For most of my artistic life, oil painting has been my primary medium. I still love oils and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. There is something special about working on a larger canvas, building up layers of paint, and watching a painting come together over time.
That said, art has a way of evolving, and over the last couple of years I have found myself exploring new materials and new ways of creating.
About two years ago, my parents gifted me a set of watercolors. At the time, I had very little experience with watercolor painting, but I had been wanting to give it a try. They sat in my studio unused for at least six months. What started as simple experimentation quickly became something I genuinely enjoyed. Watercolor challenged me in ways that oils never had. It taught me to loosen up, embrace imperfections, and work with the paint instead of trying to control every detail.
Since then, watercolor has become a regular part of my creative practice. Many of my recent bookmarks, postcards, and small works have been created using watercolor. I have especially enjoyed painting florals, botanicals, insects, birds, and other nature-inspired subjects.
More recently, I have started experimenting with gouache. I am still very much in the learning phase, but I have enjoyed discovering the similarities and differences between gouache, watercolor, and oils. In some ways, gouache feels familiar because it can be reactivated with water like watercolor. In other ways, its opacity reminds me of working with oils. I am still figuring out how I want to use it, but I have enjoyed the process so far and look forward to creating more gouache paintings in the future.
I have also been spending time experimenting with mixed media and collage art. This is another area where I am learning as I go, but I find the possibilities exciting. I hope to share some new mixed media pieces on my website in the coming months.
While my work has expanded into watercolor, gouache, and mixed media, my relationship with oil painting is far from over. My interests and style are simply evolving. Many of my past oil paintings focus on landscapes, seascapes, buildings, and other structures. Lately, I have been spending more time working on oil portraits.
One of the biggest recent changes is the launch of my Etsy shop. Although I have had an Etsy account for many years, I only recently decided to open a shop and begin offering some of my smaller handmade items for sale.
The shop currently includes original hand-painted bookmarks and postcard collections, with additional items being added regularly. In the future, I plan to add notecards, artist trading cards (ATCs), miniature paintings, and other small-format original artwork. As the year progresses, I also plan to offer seasonal and holiday items, including printed Christmas cards, ornaments, and other giftable artwork.
If you would like to browse the shop, you can visit it here:
https://alliejacksonart.etsy.com
Thank you to everyone who has followed along as my art continues to grow and change. I appreciate your support and encouragement. And I am excited to see where this creative journey leads next.