About Alissa Skoczelak

I create joyful nature inspired watercolor art to express beauty and light in the commonplace. My watercolor paintings feature clean colors, strong contrasts and colorful shadows to express energy and joy. I want viewers to feel refreshed and able to look at life with enthusiasm once they see my art.

I’m a nature lover, watercolor artist, and Christian. My husband/best friend and I are raising our 4 wonderful kids on the First Fruits Homestead in central Maryland that we built from an empty field.

As a homeschooler in a creative family, I was encouraged to explore my interests. Now these range from reading, gardening, hiking, learning about medicinal/culinary herbs, and bread making to photo editing, quilting, and of course painting. I just wish I had more time in my day!

I want to build a ministry through art to emphasizes beauty, joy, fulfilling work, and entrepreneurialism, while balancing priorities biblically.

I hope to do this by sharing my work, making prints/cards/etc. that are readily available for every budget, using proceeds to re-invest in ministries I am passionate about, and eventually creating an encouraging book for women that blends my artwork with thoughts on embracing the art of homemaking.

Read more about my story here

How I Paint:

I combine a free-flowing wet on wet technique with details to create my unique relaxed yet intimate style of painting. I balance light and shadows to create a focal point while thinking of my picture as a whole, but just CAN’T paint a picture as a whole by laying down layers color by color, or putting shadows on the whole painting at once.

Instead I zoom in on the part of the design that I love the most, soak it with water, then add pure colors to blend and swirl together. As the area dries, I add more detail, “scruffle” the damp paint to make textures, and finally add my darkest shadows once it dries. I ALWAYS end up adding turquoise to my shadows. I continue moving to different areas until the entire painting is perfect.

Since I only paint while my young children are sleeping, a painting never gets done in one sitting. Rather, I bring it out of my studio with me and display it in the kitchen so I can ponder it and get a feel for what is missing while I am taking care of my family. I save “painting time” and enjoy talking through my process, color theory, etc. with my children, who all love to make art too!