A Mini Watercolor Nature Journal

I've been taking an online class from Cathy Johnson called "Quick Sketching in Color," and am thoroughly enjoying it.  In the class, she gives instructions to make your own mini watercolor journal out of a single piece of paper.

I made mine from an 12" x 18" piece of cold press watercolor paper that I cut in half lengthwise, then folded each piece accordion-style, and glued the two pieces together to make a concertina sketchbook.

Here's a link to an Instructable on making your own concertina sketchbook.

This is my mini-sketching kit, and you can see the accordion-fold mini journal on the left.

Simplifying my kit makes it lightweight and easy to carry, and I love taking it on nature walks!  I can stuff my art supplies, plus my car keys into the little bag and go on sketch-adventures.

 

Focusing on quickly sketching takes the precious-ness out of drawing and makes it a game.

You can learn more about Cathy's Self-directed mini-classes here:https://cathyjohnson.info/art-classes/

Happy Creating!

Nature Journal: Autumn Colors in the Early Morning

The morning fog has been lovely, adding texture to autumn's beauty.

I sketched this scene in pencil, then added watercolor with my Winsor & Newton travel watercolor palette and a simple water brush pen.

I chose lavender for the fog & the distant hills.  Remember: you are the artist, and you can choose whatever colors you like.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner Design: Mugs and Tea

It's no secret that I love drinking tea -- black tea, herbal tea, all sorts and varieties.  And, each week I make a weekly planner page, and list out the week's appointments.  Why not fill that page with sketches of what I love? 

What do you love?  What would you enjoy making no-pressure sketches of? 

A weekly planner can give you that format.  Use any sort of notebook -- lined, dotted or blank -- and any sort of drawing implement.  I sketched this page with a mechanical pencil, then inked the finished design and erased the pencil lines. After this photo was taken, I filled up the week with events, appointments, classes, & even some fun things like bulb planting.

Happy Creating!