self-guided
classes
self-guided
beginner
watercolor
& Gouache painting
from photos
This six section self directed class is a total of broken into approachable sections to take you from total beginner to comfortable hobby painter.
The lessons are a culmination of 14 years of teaching distilled into the most impactful lessons and exercises that have guided students home to their artistic voices. You can take your time to complete this work in a way that works for your brain and lifestyle.
Cost for the class is $89 with instant access to the class portal.
“Mel's Watercolor and Gouache Class was an incredibly worthwhile use of my Sunday mornings over the last six weeks.
I now feel more confident setting up and starting a painting. I've learned many new techniques for building my skills—even when my energy and motivation are too low to create original work. They walked us through crafting and editing high-quality reference photos, what to look for when creating value studies and thumbnails, and painting techniques to achieve styles unique to watercolor and gouache.
I especially loved their focus on color and value—areas I hadn't explored much before that are significantly leveling up my work. Their compassionate approach to art, artists, and the learning process freed me from guilt about being behind on class projects.
It allowed me to tune in to the wealth of knowledge they shared. I would recommend this class to anyone wanting to improve their watercolor and gouache skills. It was incredibly informative and fun.”
-Hilary W. - Watercolor & Gouache Online Class
(sample work shown by this student!)
the hikers way
a pod-class
for creative reclamation
Find your intuitive artistic rhythm again through guided episodes for experiences both on-trail and at home.
The Hikers Way is broken into four cycles to help you gently ease into the concepts on a timeline that works for you. Each lesson is inspired by my personal experience of coming back to making art after burning out in the art world.
You don’t need to be a seasoned hiker, just a human with the curiosity to learn from the wonder of time spent outdoors.
With busy, working-class humans in mind, each episode has:
simple cheat notes about each of the pod-lessons
an easy list of all mentioned journaling prompts
clear recaps of assignments to focus on
Cost for the pod-class is $120 with instant access to the class portal.
“A really great way to both cultivate our curiosity for nature and to reconnect with creativity.
I really liked listening to the podcast while hiking and being forced to sometimes take some break from my weeks in order to go explore around. It was a nice time to collect ideas from my past self, and also discard or archive some old projects that are no longer resonating with me.”
- hikers way participant, fall 2025
i get it, using ai is easy
but it kills your uniquely human voice!
I built this class to stop complaining about people using ai generated images support their writing and services and instead be part of the solution!
Here’s what the class covers:
Play with physical materials, learn to rip, glue, and remix collages while getting in touch with playful supplies from your childhood like crayons and markers.
Build confidence to engage your unique human art brain while working against the need to be good and celebrate making “weird art”
Learn easy methods for scanning images using an iPhone or iPad
Dive into the layout and functions of the software Procreate for iPad. Why are we using Procreate? They have an anti-generative AI stance and their software is incredibly accessible!
Explore intermediate Procreate workflows with layers and masking to make the most of your physical collages and touch them up to look rad wherever you plan to share them.
need to setup a clear foundation for your year?
My 70 minute class will walk you through building a foundation by reflecting on 2025, aligning your future plans with your core values, set intentions for the year ahead, figure out who you’re making for and we end by writing a manifesto! The download is just $22
Wanna do it on your own? my hand-built Notion Dashboard Template is now available on my shop for $17. In it I walk you through similar prompts and also share the database I use for tracking creative ideas from seed to harvest.
