Artist's Date to a Cyanotype Show

David and I attended the opening of the show "The Light Divides and the Story Multiplies" in Pittsburgh last Saturday night, and I came away with a wonderful sense of inspiration and fresh possibilities.  

Each of the 6 artists used cyanotypes -- the same system that makes sun prints -- to create their art.  (You can read my post about making basic sun prints here.)

Dan Hendrickson, photographer, artist and curator of the show, printed a digital photo using cyanotype and added layers of watercolor to create Archaeology of Venice, 2024, above.  I love the dreamy effect of adding the watercolor and gouache to the print.

The beauty of attending the opening of a show is that you often get to meet the artists, learn how they made their art, and what inspired them.  We got to speak with Christine Lorenz about her use of dried wild strawberry leaves to tone her cyanotypes.  I was fascinated to learn new uses for the plants I love.

One artist I didn't meet, but whose work inspired me was Michele Randall.  Randall took ocean waves as her subject, using photos and the ocean waves themselves to create her cyanotypes.  

Randall created Flotsam and jetsam, 2024 above, and the work below 

I love the way she added gold and white inks to her prints.  In her artist's statement, Randall notes, "I am interested in drawing attention to the sublime beauty and fragility of the ocean against the backdrop of environmental threats.  I want to invite the viewer into a moment of contemplation and impart the nostalgia of an unblemished world."

Cathleen Richards, an artist and boutique travel agency owner, melded her love of travel to Jordan with cyanotype printing in her artwork Worn by Time, 2026, above.  

Richards printed digital photographs of the ancient city of Petra, and a historic tile mosaic floor onto a linen blouse, then added embroidery in the traditional style of the region, imbuing the garment with her cherished memories, weaving deeper connections into a simple shirt.

I hope you make the time to visit The Light Divides and the Story Multiplies before it closes October 30, 2026.  For more information about the show, visit The Associated Artists of Pittsburgh website here: https://www.aapgh.org/

Experiencing this art opening sparked fresh ideas for me about using photographs to make cyanotypes, and adding layers to prints.  I felt so excited about new art potential that I woke up at 4:30 am unable to sleep any longer!

I decided to use this photo of the morning light glancing over a meadow.  I love the contrast, the long lines of light & shadow, and the textures of the wild plants catching the sunshine.

I needed a black-&-white negative to create my cyanotype.  Luckily, Jacquard, the company that sells cyanotype supplies, has a free & easy-to-use photo editor here:  

https://www.jacquardcyanotype.com/

I created the negative above, printed it on a transparency specifically made for my printer, and used it to create the sun print below.  Note: it's important to use a transparency made for your type of printer.  The wrong material can melt on the drum and ruin your printer.

The weather was overcast, and I set a timer for 15 minutes, but I overexposed the print so it looked more like nighttime & moonlight than morning sun.

Inspired by Michele Randall's ocean prints, I added acrylic ink marks to my dry print.  I like the result -- like lightning bugs flashing in the dusk.

I exposed a second print, above, for 5 minutes so it looked like daylight. When it was dry, I added watercolor washes as Dan Hendrickson had.  I love the effect!

These are test prints, and I plan to make more photographic prints the next time the sun comes out.  I had some difficulty with a warped drawing board that I used under the paper, negative and top glass. It's important to have the negative pressed right against the paper to make a clear contact print, otherwise the image goes fuzzy.  I have found a level board to hold the paper flat against the top piece of glass.

My mind percolates over loads of different photos and images that would work well for this project.  All from attending one art opening.  I can see why Julia Cameron recommends that artists take themselves out on "Artist Dates" routinely.  

What sort of art date would you like to take yourself on? Make a list!

Wishing you a deep well of inspiration to fuel your creativity.

Making Tiny Watercolor Paintings

I have a friend who likes to paint small paintings.  Jenny works on watercolor paper cut to fit frames she already has, starting at 2" x 3" and 3" x 5". Inspired by Jenny, I cut up some 140# watercolor paper and played with a garden flower watercolor theme.

The first two sketches I simply made up, imagining a bright summer day in a garden.  Phthalo blue for the sky, permanent rose and Azo yellow for the flowers, and mixtures of Hooker's green & phthalo blue, as well as sap green & Azo yellow for the greenery. All done wet-in-wet.

