A Quick Pencil Sketch

One of my favorite artists on YouTube is The Unexpected Gypsy.  I have taken so much inspiration from the honest way she talks about her life, her emotions, and her art-making, that I joined her Patreon, where she shares photos & videos from her life every weekday.

The sketch above was from a pic she shared of an artist's date with her partner to a romantic, old castle.  I felt swept away by her story and video, and inspired to see the art she was making from this scene of her dressed up & sashaying to the magic castle.

Do you have photos that sweep you away?  Do you follow other artists?  Why not use that inspiration for sketching practice?

Happy Creating!

Paddle, Picnic and Paint

David & I capitalized on a beautiful late summer day to take our inflatable paddle boards out to the state park lake.  We packed in lunch and my travel art supplies.  

As we drifted on the lake, I found the gorgeous Sugar Maple leaf on the left. After we ate lunch, I sketched the contours of the leaf with my Lamy fountain pen.

I began to lay in watercolors with a layer of warm and cool yellows (Winsor Yellow and Cadmium Yellow Hue).  

After that dried, I began adding in cool reds (bottom left of the leaf) mixed with Alizarin Crimson and Burnt Sienna.  On the right and upper parts of the leaf, I mixed warmer reds with Cadmium Red Hue and Cadmium Yellow Hue.  

The few touches of green were created by mixing Winsor Yellow and Ultramarine Blue. A mix of Ultramarine Blue and Burnt Sienna made the shadows.

Spending time outdoors in a peaceful natural place just to take in the scene instills calm and serenity for me.  I notice that adding the layer of drawing and painting to my nature time slows me down as I focus on one facet of the scene.  The meditative stillness magnifies the benefits of nature for me.

I hope you get some time out in nature to make art and connect with nature.  

Happy Creating!

Watercolor: Autumn in the Field

After all the puttering, swatching, color mixing and playing around, I finally slipped back into painting with a scene that I see nearly every morning. 

Not every painting is successful, but every painting teaches me something.

I'm happy with this painting.  I focused on the parts of the backlit scene that really attracted my eye -- the glowing foliage against the dark trunks, the foreground milkweed plants like lanterns against the shadowed bushes, and the crimson berries and leaves announcing the turn of the season to fall. 

Do you take regular walks around your neighborhood?  Why not look for scenes that appeal to your artist's eye and take a picture, make a drawing or paint the scene.  I hope you find some beauty to inspire you today!

Happy Creating!

Self Portrait Ideas

In my Pencil Portraits Class last summer, I demonstrated drawing your own portrait using a mirror.  You always have your own face to draw, and self-portraits are great practice.

As a warm-up, you can begin with a blind contour drawing of your face.  

Look at your reflection in a mirror, and place your pencil on your paper.  Now without looking at your paper, and without lifting your pencil, begin drawing. You can go back over lines, just don't lift your pencil from the paper, and don't peek at your paper!

Your hand's only job is to follow the slow movement of your eyes over contours - lines that define outer and inner edges of your face. 

Go slowly, knowing that you are not making a drawing, you are aligning your eyes and your hand, making connections and observations.

You can see from my blind contour drawing that nothing lined up quite right or was in proportion, but that some accurate, alive lines arose.  

By forcing your eyes to remain on your face, you allow yourself to fully drink in the nuances and details, and you practice trusting your hand to follow along.  This is a useful skill to develop.  Looking at what or who you are drawing is one of the most important steps in any drawing.

Now that you are warmed up with a blind contour drawing or two, you are ready to make another sketch, allowing your hands to move slowly, and your eyes to dance between studying your face, and checking that your lines are landing in the right place on your paper.  Look at your face 90% of the time, and steal quick glances at your paper 10% of the time.  At first it feels hard, but soon you'll trust yourself, and you'll fall into a rhythm.

I hope you give this a try!  All you need is a mirror, a pencil and paper.

Happy Creating!

Nature Journal: September Sun

I took myself out for an art date to the most charming park, where these wild sunflowers were blooming under the bluest sky. 

I snapped a ton of photos in the park. Back in my studio, I pulled up this one to create a gouache painting in my nature journal.

Sometimes, when you look at a landscape, it can seem overwhelming.  So many details!

