Phipps Collage Sketchbook: Final Watercolor Painting

This grand old palm tree elegantly stretches her fronds high & greets you when you first arrive to the central greenhouse of Phipps Conservatory in Pittsburgh.  Seeing her in January made me feel welcome, as if I'd stepped off a jet in Florida.

I painted the old palm tree in my collage sketchbook on a blank page (no background acrylic paint on this one).

I started with a light pencil sketch, then painted the first washes of color.  I practiced making the frond-y texture of the palm leaves with a fan brush on scrap paper before adding them to my painting.

The dark shadows under the palm tree make her lofty tips seem brighter, and set off the pink orchid blooms surrounding her. 

I kept layering in lights and darks until it felt right.  

Colors I used:

Hooker's green for the palm foliage.

Hooker's green plus yellow ochre for the yellowy fronds.

Burnt sienna and yellow ochre for the brick steps and retaining wall.

Permanent rose for the pink orchids.

Hooker's green and permanent blue violet for the dark shadows in and on the palm tree.

Sap green plus Winsor lemon for the touches of yellow-green.


If you're feeling winter's chill and can't escape to a greenhouse, I hope you'll make your own drawing or painting from my reference photo!

Happy Creating! 

Creating in my Collage Sketch Book

You may have seen my earlier posts on creating a painted paper collage sketchbook

here and here.

In this post, I'm sharing a few photos of the process and including the reference photos I took at Phipps Conservatory.

If you're inspired, I hope you'll make drawings and paintings from my reference pics!

I've always loved this little statue, and especially delighted in the sash of dried flowers she's now decorated with.  I started with a pencil drawing on a blank page.

I added in watercolor greens to the background, with yellow-green first.  When the first wash of green dried, I mixed a dark green with phthalo blue and burnt sienna.  I added a touch of permanent blue violet to make extra dark shadows.

It was fun to make shadowy leaves and then to use the shadows to "carve" lighter green leaves (bottom right area).

With the background done, I mixed a pale violet for the shadows on the statue.  

I wanted to show that she was made of stone, so I kept the colors cool and desaturated by mixing permanent blue violet with a touch of yellow ochre.  The yellow muted the purple's brightness.

I splashed in Azo yellow, permanent rose and permanent blue violet to the sash for the dried flowers.  I added a few touches of the warm Azo yellow to the background to unify the page.

I drew these orchids in with Posca paint markers.

Here is some gorgeous foliage with striking patterns.  I used a Stabilo All pencil for the dark markings on the leaves.

Here's a yellow orchid I drew with Neocolor II watercolor crayons and the Stabilo All pencil

The bold magenta color of these begonias caught my eye.  It was fun to mix the Posca marker colors to try to recreate that shade of pink. I love how the green from the painted paper page shows through in spots & contrasts with the pink.

I love the gnarly trunk and twisted limbs of this bonsai tree.  But there was very little contrast between the tree and the background.

I used the filters function on my phone's photo editor and turned the color photo black and white, then turned up the contrast.

I used both photos as references for this drawing.

Adding in the trunk first with Neocolor II watercolor crayons, I created foliage with Posca paint markers.

I found that having these painted papers made the process of drawing so much less "scary."  I realized that fear of the blank page is a real force holding me back from creating. 

Splashing paint on paper in a messy, no-pressure way is fun in itself, AND it helps me to jump into drawing faster.  Win-win!

I hope you give this technique a try!

Happy Creating!

My Finished Collage Sketchbook!

Recently, a friend and I had a winter sketching session at Phipps Conservatory, an indoor botanical gardens in Pittsburgh, PA.  I made special collage sketchbooks for us to use, and have just finished filling mine with art from that day.  Here's the video showing a flip through of my completed book!

If you'd like to see how I made the journals, check out my earlier YouTube video, 

Collage Sketch Book

https://youtu.be/Fwd8SNEjU-I?si=tFIzVyOsGbP0pSy5

 I hope this inspires you to make your own collage sketchbook and to fill it with art!

