It’s time for the studio news for May 2026. It was a busy, busy month so let’s get right to it.
Studio News for May 2026
CP Magic! Magazine News
The June issue is a special issue that I hope also serves as a resource you refer to often. It’s all about light, but not just creating light in your artwork. There’s also a section on capturing light in photography and adjusting those photos to make the most of the light before you put pencil to paper.
Many artists contributed to this issue, and there are two tutorials. Becky Eileen provides an in-depth tutorial on drawing vibrant color in end-of-day light. Linda Metzger contributed a step-by-step tutorial focusing on a moonlight night with water.
If you want to know more about photographing and drawing light at its best, this issue is for you. It is available in digital and print formats.
CP Magic Subscriptions
I decided in May to stop doing subscriptions to the magazine through SendOwl. That was a big decision and difficult to make, but it’s for the best personally and possibly also professionally.
CP Magic! subscriptions are now being managed by MailerLite, and, I hope, the process of delivering subscriptions to subscribers will be easier and more streamlined.
I’m also hoping the download process will be easier and simpler for subscribers.
If you had a subscription through SendOwl and are wondering why you haven’t received the June issue of the magazine, it’s because I’m no longer using SendOwl. It’s very easy to start a new subscription here.
Thank you to all the subscribers who have already made the switch!
I want to sincerely thank everyone who subscribed either by the month or by the year in the last few years. Your interest in the magazine and your loyalty hasn’t gone unnoticed. This decision has nothing to do with you, and everything to do with me. So thank you for your readership.
A reminder to everyone that there is a free newsletter that publishes whenever there’s store news. That’s usually once a month, when a new issue of CP Magic! goes live. If would rather be on that list than subscribe, sign up here.
Artwork
ACEOs
I started the month with an unspoken goal of averaging one ACEO a day. It sounded easy with the template sheets I printed in April. Fill four or five sheets and done.
Except it didn’t turn out that way. Several days during the month I did two ACEOs, but there were more days when I didn’t do any. That was partly due to the larger-than-usual issue of CP Magic!, partly due to the subscription switch, partly due to a cold contracted early in the month, and partly due just because I lacked the energy some days.
But it’s not all bad news. As you can see in this sheet of ACEOs, I experimented with new subjects more in May than ever before. I’m especially pleased with the wave and rock in the upper right corner. The two in the center aren’t bad, either.
In total, I drew 16 ACEOs in May. Given the busyness of my schedule, that’s very satisfying.
By the way, if you’re wondering why all of them are purple, it’s because the challenge for May for the ACEO group was the color purple. I chose my favorite purple (Derwent Lightfast Nightshade) and made all the ACEOs for the month except one with that color.
That’s the Studio News for May 2026
That’s the news for May. As I said at the beginning, it was a very busy month. But some that busyness was one-time. Hopefully, it will be a long time before I change subscription platforms again. So maybe June will be more “normal” (whatever that is).
I hope you had a good month and are looking forward to doing great things in June.
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