Your Artsy Palette Cleanser. Issue 1
Art & Culture Finds to make you happy this week of August 6, 2026
If we haven’t met yet, hey hi!
My name is Tanya and I’m a non-traditional watercolorist who loves to play with paint and make videos about it. I also really love to share art and culture related content, promote and lift up other artists/creative and give you moments of joy and hope. And the best part? Showing you this lets you tap in to those good feelings which shift your body/brain from complaining to contented.
This is the first edition so it’s going to be a little content heavy. There’s so many goodies out there to lift you up and inspire you that you may never have heard of before. Honestly I can’t wait to show you what I discovered this week!
If you find this fun, helpful or even slightly amusing – please share with someone else that can use a little bit of good vibes this week. Remember you never know what someone’s going through on the inside, so why not share a little love?
Oh, and if you happen upon this in a sideways kind of way, don’t forget to subscribe on Substack so you get your weekly happy directly to your inbox.
Okay let’s get going!
Colours I’m in Love with this Week
Purely inspired by beautiful dahlias which are my favourite thing at this time of year. The colours are so gorgeous that I’m going to create a liquid watercolour abstract floral painting with them. Might even do it as a live on Substack – you should join me!
Artist of the Week
Tijana Lukovic. A Belgian base designer who creates some of the most beautiful, dreamy and whimsical illustrations. Every day I get to see these wonderful images that she shares in her sketchbook and they take me away from feeling well whatever I’m feeling at the moment. Dare to dream and enjoy the whimsy of her beautiful art.
Floral inspiration
What I affectionately call “the Dahlia House”. I go visit them every year on one of my walks just to see what flowers are doing what. I’m always amazed at how beautiful the blooms are together and how much they shift from week to week. feeling well whatever I’m feeling at the moment. Dare to dream and enjoy the whimsy of her beautiful art.
Nature Nuture
First rain in almost a month yesterday. It was too brief, but the feeling and essence of Petrichor is always something delightful! The pic I took on my daily hour walk. Pretty, no?
pet·ri·chor
/ˈpetrīˌkôr/
noun
a pleasant smell that frequently accompanies the first rain after a long period of warm, dry weather.
“other than the petrichor emanating from the rapidly drying grass, there was not a trace of evidence that it had rained at all”
Good Eats
If you didn’t know, I’m half artist and half foodie. On Sundays I love to cook up a healthy, happy version of ploughman style brunch at home. Ok, maybe more than Sundays 😉
This week I tried something I’ve never had before: “beef bacon”. Which is really just thinly sliced brisket, but it cooks up just like bacon -which I choose not to eat because I like the pigs as peoples . Anyhoo, My entire plate is locally sourced (save the five citrus marmalade which is a french import found at local shop) . Including organic free range eggs, beautiful gluten-free, multi seed bread from a local bakery on Vancouver Island, topped with the marmalade, local goat feta cheese and fresh Rosemary from my community garden, browned up oyster mushrooms, and Shanghai Bok Choy greens 🥬 Hope this inspires you to try something new and treat yourself to some beautiful food. Don’t forget to shop local and support the people around you.
New Video on my YoutTube Channel
Adding to my Sketchbook Portrait Tutorials series. This is a fun and fast portrait with step by step instructions on how to create one yourself. I created them as a follow-up to my 5-minute Faces Drawing Challenge where I’m painting in the sketches now. These are light-hearted, fun videos I created for enjoyment and to take the pressure off. Nobody needs to be stressed out about making a masterpiece every time. So these are not perfect and darn do they ever go through an ugly phase, but that’s all part of learning. When I was a beginner, I couldn’t find this type of content – so I made it for you. And isn’t it fun to have someone show you the tips and tricks missing from short 1min videos? Great for any level to play or practice.
That’s it for the first edition!
Thanks for being here and hey – you know I love to hear from you 🙂
So drop me a line if you have any feedback, or suggestions on people you would love to see featured.
Cheers
Tanya
Wondering how you ended up on an artist’s website reading about supporting your mental and emotional health?
Well hey – I’m Tanya! I’m an intuitive artist helping you feel relaxed and at peace with my paintings. I create them with intention to calm your nervous system. I share art and resources here to help you help yourself. So you can relax and live a less stressed life.
Catch up with me by signing up for my bi-monthly Art Notes.