Try simplifying the scene.  That means you get to pick the part of the landscape that appeals to you, and add limited details, expressing other parts of the scene simply as shapes of color and value. Or leaving them out entirely.

Remember, you're the artist.  You decide what to paint, and how to paint it.

When you're done, prop your artwork somewhere you can see it as you pass through your home.  It will grow on you, and you will see things you hadn't noticed before. 

I was frustrated with this painting in the moment, feeling it wasn't working.  I left it for half a day, and came back later, realizing it captured the essence of that afternoon in the park.  Now I like it.

I hope you find a spot in nature to sit and sketch, paint or snap photos.

Happy Creating!

Getting Back in the Groove: Nature Journaling

Sometimes, the simplest thing to draw is the most enchanting thing to draw.  

An afternoon walk around my farm yielded this collection of acorns under a young oak tree, as well as this crisp Winesap apple from the little orchard we planted 15 years ago.

Observations of the change of seasons deepen the experience of simply sitting outside.

My cat joined me in the late afternoon sunshine.

This was our perch:

When you're getting back in the groove of making art, a nature journal can slip you right back into your old routine.  A favorite pencil or pen and a little book are all you need to record what you see right now in nature.  If you make a sketch you don't like, simply turn to a fresh page and start again.  No pressure.

I hope you take time to create this week.  See where it leads you!

Happy Creating!

Pen & Ink Sketch with Watercolors

A Trader Joe's bouquet in an old Mason jar caught the morning sunlight on my breakfast table, and called out to be sketched.

I started with a Lamy fountain pen sketch, then touched in watercolor washes and splashes to finish the scene.  Quick and uplifting.

For this project, I used a paper sample booklet I bought for a quarter at the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse, my favorite thrift shop. You can find out more about them here: https://pccr.org/

Playing with an art supply that was saved from the trash adds a lovely sparkle to the creative experience.  When I have an excess of materials, I enjoy sharing them with other artists by donating them to the PCCR.

If you're in the Pittsburgh area, I recommend a field trip to the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse!

Happy Thrifting and Happy Creating! 

Armchair Travels with a Brush

A recent Google search (unrelated to finding photos to create from) brought up an image of this gorgeous Greek villa that swept me away.  

I sketched the scene with my Lamy fountain pen and waterproof black ink on Arches cold press watercolor paper, then added Winsor & Newton watercolors loosely. 

Have you recently been dreaming of a fantasy vacation?  Why not paint or draw your imagined getaway?  You can visit your own personal paradise every time to look at your artwork.

Happy Creating! 

Alaskan Adventure: Misty Fjord National Monument

Misty Fjord National Monument was the final wilderness stop on our Alaskan cruise.  We awoke to misty peaks and Orcas swimming nearby.

As we sailed up through the narrow fjords, we could see rivulets of snowmelt cascading down the steep slopes.

As we departed the  Misty Fjord Monument area, we passed by this peculiar rock jutting up from the fjord.

A pair of Bald Eagles had made a nest at the top of the rock.

Imagine having a home with a view like this!

I hope these photos inspire you to create a drawing or painting.

Happy Creating!

Art Date: Light and Shadows in the Woods

Do you ever take yourself out for art dates?  I have made a habit of it lately.

Even if the art date is right in your neighborhood, making a weekly habit of creating helps you build your skills each week.

I created this watercolor one morning, after a scouting walk helped me select the spot.  

When you find your location, you might want to take a few photos to capture the scene before the light shifts.  Then make a sketch lightly in pencil, mix your colors, and start painting.  

I started painting the bright green areas, then built up the darker areas, using only 3 colors: ultramarine blue, Winsor lemon, and burnt umber. The bold contrasts caught my eye and inspired me.

As you take your next walk, look at familiar scenes and say to yourself: "I like ______ part of the scene (the green Japanese maple leaves against the neighbor's red house, the shadows under that oak tree, the exact shade of blue of those hydrangea blossoms).  You'll learn what catches your artist's eye, and get ideas for future drawings or paintings.

Happy Creating!

