Today I have a blue hydrangea to share that I painted with a limited palette.
Hope your day is wonderful, friends! 💙
9 x 12 inch – Blue Hydrangea watercolor
Daniel Smith watercolors used: Prussian Blue Undersea Green
A limited palette seems to free up my mind while I am painting. I love that it also pushes me to use colors in a way that I might not have tried before.
This painting was done using cut up credit cards. I haven’t given up on my brushes but lately this is my jam! 😉
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love.
Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
I have another round of sketching to share with you today. Can’t wait to show you what I’ve been working on.
Hope you have a wonderful day friends! 😊💙
I’m sure it’s no surprise to find there are flowers in my sketchbook. 😉
Pretty posies this time. I used purple and blue micron pens to create a playful pattern.
I like to pull out my sketchbook in the evening. Sometimes I start with plan and other times I just start with a doodle and go from there. This time a few pretty posies happened and I just continued on.
A lively botanical sketch. I just love how this one turned out.
My process is to start with one flower and then I just keep filling in with more flowers, leaves, and buds. I try to balance out the piece as I go. I stay away from too many details because I like this simple floral style.
In my sketchbook I don’t worry about making mistakes. It’s a place to try out different shapes and combinations. I can just let go with my pen and my imagination. Over time with lots of practice I’ve built up muscle memory and sketching confidence.
Another quick evening floral. I like adding a few patterns here and there for more fun.
I decided to try sketching pines in a different style. I need to work on this style more but it was fun to watch the branches come to life when adding some shading and darker values.
I hope you enjoy seeing my work and following along. Sometimes I have a hard time finding my voice and putting together a post. I’m not a writer, I’m just an artist sharing what I love. I hope that you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love.
Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
I have a few more sketches to share as we close out #Inktober2020.
Hope you have a wonderful day friends! 💚
Inspired by all of the falling leaves, I worked on some simple leaf shapes filled with fun #doodle patterns.
A pretty vase with some happy flowers. 🌸
I played a bit more with patterns on this piece. This time using purple and blue micron pens. I think these colors really add to the fun here.
I always love how this type of sketch ends up surprising me. I wasn’t sure about a few of the patterns but kept going forward and ended up really liking the results.
Oh these girls just make me smile. I love to play in my sketchbook with these sweet characters.
I have a small pad of 6 x 6 inch black mixed media paper. Using my silver uniball signo pen, I sketched out a quick little floral. I just love the contrast and how the design seems to jump off the page.
Although my sketches are quite simple, I’m always learning and exploring new ideas. I really think that daily sketching even just 10 to 15 minutes a day leads to more growth and creativity.
I hope you enjoyed this little walk through my sketchbook.
I’ve been working on a chickadee painting the last few weeks. I thought it would be fun to show you how it came together.
Happy Sunday, friends! 💚
watercolor bird sketch
I sketched out the birds and branch first.
Then I started by painting the chickadee family.
For the darkest color I mixed up Daniel Smith Paynes Gray + Ultramarine Blue + Burnt Sienna Light (going heavy on the Paynes Gray). It took a few washes of paint to build up the dark areas on the head and neck. It’s really important to get that detail right.
Next up was the background. I thought about it for a while and decided to go with some loose flowers and leaves. It was a nice base but needed much more color.
Trying to be fearless, I jumped back in with more paint to boost the background color. I just love how that wakes thing up.
I will finish with a close up view of these cute little guys. I just love how they turned out.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Keep playing and having fun. 😊
Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
It’s starting to feel like Fall and I am loving it. This is my favorite time of year.
I’ve been busy getting ready for a very special bridal shower next weekend but found time to do a little painting. 🌿
Botanical Blues 9 x 12 inch
I used a large 1″ flat brush for this painting. The paper is mixed media and pretty smooth. I like the simplicity and color combination.
This is a similar style painting from last year on Arches cold press watercolor paper. I was able to achieve some nice texture with this one. Paper choice does make a difference.
Some pretty Fall mums to add some cheer to this post and my deck.
Hello beautiful buds!
A little close up with my iPhone. The colors and shapes are so inspiring. So many clusters of tiny flowers getting ready to sing and dance.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love.
I have been making more cards with my watercolor cutouts. It’s a joyful process for me and I hope my creations bring you a smile.
Happy Sunday, friends! 💚
I always start with a few of my painted flowers and leaves. They work quite well for card making.
I add a little ink detail and outline each piece to create a nice shape. It’s amazing the difference a little ink can make.
Tip: When I cut out the watercolor pieces I leave a tiny paper border around the ink outlined shape.
Blank cards with envelopes are easy to find online or in the craft store.
I like the simplicity of a just few pieces on each card.
It’s fun to play around with the arrangement using different pieces until I find something I like. Then using a glue stick, I secure the pieces down and place a heavy book on top to add a little pressure.
Tip: Baby wipes are by my side for my hands…. I don’t do sticky very well. 😊
What I love about making and sharing cards using my art is that they are part of me.
A gift from the heart shared with family and friends is a special thing. 💗
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love. Always remember that art is for everyone.
Until next time, have a creative week and shine on!
I just love a flowering tree and today I have one to share with you. 🌼🌸
Happy Sunday, friends! 💚
It started with the simple idea of painting a tree… and so out came the watercolors.
A playful tree full of swirls became my under painting. I decided on a rainbow of colors for this one.
When I finished I set the painting aside for a while. I like to think about the sketching a little before diving in. That happens quite often. 😉
I started playing with different flower doodles and added with some leaves. I really like the contrast of the loud flowers on top with the quiet playful flowers falling to the ground.
Although this piece is really all about the flowers, I love the color and texture of the tree trunk.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love.
Until next time, share a smile and stay excellent!
I have another tiny squares project to share with you today. I wanted something simple and fun this week. These little squares were just what I needed.
Happy Sunday, friends! 💙
I started with a couple rows of watercolor squares in light blue, gray, and brown.
No measuring, just playing and trying to paint a few rows of little squares.
To bump up the brown, I added a coffee wash on top of the light brown watercolor.
Just a simple sketch in each little square to finish things off.
I just love this type of project…joyful little squares. Maybe that should have been the title of my post.
I hope you are inspired to create art and do more of what you love.
