Sweet Summer Time…

Summers in the Pacific Northwest where I live, seem sooo short!

I can’t believe we are already in the middle of July…

The lake water is FINALLY getting warm with SUN at last!

I have decided to take a short blogging break and enjoy –

Sweet Summer Time!

And paint! I look forward to sharing more discoveries in my watercolor nature journal with you:

Happy Summer!

Cheers! 🙂

Learning Color Pencil

I am taking an online class from Kelly Hoernig called, “Art and Nature in Color Pencil,” at JeanneOliver.com

I purchased Kelly’s book a few years ago.  I liked her idea of combining this art medium with collage:

Yet, learning color pencil seemed like a difficult subject to me.  It reminded me of watercolor in that you start light and add layers to get deeper values.

Taking an online class is helping me get more comfortable with color pencil:

(YES, I realize it is CRABapple not CRAPapple…) Lol! 😉

It helps me to get feedback from my teacher, Kelly and learn from my classmates.

Writing down the colors I use in my sketchbook creates a guide for future subjects I study further.

I am learning color pencil slowly and hope to add collage soon!

What subject would YOU like to learn more about?  I encourage you to take a class!

Cheers! 🙂

 

A Summer Sampler

When I was at the lake this last weekend, my friend Marsha showed me a beautiful needlepoint sampler that she was in the process of completing.

I so enjoyed seeing all the different stitches and threads in Marsha’s artwork!  It reminded me of needlework embroidery that I used to do.  🙂

After I completed this drawing – inspired by the patterns in a book that I showed you previously, here:  A Rosy Review

I decided to add watercolor to give it some spark:

And a Summer Sampler was done!  Much quicker than stitching but it would be fun to try with thread.

Cheers! 🙂

Common Wildflowers

I like to pick a few wildflowers when I’m at the lake so that I can study and paint them in watercolor.

I found Common Tansy and Common Yarrow wildflowers yesterday at the lake.  They may be common in name but not common for me to paint!

I tried to paint them loosely and then added a few details with a BROWN micron pen to change things up a little.

I struggled with painting the Birch bark so I realize it looks a bit strange.  😉

Here is a photo of what I was trying to paint:

I like the burst of red from the cherry, how about you?  I thought it was a good way to end #World Watercolor Month as today is the last day to celebrate  – thanks Charlie at doodlewash.com  for making it such a fun month!

Cheers!  🙂

A Pine Cone Study

A friend at the lake brought me this wonderful dish of pine cones recently:

She thought I might enjoy painting them… And I did!

It amazes me how such a simple subject can bring me so much JOY to paint!

I noticed how one of the greener pine cones reminded me of a pineapple.

May you find beauty in what you treasure today!

Cheers! 🙂

World Watercolor Month Starts July 1st

I had so much fun participating in World Watercolor Month last July that I decided to purchase a few new art supplies in anticipation for this July.

I splurged on a Stillman and Birn mixed media art journal from Amazon and decided to try a couple different brands of watercolor paint.  I also purchased a Quill watercolor brush.  Here are my supplies:

I couldn’t wait to try out my new journal so I had to splash some paint inside before I left for work!

Charlie O’Shields at https://doodlewash.com has been busy updating his blog and I must admit it looks soooo cool!  I hope you check out, “World Watercolor Month,” at the top of his page and subscribe to his blog.  Charlie always has an interesting story to share with his amazing watercolor paintings! 🙂

Perhaps you remember some of my watercolor posts from last July:

I really enjoyed painting the natural beauty around me when I was at the lake.  And I hope to continue this year plus add a few faces to the mix!

Back to this morning’s journal; I added these letters to my painting:

And splashed on more watercolor…

I will add some doodles to my letters and show you my results later…

I hope you will join me in celebrating World Watercolor Month.

Cheers! 🙂

A Square Idea

I came up with this idea to draw nature’s patterns on small squares of paper.  I thought it might give me inspiration when I’m creating my art doodles.

The first ones I did on a 2 inch square piece of cardstock.  On the front is the pattern, shape or form of my subject in ink pen with color:

And on the back side is the date, identity of my subject and where I got my inspiration.

I discovered the 2 inch size paper to be too small so I changed to a 2.5 inch square.  Here are some squares I did recently:

Most of my inspiration for these subjects came from the internet.  These art squares are really fun to do and give me ideas for other art subjects to explore such as the eyes of animals.

I encourage you to give this square idea a try!

Cheers!  🙂

Monday’s Mixer

After a busy weekend, I often struggle with an idea for Monday’s post.   Yesterday, I was reading an article in Cloth, Paper Scissors Magazine – Nov/Dec issue on challenging yourself to create every day by Robyn McClendon.

She shares in her article that she found creating a collage a day helped her to create consistency in her art.  I resonate with her idea that doing something creatively EVERY DAY does generate MORE IDEAS!

Some days this is really difficult!  Yet, not impossible!  So I have decided that Mondays were the perfect day to create a simple collage in an art journal.  Creating a simple collage each week feels more doable than each day for me.

I decided to use a purchased journal since they are inexpensive and I happened to have one ready to go!

I was also recently inspired by Debi’s blog on Saturday.  She shows how simple it is to create art by her surroundings.  Please check out her blog – if you haven’t already!  🙂

Here is my quick collage for today:

I was inspired by the Fir trees in my yard.  Have you ever noticed how Fir branches reach up towards the sky?

It inspired my haiku:

It says:  “Fir branches reach up, Worshiping arms towards the sky, Praising God divine.”

I hope you will join me in creating a quick collage each week!  I look forward to hearing what influences YOU in your collages!

Cheers!  🙂

Nature’s Treasures

I found it so relaxing last week to paint seeds, pods and berries that I decided to try painting some of nature’s treasures I found at the lake.  I painted these in my art journal:

I enjoyed this very much so I decided to try another one yesterday at home:

Would you purchase a card or something with this type of artwork?  I’d love to get your ideas!

Happy Painting!  🙂

Seeds, Pods And Berries

I was thinking about seeds, pods and berries as summer flowers begin to fade or dry out.  I drew these in my art journal the other day – some are real and others are from my imagination:

I added a little watercolor or gouache and liked how the shading gave them dimension.

A fun activity that I will probably do again!

Happy Painting!  🙂