Hike & Sketch with My Nature Journal

What's better on a summer afternoon than a hike in the woods?

A hike with your art supplies!

I love tree trunks, especially where the roots reach into the soil.  That connection point creates the feeling of grounding for me, and also beautiful shadows and shapes.

Taking a break on a recent hike, I painted this woodland scene in my nature journal.  I enjoyed mixing a variety of greens, and simply exploring the woods with my paintbrush.

What do you love to look at?  That would be a great subject to draw or paint in your nature journal.

If you'd like to take a class with me, there's still space in my upcoming Nature Journaling class.

Course dates: Mondays, July 7,14 & 21, 6-9 pm

Community College of Beaver County, Monaca, PA

Cost: $89

All materials are provided. 

You'll receive a sketchbook, colored pencils, pencils, an eraser & a pencil sharpener.

For more information and to register, follow this link:

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

Happy Creating & I hope to see you there!

Taking a Watercolor Florals Class

I'm delighting in an online class from Willa Solganik of Willa Wanders entitled "Willa's Watercolor Leaves and Florals Mini Course."

It's exciting to embark on a new adventure with my paints.

I've been following her step-by-step instructions, and then adding my own unique marks, like the green swirls on the plant below right.

Trying something new, learning from another artist, and giving myself no-pressure space to practice rejuvinate my creativity.  I feel a new sparkle when I paint.

I woke up this morning looking forward to playing with my paints!

I plan to use these new techniques to decorate journals and stationery, and just to have fun.

Happy Creating!

The Magic of Mixed Media!

I recently discovered artist Wendy Solganik of Willa Wanders on YouTube. 

On her website, https://www.willawanders.com/, I found a wonderful and free tutorial on making funky, artful cards from a larger piece.

Her activity is called the Mixed Media Madness Mother Board Project and you can find it here: https://www.willawanders.com/resources

The project begins with loose collage bits glued onto a larger piece of heavy paper.  I used a 11"x 15" piece of 140# watercolor paper, and glued on papers with Yes! paste.

Then, following Wendy's instructions, I added layers of stencils, stamps, mark making, etc. 

Finally, after everything was dry, I tore the paper into postcard size.  Looking at each postcard, I added a few words cut from old books and some final marks.

Each postcard took on a personality & message of its own, and the whole process was uplifting and easy.

These were delightful to send to the people I love.  I tucked them into envelopes to protect all of the little paper bits from being peeled up by postal machinery.

You could frame favorite ones, turn them into greeting cards, or just prop them on your desk to help you feel inspired.

I hope you check out Wendy's tutorial and give it a try! 

Happy Creating!

Watercolor Postcard: A Basket of Flowers

Summertime travels lend themselves to postcards - short narratives about your adventures to send to a friend.  And postcards offer a wonderful tiny canvas to paint an image from your travels.

I cut large pieces of 140# watercolor paper into roughly 4" x 6" pieces and tucked them into a plastic bag in my backpack.  

This basket of flowers was hanging over a porch I recently visited. I started with a loose ink sketch, used a white Crayola crayon to keep a few spots white, then laid in a lot of wet-in-wet greens, blues and purples.

Other great subjects for postcard art:

clouds

tiny, simplified landscapes

a flower

a pet

a doorway into a cathedral, museum or other place you visited

your tent on a camp-out

a bird

a butterfly

your favorite sunhat

Postcards take less time to create, feel less imposing and more playful, and force you to simplify more complex scenes. That gorgeous lake view you admired while canoeing becomes less confusing when you break it down to basic shapes, values and colors and fit it into a 5"x 7" space.

And in the end, if you don't like what you create (because no artist loves everything they make), you can always flip it over and write a grocery list on the back!

Happy Creating! 

Artist's Choice!

When you're out roving in nature, keep your artist's eye watchful for beauty.  Sometimes it comes in wonky, quirky forms like this wild grape vine.

Remember that as the artist, you get to decide what to include in your painting.  

I loved the wibbly-wobbly nature of this grape vine, and wanted it to stand out. 

I painted it darker than the rest of the forest.

I added more detail in its peeling bark.  

I edited out the dark cherry tree leaning in the middle of the composition, and simplified the leafy forest into splotches of light and midtone greens.

When you look at nature, what catches your eye?  

That's the part to lavish your attention on so it stands out in your painting.  

As the artist, you get to leave out parts, change parts, and simplify the scene.

Isn't that freeing?

Happy Creating! 

Nature in Watercolor Workshop for Beginners!

On Friday, May 30th, I led a Nature in Watercolor Workshop for Beginners for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute.  We met at Raccoon Creek State Park, and began the day with an introduction to what watercolors do -- how they flow and spread on paper.

We tested out our brushes, paints and paper.

We shared our favorite supplies.

We explored how to mix greens to match the world outside.

The best way to learn how to paint with watercolors is to experiment with them -- mixing colors, splashing down water & paint, and testing the effects of different brushes.

I loved the way everyone was supportive of each other.

We went outdoors to find subjects to paint and sketch.

What a wonderful feeling to sit in the peace of nature and create!

Everyone found their quiet nook to sketch in.

We returned to the Recreation Hall to share our sketches.

Everyone encouraged their classmates.

  Seeing others' artwork inspired the rest of us.

After lunch, we talked about simplifying the landscape, then played with our paints some more.

I demonstrated how to clean watercolor brushes,

 and we had a final sharing session to admire each others' work.

Many thanks to -- 

the ladies who took part in the session, 

Osher for organizing the class, &

David for his help setting up, schlepping stuff, and being our photographer!

If this looks interesting to you, I hope you'll join me for an art class in the future.

In July, I'm teaching a Monday night Nature Journaling class at the Community College of Beaver County starting July 7th.  You can register and find out more here:

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

Scroll down to Nature Journaling or click here:

https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/course/nature-journaling-washington-county2

Happy Creating!

Light in the Forest

Out on a hike with David, the beauty of the afternoon sunlight streaming through the forest caught my eye, and I snapped this photo with my phone.

Back at home, I sketched the tree trunks and the road lightly in pencil, and began painting this 5" x 8" piece.

I used a mixture of phthalo blue & quinachridone gold for the deeper, cooler greens, and Winsor lemon & French ultramarine blue for the lemony yellows.  

The gravel road, the shadows and the tree trunks were painted with varying mixtures of French ultramarine blue & burnt sienna, which makes a beautiful array of colors from blue grays to dark, earthy browns.

I love how, as the artists, we get to choose the details within a scene to paint.  Select your own favorite parts of any landscape scene, and focus your attention on them, allowing the rest to be abstract shapes.

I hope you get to paint, draw or create in some other way this week.

Happy Creating!