Author: Barbi Cunningham

Planning your painting before laying a brush to paper is essential when it comes to watercolor. You have to know where you will use which technique, where you would like the white of the paper to remain, how you will build your painting from light to dark, etc. The reason why this is so important […]

Since moving back to Malawi four years ago, I have had to adapt and plan to accommodate the challenges of being a watercolor artist here. We live in a beautiful space on the beach of Lake Malawi, but it is a country with so many challenges. Still one of the poorest countries in the world […]

Every now and then you meet someone or have an experience that makes you take stock of your own situation, a reminder of that irksome gratitude for what you have;  when the reality check confronts you,  restoring your faith in human kind. This story is about courage, resilience and a determination to overcome and give […]

With so many different brands and colors on the market today, how often have you bought something which has proved to be disappointing, not what you expected and has left a deep hole in your pocket? How many tubes of paint do you have sitting in your box that you seldom use? How often do […]

Being confined to hospital is not a happy predicament for most, but in a poverty stricken third world country, it can be a desperate situation. The Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital in Blantyre, is one of the oldest hospitals in Malawi, opened in 1966, and although quite grand in the day, over the years it has […]

Brushes are some of the most essential artists’ tools, so it’s imperative they’re properly looked after – allowing them to perform to their highest potential. Over time, taking care of your brushes can save you time and money. Good quality brushes can last a lifetime if treated well. Adhere to the following three standards of […]

Blessings come in many forms and in this case it’s a great big smile and a guy with an almost unpronounceable surname, Blessing Chakandinakira. Blessing was born in Mutare, Zimbabwe in 1989. His father worked for a leather shoe company, which relocated to Bulawayo when Blessing was very young and as with so many rural […]

THE MARVELS OF WATERCOLOR STICKS. Being a traditional watercolorist and preferring to work predominantly with tubes of paint, I was very undecided about these watercolor sticks that are newest form of watercolor paint on the market. Daniel Smith is my favourite brand and as a few of my colors ran out I decided to replace […]

Since moving to Malawi 8 months ago, back to my roots, so to speak, to work on the family crocodile farm at Lake Malawi, I’ve come to realise that blessings come in many forms and change may well be a wondrous thing. When we arrived ,[November, aka ‘Suicide Month’]it was unbearably hot and humid and […]