iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Reposted by figment

Colin Smith @colinsmith.bsky.social · 20/02/2026

The Forest, a glorious concept painting for 1959’s “Sleeping Beauty” by the great Eyvind Earle.

figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

I often do two paintings on one page and try to keep some connection between them in subject matter or colors. Here’s the full page for my winter meditations. I wish it would snow where I live!

Two watercolor paintings on one page. On the top is a red striped lighthouse on a snowy slope; birds fly above it and a dark sea. On the bottom, a creek winds through a snowy scene with trees on either side.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

I haven’t been happy with my original paintings lately, everything feels slumpy and difficult. So I followed a Paul Clark tutorial for this one to try to shake off the doldrums. I lost my whites around the cottage: white gouache to the rescue! #watercolor #landscapeart

A watercolor winter landscape of a river winding through snowy banks. Stands of trees with lingering leaves are on either side, and a cottage surrounded by pines sits in the distance.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

I did this a few weeks ago, after an early autumn road trip that took me into the mountains and over the snow line. #watercolor #traditionalpainting

A watercolor painting of autumn trees along a river. In the background looms a series of mountains, varied in their mistiness. The farthest mountain is snow-covered.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 16/11/2025

forever thinking about the light in the desert before, after, and during storms. #watercolor #traditionalart #landscapepainting

A watercolor painting of sandstone cliffs and mountains trying to capture the moment when light strikes mountains after a storm. The distant cliffs glow yellow while the foreground is a mix of blue, gray, and muted pink.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 08/11/2025

I often work small so don’t usually sketch or thumbnail. But I watched a video today on thumbnailing landscapes as a practice of its own and was inspired to make some in 1 or 2 layers. I like the idea of having a store of thumbnails to choose from when I do have time/energy for a bigger piece.

The watercolor landscapes on one page. They are thumbnails loosely capturing landscapes in one or two layers. At the top cows stand under a tree as a storm approaches. In the middle two bare trees are silhouetted against a yellow and lavender sky. The bottom is a late summer landscape of a dirt road and fence with green and red fields in the background.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 23/10/2025

Dulac was one of the first illustrators to make an impression on me as a child. Love the dreaminess of his work, it’s perfect for fairytales

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 18/10/2025

Here’s the full set! they’re on to their new life. Happily the recipient liked them (not a guarantee with this person !). #watercolor

Six handmade watercolor and ink cards. Each has a different flower drawn in ink and a geometric shape for composition. In some, everything around the shape is painted; in others only the area in the shape is in color.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

the last two cards I did for the small gift set. The hydrangea was the only one I used pencil on, and that just guidelines. This year I ditched pencils and erasing for ink sketching and I’m happy with how confident I’ve gotten with ink… even if it means my mistakes last forever! #watercolor

A watercolor and ink card of a purple and blue hydrangea. A vertical rectangle cuts through the whole card and within it there is no color, only line work.

An ink and watercolor card of three pink and yellow tulips. A circle frames the middle tulip. Everything within the circle is painted, outside of it is ink alone.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Here’s a tutorial painting following a video by Bianca Rayala. I really liked the color combination of pv29 perylene violet and pbr7 monte amiato sienna in the sky! #watercolor

A loose watercolor winter landscape of bare trees in front of a mountain and muted violet and yellow sky.

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The Public Domain Review @publicdomainrev.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Anton Seder’s The Animal in Decorative Art (1896) — an Art Nouveau reference book full of elaborate ornamentation: winged dragons, chiseled hieroglyphs, warring sea creatures, and more... publicdomainreview.org/collection/d…

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 08/09/2025

I’m so glad I took a picture of this and shared it because yesterday I spilled one of my water containers on this sketchbook 😢 I’m just grateful it wasn’t one of my bigger books where my more time-intensive paintings go.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 07/09/2025

I’m working on a small set of cards to gift to a family member who’s a big gardener. These went smoothly and I’m feeling confident I’ll finish the project in time!