Happy Creating!

Collage Calendar Page

After creating a stack of green painted papers for my collage sketchbooks, I had loads of leftovers.  They made wonderful elements in my weekly planner.

 The thing I love about collage art is that I never have to hone the artwork to a place of "perfection" as there is no perfect.  I pick out a paper that interests me; I get an idea of somewhere to place it; I try it in that spot, and either I like it or I don't. 

If I feel the glow of liking it, I glue the paper down; otherwise, I try something else. 

It's a wonderful game I play with my intuition.  You might think of it as a meditation on listening to your intuition, and that having an artwork at the end is a bonus.

In the dreary gray of winter, playing with colorful pieces of paper can really brighten your spirit.  I hope you'll give collage a try!

Happy Creating!

Collage Sketchbook

I was planning a visit to Phipps Conservatory with my friend, and wanted to make a special sketchbook filled with painted pages for each of us with splashes of green paint. 

I've been enjoying videos by artist Rebecca Chapman like this one about making collage papers to use in her vacation sketchbook.  She reasons that having painted papers helps to circumvent fear of the blank page and help her make more art.

Above is a video describing how I made the collage papers, with a flip through of each book. 

I hope you try this technique!

Winter Nature Journal: A Deer Friend

Last autumn, we noticed a particularly friendly young deer who was unafraid of us.  As I hiked our farm, I'd often encounter this guy.  When the other deer ran off, he lingered. I always kept my distance, but was charmed by his curiosity.

Hunger brought him up close to the house to eat where other critters didn't dare, giving me good photo opportunities.

This winter, he's been visiting my birdfeeding station and dining on sunflower seeds, so I decided to include him in my nature journal.

Here's the reference photo I used for my drawing.

I started with a graphite pencil sketch, then inked in the lines and added color with my Derwent Drawing Pencils.  I touched in some spots --his ears & around his eyes -- with a Posca paint marker that I wanted to be bold white.

 

I hope you'll use these reference photos to make drawings and paintings.

Happy Creating!

New Year, New Classes!

Here's the schedule of my latest classes. You don't need any art experience to join me and find joy, self-expression and community in my art classes. I offer in-person classes, and talk you through every step of the creative process.

I hope you'll join me for one of these upcoming continuing education classes at the Community College of Beaver County!

You can register here: https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/category/arts

Beginner's Pencil Drawing

Mondays, Feb. 16, 23, March 2 & 9, 2026 from 6-9 PM

$109

Make a fresh start in 2026 with this versatile & portable art form. Instructor Betsy Bangley will lead you through a series of activities designed to help you learn how to capture the world around you with a pencil on paper. We’ll start by playing with our materials to find out how to make a variety of marks, lines and shading types, move on to sketching everyday objects, and build up to exploring perspective and textures. Discover a new way to express yourself, and embark on an art adventure!

Register here:https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/category/arts

Or by phone: 724-480-3575

Pencil Drawing: Color and Shading

March 16, 23,30 & April 6, 2026, 6-9 PM

$109

This is an extension of our 4-week Beginner’s Pencil Drawing class, and is open to all. Would you like to advance your drawing skills? Perhaps you’re a beginner who would like guided practice. Jump into drawing fruit with colored pencils, creating portraits, and exploring more exciting drawing projects with Betsy Bangley. Whatever your skill level, you will gain drawing ability through working in this supportive group and practicing weekly.

Register here:https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/category/arts

Or by phone: 724-480-3575

Watercolor Leaves and Florals (Botanicals)

April 4,11,18 & 25, 2025 10 AM to 1 PM

$109

Join Betsy Bangley for a relaxing course in watercolor florals. Paint away your stress, and learn brush strokes, color mixing and layout ideas to create beautiful flowers and leaves. Use your new skills to decorate journal pages, stationary, and framed art, or simply create for the joy of painting. 

All materials are provided.

I hope to see you in one of these classes!

You can register here:https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/category/arts

Or by phone: 724-480-3575