Later, I sat out in my sunny garden painting zinnia blooms.

I started with a Faber Castell XS permanent pen, then painted the flower.  For the background, I painted the area around the flower with clear water and touched in watercolor, letting it blend and flow.

Below is a Sacred Basil plant growing among the zinnias.

I love tiny paintings!  

They take very little time to complete, and you can try out an idea quickly, then move on to something else. It's easy to make a series.  

These little paintings would add a beautiful spot of color in a small space in my home, or become a beautiful card to send someone I love.  

Jenny has a box of her paintings and rotates them through her frames.  It's a great way to celebrate your creative explorations!

Happy Creating!

Playing with Inks in my Art Journal

I was cleaning up our paper recycling box and found a stack of product safety inserts on thin paper with tiny print warnings in dozens of different languages.   I love working on paper with text, especially in a foreign language.  So I pulled the pages out to create on.

I grabbed my inks: India ink & Black Walnut ink, as well as a white wax crayon & a black grease pencil. 

In the page above, I drew with the white crayon and the black grease pencil before painting with ink.  The crayon resisted the wet inks layered on top, leaving white marks shining through. I finished the page with the walnut & India inks.

It was fun to paint using the chocolate-colored walnut ink I made years ago.  (You can see that post here.)

After the walnut ink dried, I layered on rich, black India ink.    

I enjoyed simply playing with these supplies.  One trick that helps me create freely is taking paper that's trash and turning it into something more fun. There's zero pressure to have "success."  It's trash.  

I glued part of one of the papers to a new page in my board book art journal. I added a pocket made from an envelope a bill came in.

 

I used Yes! paste to glue papers down, and washi tape along the edges, adding marks with a grease pencil & India ink. Mark-making relaxes me. It's an easy way to connect with my creative intuition.

I added a bit of blackout poetry with text encouraging the reader to "Discover what's inside."

I like the way the dark India ink around the page balances with the lighter values and the way the straight lines of text contrast with the curvy, organic lines of my painting.

I created a tiny artwork to fit inside the envelope pocket.  The little circles were inspired by a photo on a package of frozen peas we'd had for dinner the night before. 

You can get your inspiration from the most mundane sources!

I finished the page by writing a quote that spoke to me: "Attention is the beginning of devotion." -- Mary Oliver

I think I've always had an affinity towards upcycling papers and other materials into art.  

It can help to discover what sorts of materials, art supplies, colors and marks make you feel at ease, invigorated or playful.  Pay attention to what makes you feel most excited about making art, and follow that trail your intuition leads you on.

I wish you Happy Creating!

Low-Key Practice to Improve Your Paintings

One of the most important things I've learned about making art is that we all need time to play with our art supplies without any expectations or pressure.  Athletes and musicians spend endless hours practicing.  We artists would do well to take the same approach.

I sat outside recently and painted the light and shadow on this summery scene.  It was a simple sketch -- no pencil drawing underneath, no plan.  I just sketched what I saw, playing with light and shadow, mixing a variety of greens.

The puffy clouds cast strong shadows that moved through the landscape.

Here's a more zoomed-in version of what my eye saw. 

I focused on the shapes, the values and the textures of the scene before me, curious to try mark-making -- from the soft merging of wet-in-wet marks to the wobbly shapes of tree leaves, and the loose, scratchy marks of the weeds & grasses.

I mixed these different greens:

Foreground yellow-green & medium greens =Winsor Lemon + Ultramarine Blue

Background deep, dark greens = Phthalo Blue + Burnt Sienna

midtone greens = Sap Green + a touch of Alizarin Crimson

This little sketch is not a stunning work of art, but I post it here to share the everyday sort of projects that can make your art -- and your enjoyment of your art-making -- better.  

When I stepped back from painting to regard the sketch, I enjoyed the high contrast shadow of the tree snaking across the grass and up the hill.  I delighted in the rough texture of the weeds in the foreground on the right.  I enjoyed the looseness of the tree on the right, with dark limbs showing through.  

And it was relaxing to sit with my paints outdoors and explore.

I hope you find time to create and explore -- to simply practice!

Happy Creating!

Inspiration from the Past

Do you ever go back and flip through old sketchbooks and notebooks?  It's a great way to see the terrain you've covered as an artist.  You can witness how you've grown, and find bits of inspiration that reignite your current art practice.