Two handmade floral cards done with black ink and watercolor. On the left is a pink flower against a purple square. The drawing outside the square is unpainted. On the right is a red and yellow poppy. A bar through the middle is unpainted.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 06/09/2025

I have a small sketchbook that I use mostly for little sky studies. If I don’t do skies regularly I forget how! In this one I wanted to capture the feeling of noticing a pretty sky in a mundane setting. most of my favorite sunsets and rises have been witnessed in parking lots. #watercolor

A gentle sunrise over an empty parking lot. The sky above is blue with wispy clouds while the sun event is yellow, orange, and purple. Trees and power lines silhouette against the sky.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 01/09/2025

Getting back into painting after a sickness break with a couple common motifs. These are both predominantly two color pieces with the third for accents. Limited palettes are my comfort zone! #watercolor #lineandwash

A diptych of watercolor paintings, both done in blue, brown, and yellow. On the left, misty pine trees are reflected in water and backed by sunlight. On the right is a close up of birches with blue brown background, with details of the trees done in ink.

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Ward Jenkins @wardjenkins.bsky.social · 15/08/2025

From Good Housekeeping's Summertime Cook Book, 1958. Illus. by the mysterious Lou Peters, whom I found out years later (after inquiring about them on my blog in 2007) that "Lou" was actually Luciana Peters. She passed away in 2021 at the bright young age of 102. #wardsmorguefile #moreartlessdoom

Lovely 1950s illustration of a young woman in a tea dress, sipping a cool drink and holding a fan, relaxing in a striped hammock.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 02/08/2025

I just finished this audiobook! I listen to them while I paint and this book accompanied my last piece. It felt good In These Times to read a book where so much of the arc was about learning to trust in and embrace community.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

A golden field! Reference image from a class on skillshare that I decided not to do. #watercolor #traditionalart #watercolorpainting

A watercolor painting of a white farm house in a golden field. Trees frame the house. The sky is stormy.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 25/07/2025

I made this for a monthly challenge on pmp-art around the theme of gates. I was delighted working on this and I hope that comes through. #watercolor #watercolorpainting

A traditional art watercolor of a wooden gate in adobe wall. Despite the desert tones of the wall and gate, cool greenery looms behind it.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 11/07/2025

I forgot to even take a picture of this one until a discussion on discord of how hard rocks are to paint reminded me! I was unhappy with the sand when I finished so I put it in my no-share pile, but on second glance, I really do like my green cliff and birds! #watercolor

A watercolor painting of the black sand beach in Iceland. A cliff with bright green sections and very dark shadows stands above the beach, with many distant birds flying around it.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 06/07/2025

My friend @willhudsoncomics.bsky.social is in this, so I’m sure it will be great!

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 04/07/2025

I almost gave up on this after the first layer, which was uglier than usual. But today I decided to pick it up again for practice and I ended up feeling happier with it. This limited palette of only blues and browns was fun! #watercolor #traditionalart #painting

A watercolor painting of a landscape done in blue and brown. In the foreground is water and a shoreline. A tiny village nestles into the foot of some mountains, with one house standing apart.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 28/06/2025

Today I finished this class. I did my own versions of a couple pictures that I didn’t like so much. I feel like I learned a lot!

A pair of watercolor landscape paintings on the same page. The left painting has a darkening sky over a glowing mountain range. The right has an opposite color scheme, a bright sunset over mountains that are already in shadow.

A pair of watercolor landscape paintings of mountains on the same page. The left painting is monochromatic with shades of purple. The right painting has complex areas of dark valley with areas of light illuminated by yellow light in the sky.

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Japanese Ukiyo-e @japanese-ukiyo-e.bsky.social · 16/05/2025

Waves Pounding Against the Rocks, by Kawase Hasui, 1931 #Japanese #Art #JapanseArt #Ukiyo-e

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Wallace Polsom @wallacepolsom.bsky.social · 04/05/2025

Albert Weisgerber (1878-1915)

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

I like to do tutorials and workshops when I’m struggling with my creativity and time for art. Classes two mountains followed tutorials by Shanan Subhan on skillshare. I always learn a lot from her classes!

A diptych of misty watercolor mountains. The one on the right is pink with a sunset glow while the left mountain is blue and misty.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 21/04/2025

Between heartsickness and physical sickness, I haven’t been well enough to paint much this spring. But I finally was able to this weekend.