A Watercolor Sketch of Alaska

I have this image as my screen saver, and every time I look at it, I get the peaceful feeling of awakening on board the Queen Elizabeth, sailing through the crisp Alaskan wilderness to Icy Strait Point.  

I instantly feel relaxed & invigorated.

As I awoke on a recent morning, the image of a green swoosh in a blue field came to mind.  I had programmed this image into my creative thinking, and now was the time to paint it.

 I opened my laptop. I pulled out my paints and a sample of New York Central Supply 100% cotton watercolor paper (140#).  I didn't tape it down or make a pencil sketch.  My goal was just to play & sketch. 

I mixed colors: 

• phthalo blue and new gamboge yellow for the hillside; 
• phthalo blue, burnt umber and a touch of alizarin crimson for the shadows; and 
• pure phthalo blue for the sky peeking through the clouds.

It felt good to explore the Alaskan coast again.

Your vacation photos, or other favorite pics can provide a treasure trove of material to paint or draw from.  

What memories would you like to revisit? 

As you return to your favorite place or time to create, remind yourself that you are not a camera, and you don't have to make your drawing or painting "perfect." 

As an artist, you will create your version of the photo.  That's the goal!

I hope you find inspiration to create today.

Happy Creating!

Getting Back in the Groove

Sometimes, life takes us away from our art.  Busy schedules can interrupt your artistic flow.  How do you get back into creating?  I've been away from painting for a couple of weeks, and have found these methods helpful to restart my creative engine.

Tidy up

Cleaning up your creative space --whether it's a desk, a room, or simply a knapsack of materials you carry from one place to another -- puts you back in touch with your supplies in a friendly, no-pressure way.  As you sharpen your colored pencils, you see new ideas.  As you sift through old sketchbooks, you're reminded how much you enjoy painting outside.  Simply having a clean space to create is inspiring in itself!

Color Swatching

Are those lovely supplies you just tidied up appealing to you, but you don't know what to do with them?  Start with color swatching.  

Testing your supplies out feels low-pressure, and gets your hand moving again with a brush, a pencil or a pastel stick. Take a sheet of paper, write the name of each color, then add a dab of that color next to its name. You've just made a great reference for your next artwork.  When you are in the midst of a composition and not sure which blue to use, you can refer to your color swatches to make your decision.

Color Mixing Studies

Often, when I'm painting, I find myself looking for just the right green, or trying to find a mellow shadow color that doesn't overwhelm the composition.  Testing out your paints or colored pencils by mixing them together is an important study for any artist.  

You might even start a color diary with a page each dedicated to greens, blues, or shadow colors.  Here are some recent color studies I made with phthalo blue watercolor paint.

What if you used one page to mix all of your blues with all of your browns, one pair at a time?  

What if you mixed all the greens you could with phthalo blue?  I'll give you a hint:  you can create a deep pine green by mixing phthalo blue with burnt sienna. Try it!

Try mixing color opposites: green + red, blue + orange, purple + yellow.  

Testing Out Sample Packs

When you purchase art supplies, you can often get sample packs of paper-- watercolor paper in different weights and with different surfaces, a variety of card stocks for drawing, etc.  It's great to have these on hand to play with.

A sample pack is an invitation to create!  Make doodles. Play with mark making.  Your only "job" is exploring a new paper.  

Sketches & Studies

You can sketch anything that interests you, and there's no pressure to make it "good" or accurate or anything but experimental.  Try sketching things you love to look at.  Or even boring things like a pencil or a coffee cup.  Sketch anything.  It's a start and will lead to creative ideas & inspiration if you stick with it.  Pretty soon, you're back in your art groove.

Making New Goals

Write a list of creative projects you'd like to try -- from painting your cat to starting a nature journal, to trying a new medium. Here's a list I made last spring with my old Sears typewriter.

Place it where you can see it.  I found that I only completed one of these goals this summer, but that this list of goals led to more painting and to fresh ideas.

Take a Class

Start your creative engine with a class.  You'll have a set time each week to dedicate to your art, and guided instruction to help you develop new skills.  The routine of making art builds momentum and generates new ideas.

As a bonus, you get to meet other artists and make new friendships!

I hope these suggestions help you start your creativity rolling, or simply move it in a new direction.  

Happy Creating!