I was decluttering in my studio recently, and found the notebook pictured above.

The colors on this page caught my eye right away, and the quotes felt uplifting. Inspiration struck and I got out my watercolor crayons.

I made a wash of colors -- from magenta through scarlet, orange and yellow -- in two different notebooks.  

I used a General's Sketch & Wash water-soluble graphite pencil to write out dates, & events, adding doodles to decorate.  I love the way that a weekly planner invites loose creativity with no expectations.

 This type of no-expectations play with art supplies is essential to developing your creative ideas.  You may hear your inner critic complain that it's a "waste of time."  Please remind that voice that an art teacher (me) told you that it's super important (it is!) ... and it's fun.  We could all use more Vitamin Fun!

I hope you take some time to playfully doodle soon!

Some ideas for those who don't use a homemade weekly planner:

1. Work on loose paper so there's no pressure to add another "pretty picture" to a journal or sketchbook.
2. Pick up an art supply that you bought and never or rarely use. Or, use nontraditional art supplies, like a highlighter, a ballpoint pen & a 3-hole punch.
3. Grab a stack of 3"x 5" index cards and create a bunch of small doodle-pages. Does less space to fill make you feel less pressure?
4. Create on found materials -- junk mail, a receipt, used wrapping paper, a fallen leaf, whatever catches your eye!  Using "trash" releases us from any expectations or pressure to make "good art."
5. Tell yourself you're just making "pretend art." I take this idea from The Unexpected Gypsy, who makes pretend paintings -- real paintings with no pressure behind them.
6. Try to intentionally make "bad art" by using your non-dominant hand, or by drawing/creating under a time-pressure. For instance, you could try drawing the worst bird you can imagine, or try drawing a cat in under 1 minute.

Happy Creating! 

Book Recommendation: Little Things in a Big Country by Hannah Hinchman

Author & artist Hannah Hinchman has given me years of inspiration with each of her books, including Little Things in a Big Country.  Her words feel alive and express the essential nature of a place, a moment or a creature.  

She has managed to describe ineffable human experiences like truly seeing colors in nature after a half-hour's hike, or drawing the intricate light and shadow patterns on a silver teapot.  She expressed human experiences -- from anxiety to wonder, editing her words down to the essential heart of the matter.  Anytime I pick up her books, I feel inspired to be a better artist, writer and human. 

Even if you're not looking for a deeply human encounter with a book, simply seeing into another person's sketchbook is a golden opportunity.  We humans are curious about our fellow humans.

Hannah hand-wrote this book, and her writing adds a beautiful energy to the storytelling.

I hope you take the opportunity to check out Hannah's books!

Hannah's books:

A Life in Hand: Creating the Illuminated Journal, 1991, Peregrine Smith Books.

A Trail Through the Leaves: The Journal as a Path to Place, 1997, W.W. Norton & Co.

Little Things in a Big Country: An Artist and Her Dog on the Rocky Mountain Front, 2004, W.W. Norton & Co.

I heartily recommend them all!

Happy Reading!

Nature Journal Update:Summer Wildflowers

Recently, I spent some happy hours at the Raccoon Creek State Park Wildflower Reserve, where the summer wildflowers are in bloom.

I love the simplicity of a handful of colored pencils and my nature journal to record what I see in nature.

The wildflower garden buzzed with honeybees and bumblebees.  When an insect moves so quickly, the only way I know to sketch them is to make super quick gesture drawings, my pencil scribbling loosely and swiftly.  

Sometimes the bee moved before I was done with the drawing, so I just started again with a new sketch.

I find quick drawings like this exciting and freeing.  There's no time to question whether you're getting the lines in the right place.  You just have to trust that you're doing it well enough.  

When I step back from my drawings later, I notice that, though incomplete, they are full of life and real details that make me feel closer to the little critter.  It's no secret; bumblebees charm me!

The most stunning aspect of the wildflower garden to me was the collection of so many blooms, so many colors and textures in the sunlight.

After sketching in the wildflower garden, I hiked the Jennings Trail, stopping on a comfy bench to sketch the woods.

Notes of the hike bring back memories long afterwards, and deepen the experience in the moment.  I love the intersection of art, writing and nature. No better anti-anxiety treatment for me!

I hope you find your own special bit of nature to relax in and make sketches in your nature journal.

Happy Creating!