Sphinx Moth

 My good friend Brad Silberberg has been sharing nature photos with me. I found them so inspiring, I picked up a Sharpie fine marker, made a quick sketch of this Sphinx Moth, and then touched in watercolors.  

Giving myself an art break to create with no pressure is one of my favorite forms of self-care.  Just sitting down to my art space makes me instantly feel more relaxed and happy.  

I hope you get the opportunity to create in your favorite place just for the joy of creating!

Summer Flowers Watercolor Sketch

Sometimes, I sketch a scene in pencil before painting it, but I also like the free approach of watercolor sketching.  I find the elements of a scene that most attract my artist's eye and focus on them, adding other bits as I go. In this case, I was interested in the sunlit grasses and flower stalks against the dark shadows of the background.

I don't usually use brown for a shadow color, but I liked the vintage look of brown against the green.