A watercolor landscape of a meadow with trees in pastel colors. It is misty, or trying to be. A flock of birds adds interest to the peachy sky.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

enchanting artwork! FaTT and associated projects always have amazing cover art but this by @formyths.bsky.social may be my favorite yet.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 29/03/2025

On my art discord, we did a square challenge around the theme of inspiration. I tried on some more complex inspirations before embracing exploration & experimentation as my inspiration and just diving in with things I had—typically, forgetting to check if I had glue first!

A simple, unglued square collage of an angry yellow goose hissing over her eggs against a backdrop of a muted primary triad enriched with the starry texture caused by salt.

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Ward Jenkins @wardjenkins.bsky.social · 11/03/2025

Disneyland Fantasyland posters, 1950s-60s. #wardsmorguefile #moreartlessdoom

Illustrated poster of Fantasyland Disneyland with Cinderella's castle in the center, done in a colorful, stylized way.

Illustrated poster for Fantasyland with a colorful stylized depiction of the Dumbo ride and "Mad Tea Party Dumbo Carousel" in fun lettering at the top of the poster.

Illustrated poster of Fantasyland with "Storybook Land - Gateway to Enchantment" at the top and we see a colorful, stylized depiction of Pinocchio's boat ride and a boat going into the open mouth of Monstro, the Whale.

Illustrated poster of Fantasyland with a colorful, stylized depiction of the Matterhorn bobsleds ride. The tall Matterhorn peak is in the background and "Race Thru Alpine Passes and Ice Caverns in Matterhorn Bobsleds" at the top.

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shafer brown @shaferbrown.com · 25/02/2025

a piece from my calligraphy professor Carl Kurtz. September 1, 1939 "We Must Love One Another or Die"

A ring of intricate filigreed blackletter script, the outer ring quotes a w.h. auden poem

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(*´▽｀)v @sundogsbarking.bsky.social · 22/02/2025

✨💌USEFUL LINKS FOR ARTISTS🎨🍊: A 200+ link spreadsheet of some of the best references and websites out there, for free on google sheets! This blew up on twitter ages ago, and I just went through and tested all the links and added more. send to ya buds <3 docs.google.com/spreadsheets...

docs.google.com

USEFUL LINKS FOR ARTISTS

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 18/02/2025

Yesterday I was inspired to color an ink sketch I made during january’s birbfest challenge. I love birds and especially owls! This is gouache, not watercolor, since this mixed media paper isn’t very sturdy.

A square painting of a barn owl sitting in the window of a barn.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 16/02/2025

I spent my afternoon relaxing with a skillshare tutorial (by Shanan Subhan, whose loose watercolor classes really click with me). I’ve been struggling to find relaxation in art lately amidst the chaos of life and tutorials can feel safe and comforting.

a sketchbook page featuring two winterscapes in watercolor. Both feature distant trees on a horizon. The top painting has a lake in the foreground which reflects the foliage. The bottom painting has a snowy field and bare tree.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 15/02/2025

Four small paintings using three colors. from my friend Sandra’s color triad challenge on my art discord. Pb29, pv19, and py150. These were hard for me—my creativity and time are suffering in these chaotic weeks. I initially planned 4 seasons but needed to be simpler so just did whatever.

A sketchbook page divided into four parts, with four watercolor paintings of landscapes. The top two are a farmhouse and barn with a foregrounded tree. The bottom two are simple mountain scenes, one in winter and one in summer.

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Brian LaRossa @brianlarossa.com · 09/02/2025

Whoa. Just got granted access to the beta version of @flashes.blue and it works exactly like Insta, but, it’s also… your Bluesky account. This displays the value proposition of @atproto.com better than anything else I’ve seen. This is the way.

A screenshot of a feed on Flashes. It looks just like Insta.

