What if?

What if you were to feel inspired by spring and paint delphiniums & hollyhocks in bright colors,then cut the painting into three slim images to make bookmarks?

What if you trimmed the bookmarks with fancy ribbon, and set out on a secret mission?

What if you snuck them into individual library books for unassuming readers to find?

Wouldn't that be fun?

Spring Nature Journal Update and Class Announcement!

On a recent hike with David, I stopped to sketch one of many Trilliums blooming along the trail.  A few minutes, and the memory of the spring woods was locked in for me to savor any time I leaf through my nature journal. 

Down the trail, we met a morel mushroom hunter, weary from his day's hike and search.  He shared his story with the song of American Toads providing the background music.  

Back at home, the American Goldfinches seem to be nearly through their spring molt.  Most of the males' feathers are bright canary yellow, though a few still have some patches of olive colored winter feathers, like this fellow above.

Following the seasons with sketches and observations in a nature journal has brought me a sense of grounding and peace.  I feel connected to my wild relations, knowing what's happening in the woods, fields and streams. This practice slows me down and helps me hone my drawing skills.

Would you like to get started in Nature Journaling?

I invite you to join me at my next Nature Journaling class: 

Tuesday, May 14th from 6-9 PM at the Community College of Beaver County's new site: 

625 E McMurray Rd, McMurray, PA 15317

To register and for more information, follow this link:

https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/category/arts1

The course will be an introduction to keeping a nature journal. No drawing experience is required. Learn techniques for recording what you see in nature, and discover the self care benefits of keeping a nature journal. We'll begin indoors with inspiration and an introduction to techniques, then go outdoors to explore and create!

All materials are provided. Please dress for the weather.

I hope to see you there!

Spring Nature Journal

Spring is unfurling leaves and blossoms on our little hilltop. Color spills from every corner, like this wild cherry tree leafing out.

We've already had several thunderstorms.

Migrating birds like the Brown Thrasher have appeared at the bird feeder.

What is happening in nature around you right now? 

Recording your observations in a nature journal is a wonderful form of self care, and an opportunity to hone your skills in drawing, writing and observing life around you.

I hope you take some time this week to play with art supplies in your nature journal!

Figure Drawing: Portrait Practice with Model Emily

Recently, in Osher Figure Drawing class, I led my students through the process of drawing faces.  

We began by looking at portraits by masters like Peter Paul Rubens for inspiration, noticing how their mark-making, color choices and lighting created portraits that were full of vitality.  

We warmed up with some quick gesture drawings, then, had a 15-minute practice pose with Model Emily.

I began by sketching the structure of Emily's head and face with a light colored pastel pencil, then built up areas of tone and details with chalk pastels and pastel pencils.  The pencils allow more control for fine details like Emily's eyes, nose and lips.

Many thanks to model Emily for her beautiful and creative poses!  Having a good model makes drawing so much easier.

Gouache Apple Blossoms Painting

On a rainy, cold Friday afternoon, I cut several twigs from an apple tree blooming in my yard for my Tiny Art class students to paint.

Before class, I made a small painting, starting with a pencil sketch of one of the flower clusters.

The next step was to lay in areas of color and tone -- larger areas of white flower petals, and green leaves.

When painting with gouache, you start with larger shapes and work from general to specific, from larger shapes to finer details.

I layered on details -- shadows and highlights, veins in leaves, and the little stamens within the apple flowers.

I finished with details on the twig -- the bark wrinkles, the green lichen spots.

Above is the finished painting.

Are you feeling creative? I hope you'll make a sketch or painting of the apple blossoms pictured at the top of this post.

Happy Creating!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024.  All rights reserved. 

Tiny Art!

Today begins my Tiny Art class at the Community College of Beaver County.  I'm looking forward to class!  

We will be making small paintings of tiny things like flowers, snail shells, seashells, butterflies, feathers, and whatever else inspires us.

Right now, so many tiny buds are opening in nature, unfurling flowers & miniature leaves.  It seems the ideal time to make tiny art.

Above is a photo of Spring Beauty, a native wildflower now blooming.  Its blossoms are 1/2 inch wide, and when you get down close to the flower, you'll see tiny pink veins in the petals.

We will be painting our tiny subjects with gouache, an opaque paint that allows us to layer light marks on top of darker areas.  

Here is a nature journal entry I made with gouache, finishing the details with colored pencils.

If you'd like to take a class with me in person, you can check my class schedule here:  https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/p/online-art-classes.html

And, you can follow this link to my CCBC Continuing Education Classes: https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/

Click on "Arts" under Beaver County and Washington County and you'll find my classes among the other art courses offered there. Each instructor's name is listed with the course descriptions.

I hope to see you in a class soon! 

Nature Journaling the Solar Eclipse

On April 8th, 2024, I traveled to Medina, Ohio to watch the total eclipse of the sun.  Of course, I brought along my nature journal and art supplies, and recorded what I observed.

I had seen three partial solar eclipses, but never a total eclipse.

 We set up early to watch and photograph the event.

We had a camera on a tripod, with a cell phone app to trigger the shutter.

Using eclipse viewing glasses, I was able to see every step of the process, and when totality occurred, it was magical.

Here's a photo of the total eclipse.  We took off our eclipse glasses and viewed it with our eyes.

You can see solar flares as the colorful bits around the edges.  Absolutely stunning!

Whether you are recording an eclipse or the dawning of spring, making drawings in your nature journal help you to fully experience natural events.  

The simplest sketch strengthens your memory of the event, and now you have a record of what you saw, what you noticed, and how you felt.

I hope you take the time to create in a nature journal this week!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024. All rights reserved.

Join Me for Nature Journaling on April 19th!

