As the vibrant hues of autumn surround us, it’s a perfect time for watercolor artists to dive deeper into the art of color mixing. Fall colors offer a natural, rich palette full of warmth, depth, and subtlety, making it the ideal inspiration for artists looking to expand their color mixing skills. By mastering these seasonal hues, you can create paintings that genuinely capture the essence of autumn.

Are you dreaming of combining your love for art with an unforgettable getaway? After the success of our recent art retreat in France, I’m thrilled to announce that our next adventure will be in Portugal! 🎉 In October 2025, we’re headed to the beautiful Algarve coast for an immersive Portugal art retreat—and you’re invited.

November is just around the corner, and I couldn’t be more excited to celebrate a very special milestone, the one year anniversary of my book, Watercolor Made Simple! To commemorate the occasion, I’m launching something extra special for all of you who have supported me along the way: a Creative Book Club, featuring live painting sessions that will bring the pages of Watercolor Made Simple to life, giveaways, and more!

Color isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s a powerful tool to set the mood, draw attention, and connect with your audience emotionally. By understanding the season’s trending color combinations, you’ll have a roadmap to creating visually captivating works that sell. The Winter 2024 Color Trend Report is packed with insight on how to use these trendy shades in ways that feel fresh and inspiring.

Here are my favorite life i design podcast episodes you should listen to if you’re looking to binge listen to something while you are painting and working on your art.

When I released my

last year, I wanted it to be available to as many people as possible. So I’ve worked with my publishers to release a Spanish version and it is now available! I was also surprised the other day with the Italian translation at my front door!

If you’ve ever admired a beautifully crafted portrait in a gallery and thought, “I wish I could do that,” you’re not alone. Portrait painting can seem like a daunting challenge, especially if you’re just starting out. But what if I told you that mastering the art of portrait painting is something you can achieve, even without any prior experience?

In this post, I’m going to share how you can finally feel confident painting portraits, regardless of your experience or artistic background.

When I first started making money from my art, I really struggled to find time to create art for fun. I thought everything I created needed to be sold or used for a class or tutorial, and it took a toll on me. I see this a lot with artists who make money from their work, and here are some ways I can combat that.

I took some time this morning to write a “Note from Nicki” which I used to send out to my email list quite frequently. As of recently, I’ve been enjoying bringing it back here and there and today I wanted to share it with you on the blog! When I started writing, I let the words flow, and it was quite a long email. So, I’ve actually shared the complete note below with you. Consider this a sneak peek of what my subscribers get sent to their inbox!

I am the queen of procrastination when I have too much on my plate or days like today when the sun is shining and I just want to be out in my greenhouse. If you don’t follow me on Instagram and haven’t seen the greenhouse my husband and I built last month, check it out here.

Color mixing has been a topic of discussion lately so here are some of my color mixing tips and some tutorials to help you on your color mixing journey.

The Watercolor Art Retreat of a Lifetime: join me in France, nestled in a private, 19th-century French château. I’m so excited to lead the upcoming Creative Watercolor Art Retreat hosted by UpTrek, where we’ll have the entire chateau to ourselves for 8 days with a private chef and staff to help us with whatever we need throughout the week!

If you’ve been following me for a while, you know I love Winsor & Newton's professional watercolor paints. They have been a favorite for a long time, and I use them in many of my projects and classes, so I was so excited when they approached me to put together this palette of colors!

As an avid reader constantly seeking inspiration or learning something new, I’ve read many books over the years. In this blog post, I wanted to highlight the 5 best books for watercolor painting artists and a few other resources to help inspire your next art project.

Watercolor pencils are great when you’re on the go, which makes them easy to take anywhere for practice. Here are some of my favorites and ones I’ve seen good reviews on.

Planning your art process is a critical part of growing as an artist. Before using this planner, I would create an initial sketch and just start. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no correct way to plan or create when it comes to your artistic process, but I realized I needed a more organized way to capture all of my ideas. Enter: The Artist Project Planner!

After releasing my newest book, Watercolor Made Simple, I asked for honest reviews in exchange for an invite to my (then) live painting session to paint the swallow project from the book!

It’s the most wonderful and chaotic time of the year! I know how stressful shopping during the holiday season can be, and trust me, I get it. If you’re shopping for an artist in your life or want to send this gift guide to someone who needs ideas shopping for you, this gift guide is the perfect place to start.

Have you ever wanted to learn watercolor painting but aren’t the greatest at sketching or drawing? I get this comment a lot! People tell me they don’t know how to sketch anything; therefore, they can’t paint anything that feels “finished” or “polished,” so I started creating my Trace and Paint books.

I recently asked my students inside our student-only Facebook group to share some of their artwork from a class they had taken with me, and the results are AMAZING. I always enjoy scrolling through our feed and seeing the beautiful artwork created, and the amount of TALENT everyone has. The passion for creating art really does shine through their work.