art blog

marlowe • they/them

[marlowe-art]

pinned info post :]

👋 Hi & welcome to my art blog! I figured it's about time I add a little about me/q&a section.

q: who are you?

Marlowe, mid-twenties, they/them. Primarily I like painting landscapes and still-lifes (particularly of food), but the occasional fanart does sneak in here now and then -> as of 2026 going to post fanart at @marlowe-fanart instead!

q: what do you use for art?

For digital, I use Procreate and a mix of default & downloaded brushes; this ask contains some info about the brushes. For traditional art, I go through phases of working with different mediums - I like acrylics, oils, gouache, watercolours, oil pastels, and colour pencils. Feel free to ask for more details on materials, but I'm by no means an expert! I just like to try stuff out :^)

q: can I repost your art?

I'd prefer it if you didn't

q: can I use your art as my profile pic/etc?

Sure, as long as you give me credit.

q: do you sell prints/do commissions/accept requests?

No for all three, sorry! That being said, if you want to print out my art for personal use only (ie don't make a profit from it) and with credit, go ahead.

q: can I get a tattoo of your work?

You wouldn't be the first! It's most likely fine, but please message me with a link to the specific piece just in case.

q: I have a question that wasn't answered here :(

Ask box is always open! I'm kinda slow with replies but I'll do my best. Also if you're messaging off-anon, let me know if you want me to answer you privately, else I'll assume public is fine.

[marlowe-art]

little stream

[marlowe-art]

fountain dance

[marlowe-art]

125th & broadway

[marlowe-art]

a pigeon (not pictured) pooped on me while i was working on this 👍

[marlowe-art]

Hey there,

I started learning oil painting a couple of months ago. I was wondering, when you paint en plein air, you do the whole painting in a single layer alla prima or do you take it back to a studio afterwards and add an extra layer or two to touch up the painting?

hi! I usually paint alla prima because I'm impatient haha, the most I want to do at home is like a few minutes of touchups if there are spots that are really bothering me¹. but this is by no means universal! I have a friend who does plein air paintings in multiple sittings, revisiting the same spot several times.

¹ although this is coming from summertime bias. in the fall I definitely ended up spending more time on the painting at home - it was just too cold to finish outside.

[marlowe-art]

Hello,

Just wanted to say that I adore your art and it's so inspiring 🥺. I love how expressive your art pieces are and all the colors just look amazing.

Thank you for sharing it! 💚

thank you very much! 😁

[marlowe-art]

You have a BEAUTIFUL artsyle , have a fabulous day !!

thank you, hope you have a great day as well! :)

[marlowe-art]

moments from summer camp weekend

[marlowe-art]

fountaneous behaviour

[marlowe-art]

buildings between buildings

[marlowe-art]

sitting in the grass 🌱

[marlowe-art]

painting up by the hudson river

[marlowe-art]

lets go down to the tennis court 🎾

[marlowe-art]

Hiii so dunno if youve been asked this before but what is your set up for plein air painting? very jealous of your pochade box and wondered if you had any recs

love your work !

hey thanks! so I actually have three main plein air setups that I alternate between, depending on what I plan to do. the first two both require a tripod as well:

a diy pochade box. this was my first plein air easel! I primarily use it for gouache; it's lightweight and quick to set up (and cheap to make). cons: need to have a way of securing your painting surface to the top bit (I usually use tape for paper or watercolour board, but clips are also an option), limited space on the bottom bit (if you want to have paints + palette + water cup + brushes on there, it fills up quick). not really suited for oils imo, but not impossible to make it work either.

u. go pochade box (medium size, plus the side brushes holder). a recent acquisition and I'm really liking it so far! I've only used it for oil painting, and I think that's the most common use case. cons: pretty expensive; doesn't have wet panel storage so that's something you have to figure out separately. (if you're painting with oils, the paint stays wet for a few days, so you need a way of carrying your wet painting without getting oil paint all over your backpack)

petite paint box. this thing is super nifty for making tiny paintings on the go! largest I've gone with it is a 5x7 and I think that's the max size I'd recommend. (at that size, the painting is not gonna fit in the box, so again, if you're using oils, you'll need a wet panel carrier of some kind). cons: tbh the only thing that comes to mind is that you have to hold it in your hand or prop it up on a table - the hinges aren't stiff. (the size may be a con to some but like, that's the main draw of the thing lol)

so far my experience has been that there's no 100% perfect pochade box, it's all about trying stuff out and seeing what works for you! I'd suggest trying cheaper alternatives while figuring out your preferences. personally I'm inclined towards minimizing the amount of Stuff I'm lugging around with me on the subway, but if you have a car you may not care as much about portability.

[marlowe-art]

a corner in soho

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flatiron building emerging from its scaffolding