Artist insights, creative techniques, suggested art supplies, and guided exercises for June 2026
by Elizabeth Ragona, with art by Susan Oliver. © 2026 Alabama Art Supply.

Gesture and layered color create presence and movement on the living surface.

As the season shifts into full growth, visual space begins to feel crowded—in gardens, landscapes, and even in our daily routines. June is a month of overlap and accumulation, where color, light, and form no longer arrive one at a time but all at once. This fullness offers artists a valuable opportunity: to explore what happens when we stop editing too early and allow the surface to carry more than a single idea.

This month’s Studio Notes art blog focus, inspired by the art of Susan Oliver, is about abundance—how gesture, repetition, and layered color can work together to create movement and presence on the page or canvas.

Rather than approaching composition through careful spacing or minimal marks, June invites artists to work inside density and discover how structure can emerge through rhythm instead of restraint.

Gesture as Structure

In many drawing and painting approaches, gesture is treated as a preliminary step—something to be refined or corrected later. But gesture can also function as a foundational structure in its own right.

When marks are repeated, layered, and allowed to overlap, they begin to organize themselves. Directional strokes create pathways for the eye. Changes in pressure and speed introduce variation. Over time, gesture becomes the framework that holds the composition together.

Working this way encourages artists to stay physically engaged with the surface. Larger movements, continuous strokes, and sustained motion help prevent overworking small areas too soon.

Density and Visual Rhythm

Density is often misunderstood as clutter. In practice, density is simply information—and like music, information becomes meaningful through repetition and variation.

Clusters of marks can act as visual anchors. Areas of heavy activity can be balanced by quieter passages without needing empty space to “fix” the composition. Rhythm emerges when forms echo one another across the surface, even if they are not identical.

Artists working with density benefit from stepping back frequently, allowing the eye to register patterns rather than individual marks.

Color That Pushes and Pulls

Color plays an active role in building movement. Saturated hues advance, muted tones recede, and contrast creates tension. When color is layered rather than blended smooth, earlier decisions remain visible, giving the work depth and history.

Limiting the palette while increasing repetition can strengthen cohesion. Rather than searching for new colors, artists can explore how the same colors behave differently depending on placement, thickness, and interaction with surrounding marks.

Color relationships—not subject matter—often become the primary driver of energy in these works.

The Surface as a Living Space

A layered surface holds memory. Earlier marks influence later ones, even when partially covered. Scraping back, reasserting color, or allowing previous layers to remain visible can create a sense of continuity rather than correction.

Completion in this approach is not about polish. A piece feels finished when its energy feels balanced—when movement, density, and color coexist without competing for control.

This kind of resolution often comes from staying present with the work longer than expected, allowing the surface to reveal what it needs rather than forcing closure.

Why This Matters

Learning to work in abundance helps artists loosen perfectionism, trust process, and remain responsive to what is happening on the surface. It builds confidence in decision-making and encourages a deeper physical connection to materials.

June reminds us that not all clarity comes from simplification. Sometimes clarity emerges through staying with complexity long enough for order to reveal itself.

Suggested Products (June, Weeks 23–26)

Week 23: Painting in Clusters

• Mixed media paper pad
• Acrylic paint or oil paint (basic color set)
• Medium or large brushes (rounds or flats)
• Palette or mixing surface

Week 24: Gesture Before Shape

• Canvas or heavy paper
• Acrylic paint
• Large brush
• Palette knife

Week 25: Building Color

• Acrylic paint (limited palette)
• Palette knife
  
• Textured surface--canvas panel or mixed media board
• Mixing palette

Week 26: The Living Surface

• Previously started artwork (canvas or paper)
• Acrylic paint
• Scraper or Palette knife
• Palette knife
• Rags or paper towels

TRY IT NOW: Working in Abundance

June 2026 Studio Notes Exercise Guide

Inspired by the art of Susan Oliver

June is a month of fullness—overlapping growth, crowded color, and constant motion. These exercises invite you to work inside that abundance rather than trying to simplify it too quickly.

This month’s focus is on gesture, repetition, and layered color. Instead of refining by subtraction, you’ll explore how rhythm, density, and physical engagement with the surface can create structure and meaning.

These exercises are not about polish or completion. They are about staying present long enough for energy to organize itself—allowing movement and accumulation to guide your work.

There is no required outcome and no single correct result. Each week offers a starting point for exploration, not a finished destination.

WEEK 23: Painting in Clusters

What

Work with one simple organic shape and repeat it across the surface in clusters. Allow forms to overlap, press together, and build visual rhythm rather than evenly spaced patterns.

Why

Repetition creates structure. When shapes gather and interact, rhythm emerges naturally without the need for strict composition rules.

How

• Choose a basic shape (petal, leaf, oval, or curved mark)
• Repeat it across the surface in grouped areas
• Let some forms overlap or dissolve into the background
• Allow crowded areas and quieter spaces to coexist

Tip: Don’t aim for balance too soon—let density develop before you step back to assess.

WEEK 24: Gesture Before Shape

What

Begin with movement instead of drawing. Let marks emerge through physical motion rather than outlining forms first.

Why

Gesture carries energy and intention. When movement leads, the work often feels more alive and less controlled.

How

• Start without sketching or planning
• Use broad, continuous strokes
• Work standing if possible, using your arm rather than your wrist
• Allow forms to appear naturally through repeated motion

Tip: Early marks don’t need correction—they are part of the structure.

WEEK 25: Building Color

What

Layer color thickly in some areas and thinly in others, allowing contrast and saturation to create movement and energy.

Why

Color relationships can drive a composition more powerfully than subject matter. Layering allows color to push, pull, and interact across the surface.

How

• Choose a limited palette
• Build color through repetition rather than blending smooth
• Let some colors advance and others recede
• Allow visible layers to remain part of the final surface

Tip: Friction between colors adds energy—don’t resolve everything.

WEEK 26: The Living Surface

What

Return to an earlier piece and continue building. Add, scrape back, and reassert marks until the surface feels active and resolved through rhythm.

Why

A surface holds memory. Revisiting earlier work allows you to respond to what already exists instead of starting over.

How

• Identify areas where energy feels stalled or incomplete
• Add new marks or color where needed
• Scrape back selectively to reveal earlier layers
• Stop when the surface feels balanced through movement, not polish

Tip: A piece is finished when it feels alive—not when it feels tidy.

⭐ Share Your Process

Trying the exercises? Finished or not, your process matters.

We’d love to see what you’re working on. Share your piece on social media and tag @AlabamaArtSupply or use #StudioNotesAAS so we can follow along.

A Final Thought

June doesn’t offer restraint. It brings fullness—overlapping growth, crowded color, and motion that refuses to stay still.

Let your work respond in the same way. Allow marks to gather. Let color press forward. Trust repetition to create rhythm before clarity arrives.

And remember: when the surface begins to feel alive, you’re already closer than you think.

Featured Artist Connection

This Studio Notes art blog is inspired by the work and approach of a featured artist at Alabama Art Supply. Visit the artist’s feature to explore their work, background, and creative perspective in more depth.

→ Meet the Featured Artist: Susan Oliver

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