Fun Stuff

More than 30 years ago I was introduced to the Hagia Sophia through my first art appreciation class. (Thank you Paul Grootkerk). Only a dream then, I knew I’d visit eventually. This week that dream was realized. Hired to teach a watercolor masterclass for the Istanbul Watercolor Society, Marla and I made the trek to…

The book is finally here and we are thrilled with how well it came out! A huge thanks to all who helped make it a reality. 🙂 All of the Kickstarter copies and pre-orders have been shipped out, and we have extras available! Order your signed copy of this special limited edition book today! Pauljackson.com

It is so nice to be home for the summer! This is a rare occurrence for us, as we seem to be in perpetual motion. This summer we are happy to have a museum exhibition and workshop at home in Columbia, Missouri. The exhibition, “the Adventurous Spirit”, features my recent travel paintings, work from New…

As I sit in my studio and watch the snow fall, I am happy to be home for the holidays, but a bit sad to say goodbye to 2012. For such a big year, a quiet ending is all I have planned. Maybe a little painting time and a bottle of Prosecco tonight. We talked…

Venice is one of the few magical places on earth that lure me time and again without disappointment. It is a unique jewel that captures the heart and imagination of every visitor and never lets go. Bringing people to Venice for their first experience is a thrill for me. There is an audible gasp as…

Malcesine is the small city at the top end of Lake Garda. It served as the perfect plein air studio for our watercolor sketching tour. We stayed at the Hotel Benacus, just a short, beautiful walk from town and sketched lakeside each day. The sunrises were mostly obscured by the tall mountains behind us, but…

Our Northern Italy watercolor sketchbook workshop has begun! We landed in Milan on September 8, and bussed down to Cinque Terre. Much of the damage from the mudslide disaster last year has been repaired, but our bus wasn’t able to make the last 4 kilometers to our hotel, so we had to ferry down the…

The magical Whitsundays are the jewel of Queensland and the Great Barrier Reef. The relaxed atmosphere makes a visit here worth all the effort. We kicked off our shoes an played on the beach, painted in the mangroves and walked through the rainforests. From Airlie Beach we ferried out to Hamilton Island for a few…

Up to the wet tropics in the northeast corner of Australia, we trekked into the Daintree Rainforest in search of exotic landscapes and creatures of imagination. This steamy place grows amazing plants and trees, some dating back to the age of dinosaurs. The Daintree is the oldest rainforest on planet earth. It is home to…

Once named Ayers Rock, now named Uluru, it’s a magnetic place that defies description. Why do people travel to the middle of Australia to a barren desert to see a big rock? Maybe the color of the orange-red sand complimenting the deep blue sky is visually stimulating, but there is something else that pulled us…