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Glen Grambo 🇨🇦 @glengrambo.bsky.social · 20/01/2025

With the temperature reaching -43c with windchill today, this male Downy Woodpecker engaged borb mode! #Birds #photography #wildlife 🪶

A male downy woodpecker with his red cap and black and white suit, perched on the side of a spruce tree trunk. The warm sun makes the background branches look orange, but the cold temperature has the downy woodpecker fluffed up like a ball to keep warm.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 03/02/2025

a friend in my art discord is running a limited palette challenge. week one is exploration of the triad, and abstract lines is one my favorite ways to do that! I don’t really enjoy making pie slice color wheels so I’m leaning into alternate ways to swatch and test. #watercolor

An abstract watercolor of colored lines and shapes using three colors: nickel azo yellow, quinacridone rose, and ultramarblue

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Animal Photo Reference Repository @animalphotorefs.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

GenAI has polluted image search results, especially for animal pics. It’s now basically impossible to find accurate art references. Enter this: a repository of open-access, AI-free images of wild & exotic taxa. Artists creating *without AI* have blanket permission for derivative/transformative use.

animal-photo-references.com

Exotic Animal Photo Reference Repository

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jess m. ☕🍂 @jametc.bsky.social · 27/01/2025

okay it's rad seeing deepseek casually cut the entire AI industry off at its knees, for sure, but um, are they also doing this at HUGE environmental expense and with mountains of stolen data? that's kindof the entire point

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 26/01/2025

Yesterday I finally started painting in the cheap joe’s Kilimanjaro sketchbook I’ve had for a few weeks. I made some New Year’s art goals but my only REAL one is to use better paper—even for practice! #watercolor

A painting of Several watercolor trees. The trees are gold and brown with blue shadows, suggesting early autumn.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 25/01/2025

Here are some more of the birds I’ve done for the birbfest challenge on instagram.

Two post-it note sized paintings of birds done in watercolor, gouache, and ink: a stonechat and a rainbow lorikeet

Two post-it note shaped paintings of birds done in gouache and ink: a potoo and a penguin.

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jess m. ☕🍂 @jametc.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

As shit clamps down I would like to see things like personal websites and rss and forums return, we need to stop relying on the same 3 damn sites to be our Internet These things were the norm for ages, maybe we can reforge it

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Tiffany Baxter @tiffbaxter.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

Btw artists if you want to help combat AI slop sneaking into your research I am begging you to STOP relying on Pinterest for reference gathering. Familiarise yourself with the free online collections of museums of which there are several and how to search them effectively

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 02/01/2025

I made these for birbfest2025 on instagram—a month long set of bird prompts. Check it out at birb.challenge! Several folks on my discord are participating which is always fun! My art discord is always open to new members!

A painting of a lady ross’s turaco, a blackish blue bird with a red crest. It’s outlined in bright red pastel.

A watercolor painting of a lady ross’s turaco, a blackish blue bird with a red crest.

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figment @phantomwise.bsky.social · 01/01/2025

I had surgery a couple weeks ago—this time I planned ahead and bought a small watercolor sketchbook to make quick and simple little paintings. They take around 15-20 minutes so still get to make art without pushing myself too hard! It’s also a nice way to practice #watercolor fundamentals.

A small watercolor painting, about 4x2 inches, of a bright pastel sunrise above snowy mountains. The painting makes use of negative space, with the mountains and foreground left mostly white.

A small (about 2x4) monochrome watercolor painting. A practice of values and wet on wet techniques, the painting shows a misty blue green lake with tree covered islands in the distance.

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Littleevil0ne @littleevil0ne.bsky.social · 27/12/2024

This is one of my absolute favorite tool for face lighting! You drag the head to the angle you want and then press play or drag the bottom slide til the light is where you want it. williamnguyen.artstation.com/projects/6a0...

williamnguyen.artstation.com

FEMALE HEAD, LIGHT REFERENCE TOOL

After the success of the first one, I decided to create another version of the lighting tool. So this is the Female simplified head version. Hope it will help you for your works ! feel free to share =...

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Colossal @thisiscolossal.com · 19/12/2024

In 1759, Josiah Wedgwood founded a ceramics company that achieved global recognition and continues production today. Thousands of his glazed samples paved the way for 18th-century ingenuity and are part of the V&A Wedgwood Collection. www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/12/josi...

a tray of various shapes of ceramic pieces glazed with different colors

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