of a pale blue underwater portrait paint-by-numbers kit: eleven blues, pre-shaded face sections, and the ripples on the collar.
October 19, 2026
What a custom oil portrait commission actually looks like
How a custom oil portrait is made: choosing the right reference photo, picking between oil and acrylic, sizing a canvas, and the studio supplies worth buying.
October 11, 2026
The village kit: painting a hundred shades of green
A Ghibli-style countryside village paint-by-numbers kit: telling the greens apart, the sky that took longest, tiny windows and poles, and who should attempt it.
October 9, 2026
A gold-leaf botanical for the hallway
How we build a sage and gold botanical canvas with a palette knife, how gold leaf behaves over dry acrylic, and how to size one for a sideboard wall.
October 5, 2026
Thirty hours underwater: finishing the koi portrait
An honest account of a koi and underwater portrait paint-by-numbers kit: thirty hours, the face sections, layering the blues, and what varnish did to the colour.
October 1, 2026
The pink peony, from printed numbers to thick petals
Why a pink peony is the best first flower paint-by-numbers kit: big shapes, forgiving edges, the three-pinks rule, and how thick paint makes the numbers vanish.
September 17, 2026
White on white: the hardest colour palette we paint
How we paint white impasto flowers on a white ground: the six-whites problem, building petals with a knife, and framing a pale canvas without competing with it.