I invite you to join me for an introduction to keeping a nature journal. No drawing experience is required. Learn techniques for recording what you see in nature, and discover the self care benefits of keeping a nature journal. We'll begin indoors with inspiration and an introduction to techniques, then go outdoors to explore and create!

All materials are provided. Please dress for the weather.

For more information and to sign up for the class, follow this link:

https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/category/arts1

Tuesday, April 19, 2024, from 6-9 PM

$49

The new Washington County location for CCBC Continuing Education Classes:

625 E McMurray Rd, McMurray, PA 15317

I hope to see you there!

Upcycling:Tiny Art in Photographic Slide Frames

Have you seen art journalers reusing photographic slide frames to hold tiny art?  All you have to do is pop open the slide, remove the photographic film, and replace it with your own art. Then glue or tape the frame back together.

I tried this out, and found that it's really easy to fill such a tiny space with art.  It's tricky to fit words into the small area, but if you keep your affirmation short, it works!

I plan to give these to friends and family, and to leave them in public places where folks can find them and feel uplifted.

The world is full of negativity and hardship.  But we can each shine a little light and positivity by making art, leaving encouragement for another person to find.

You can read more inspirational ideas at the Random Note Project website here: 

https://www.randomnoteproject.com/

I received a random note the night before I taught my first figure drawing class years ago.  I was nervous and questioning myself.  This note shifted my thinking and helped me feel more settled.

What message would you love to receive from someone out there in the world?  

What messages would you like to share with others who could use your encouragement?

I hope you create your own random notes of kindness to share.

If you'd like some practice making tiny art, I'll be teaching a class in creating Tiny Art with gouache at the Community College of Beaver County in Monaca, PA starting Saturday, April 13th at 10 AM.

You can learn more about the class and sign up here:

https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/

I hope to see you there!

Nature Journaling: A Prescribed Burn at Doak Field

Sometimes when you're out hiking, you come across something dramatic, like State Park workers restoring an overgrown field with a prescribed burn.  

We arrived at the field just in time to see this planned burn begin to remove overgrown vegetation, filling the sky with smoke, and consuming the dried grasses with roaring flames.

In just minutes, the area was cleared.

Now the land is reset and ready for grasses to replace the brambles and woody plants that had grown there.

During the excitement, we found an out-of-the-way spot, and I wrote a quick description to record the day's story.

And of course, a sketch is worth a thousand words.

I hope you get a chance to tell a story in your nature journal, complete with drawings!

Happy Creating!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024. All right reserved.

Nature Journaling in the Spring

Now is a great time to sit outside with your nature journal and take stock of spring's progress -- or fall's progress if you're in the Southern Hemisphere.

Where I live, the Goldfinches are part way through their molt into canary-colored plumage.

The Spearmint that grows at my kitchen door stoop has sprung to life.

And the Purple Dead Nettle growing along the rocks in my raised garden beds has begun to bloom, a welcome sight.

Sitting in nature sketching never fails to slow me down and relax me.  

I hope you get time to sit outdoors in the sunshine with your nature journal and check nature's progress.

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024. All rights reserved  

Watercolor Spring Flowers

I've been teaching Watercolor Spring Flowers at the Community College of Beaver County, and we have had so much fun in class, that I come home inspired to paint more. 

I brought in Erin O'Toole's book Create Your Own Artist's Journal to class last week to share with my students.

I was drawn to this painting in Erin's book.

After class, I painted my own version of it, enjoying using a variety of colors and splashing them in wet-in-wet.

During our last class, one of my students suggested painting bookmarks with flower designs.  Here are a few that I painted the next morning while drinking tea in my studio.

I started by sketching with a white crayon on white watercolor paper.  The white Crayola resists the watercolor paint, keeping the spots where you add it white.

I wet the paper, and touched in loose wet-in-wet splashes of color.

After that had dried, I added more detail in the foxglove flowers, leaves, & stems.

I finished by splattering on some white gouache.

A bit of ribbon added the finishing touch!

I have enjoyed giving these bookmarks away.

Starting small with bookmarks, and taking inspiration from another artist are great ways to get started with Watercolors.  If you're in the Northern Hemisphere like me, it's uplifting to see beautiful blooms and colors this time of year, even if they're painted on paper.

Happy Creating!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024. All rights reserved

The Power of Doodling

Those of us who like to doodle to pass the time often downplay this good habit, probably because we were chastised as kids for "not paying attention."

Research suggests that doodling actually helps to lock memories in place.  Whatever you were listening to while you created that little artwork stays with you better than if you hadn't been drawing. Here's a Harvard Health article about research into the benefits of doodling.

But that's not the power of doodles that I'm talking about today.  

When you follow that sparkly idea to create something you're curious about, you build your drawing skills, but you also develop creative ideas that can grow.

Here's a sketch I made of a friend's crow photo. You can find the photo on my blog here.

That sketch became a drawing, which I transferred to a rubber block. I carved it to create a stamp.

I've enjoyed making stationary by stamping vintage office papers with this stamp.

I photocopied one of these pieces of stationary, enlarging it to 200% so I could transfer it to a recent painting.  The little sketch of my friend's crow photo became the focal point of a larger painting.

I reversed the image by making a transparency of it and copying the flipped transparency.  When you transfer an image this way, you "print" a reversed image.

Now I've ordered greeting cards from that large painting, and I can't wait to receive them in the mail. That's the power of doodling.  It's a way to experiment and play, and a pathway to larger artworks.

Please doodle! 

Experiment with designs and ideas. 

Play with little sketches.  

Allow them to grow & roam to become larger ideas.  

That's how creativity works!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024.  All rights reserved.