New work:

“The Rivers Form the Ocean That Our Cradles Gently Ride”
Acrylic and graphite on canvas
40” x 40”

GAH

Hey, guess what new checklist item I have when I enter the studio? “Check apron for spiders” ASK ME HOW I KNOW

I think the greatest trick for getting good at creative work i know is - finish making as many mediocre things as possible. Just finish stuff, again and again. Share it or don’t, but put a bow on it, put it aside, make the next thing, repeat.

I absolutely love using my ink pencils. Painting large work in my studio with acrylics is my “main” practice, but these tiny ink paintings make me happy. www.carynvainioart.com/artwork-earl...

I love working on large canvas, but working on tiny 3” x 3” watercolor paper is its own feeling. Making tiny windows inspired by the forests around me.

www.carynvainioart.com/collection-t...

I give players a chance to rate the difficulty after each puzzle so I can get data. I'm going for a 3.5. Right now they're trending around 4. Yesterday's was HARD! I have to validate the puzzle by solving it myself before it'll publish, & I'd forgotten the optimal path. 😆 hexaboo.com#miniboo

I design and validate each puzzle myself. I built a tool that will auto-publish the top puzzle in the queue, but ONLY if I've validated it by hand. I've got a bunch lined up to correspond with fun "national X appreciation day" type stuff -- look for a sparkle next to the title to hover for info!

The Miniboo game on Hexaboo came about from a friend who said they played the regular game and wished for a version where the board was full and you had to clear it. I had also wanted to make a game mode like that. Gave it a bunch of thought, and out came Miniboo. hexaboo.com#miniboo

Save 10% on Dosa Divas on Steam Battle an evil fast food empire in this spicy narrative turn-based RPG. Two sisters and their upgradable spirit-mech cook delicious meals, fight corpos, build up your reputation with local communities...

So far Dosa Divas has been a blast. I played for almost 5 hours so far and didn't want to stop. Definitely check out the game from @outerloopgames.bsky.social

store.steampowered.com/app/2950710/...

Possessed cover reveal next week, and the release date, and more! All kinds of cool stuff coming. Prepare to hear a LOT About this book in the next few weeks!

cwbriting.com/books/posses...

#BookSky #Release #Print #Ebook #Fantasy #Humor

A cooking competition show, but a dog is always underfoot

I forgot the words in my own puzzle so I had to play it for reals today, lol. I’m trying to get a feel for how hard the Miniboos are, so please rate them if you’re playing!

Mini-Boo — Lights, Camera...
April 16, 2026

Solved in 9/10 swaps
Resets: 1
hexaboo.com

Friends! The “Tiny Windows” collection is live! If you’re interested in my small works, here are a few I’m making available for a limited time (and here’s a preview of three of them). www.carynvainioart.com/collection-t...

It’s my thing, I guess!

Collection Tiny Windows from Caryn Vainio Art Collections from Caryn Vainio

Just a quick reminder that these tiny ink paintings will go on sale at 10am PT today, and once they’re gone they’re gone! Details here: www.artworkarchive.com/profile/cary...

Collection Tiny Windows from Caryn Vainio Art Collections from Caryn Vainio

TINY ARTWORK FOR SALE TOMORROW! www.artworkarchive.com/profile/cary...

I've made a bunch of tiny 3" x 3" ink pencil paintings over the last couple of months. I've selected 10 of them to float-mount as 6" x 6" frame-able paintings. They'll be made available for sale tomorrow at 10am PT!

Sketchbook studies this week that are informing the big paintings on the easels.

I KNOW RIGHT

Our family running joke is always telling the dog, who gets excited thinking he’s going with us somewhere, that he can’t come with us to X, “not after the incident.” The 11yo and 14yo now delight in it, and then coming up with what the incident was.

First time getting an A tier on my own game, lol.

Hexaboo 2026-04-12

4 🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨🟨
5 🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Score: 313 | 19 words
Best: TAXES (84 pts)
hexaboo.com

You know what helps? A URL: www.hexaboo.com

I've been working on lots of improvements to Hexaboo, and pushed it all live today! It should look and feel much better, with better UX in the daily Hexaboo puzzle AND the Daily Mini-boo game is live! Try it out! Find the words that clear the puzzle with only 10 swaps!

NASA just dropped this image of Artemis II astronaut Christina Koch looking back at us. The first woman to ever see our planet in its entirety. I’m not crying you’re crying 🥹🔭🧪 📸: NASA

I’ve been working on a series of tiny ink paintings. They’re 3” square and I love doing them. I’m thinking of taking the very best few, float-mounting them, and making them for sale as a smaller price point for some my work.

Past Me was a better artist. I found old sketchbook photos and my first question was, "who did this and where is she now?"

New art newsletter talking about how I felt finding some older sketchbook work, plus some recent prints! open.substack.com/pub/carynvai...

I literally thought of this piece the other day and his it has stuck with me. I remembering wondering why I was reading it as a person who doesn’t care about football. And then I couldn’t stop thinking about it.

That’s good feedback, thanks!

I’m adding a new “mini” game mode to Hexaboo: the daily Mini-boo. 10 swaps only, find the 3 or 4 words that fit the title theme, clear the board. I’m still testing it. Curious if I made this one easy, hard, or in the middle. Wanna try it and tell me? hexaboo-test.netlify.app/miniboo/