Watercolor Sketching with Arches Hot Press Paper

A recent visit to the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse turned up a block of 140# Arches hot press watercolor paper.  What a find! I had been curious to play with the smooth surface of hot press paper, and Arches is a high-quality, 100% cotton paper. 

I brought it home and began sketching with my watercolors.  One of the most freeing things about finding secondhand art supplies at the PCCR is the sense that you're giving these materials a second life.  Rather than getting tossed into a landfill, they have found their way into your hands. 

I combined this high quality, new-to-me watercolor paper with the beauty of the flowers blooming right outside my kitchen door.

I like the smooth surface of the paper, but most of all, I liked the way the paper accepted the paint.  High quality watercolor paper is easier to paint on than inexpensive paper.  If you've been struggling with inexpensive paper and have the opportunity to splurge on an art supply, this would be a helpful gift to yourself.

Happy Creating!

A Watercolor Bouquet

A friend gave me a bouquet of flowers & herbs from her garden.  What a gift of beauty for an artist!

The next morning at breakfast, I made a sketch of the lovely blooms with my Lamy fountain pen.

When the ink was dry, I added color with my Winsor & Newton watercolors.  

It was a delightful way to start the morning.

I invite you to make your own sketch or painting of these lovely flowers.

Happy Creating!

Planner Pages: Summer Blooms!

After taking a watercolor botanical class with Wendy Solganik of Willa Wanders (https://www.willawanders.com/), I felt inspired to decorate my weekly planner with roses, hearts and swirls.

It doesn't take much to add color & beauty to a dull weekly planner!  It's also a great way to give yourself room to doodle.  I find it's a low stress place to create because no one sees it but me most of the time.

What are some low-stress ways you add art-making to your life? I invite you to make a list of ideas and start trying them.

Happy Creating!

Photo Nature Walk in Raccoon Creek State Park

I took a nature walk in Raccoon Creek State Park last Saturday morning with my Sony RX 10 mark 4 camera.  It was exciting to see nature up close, and I thought you might like to make sketches, paintings or other art from these photographs.  Here are my favorites from the day.

An Ebony Jewelwing Damselfly perched on a leaf down by the creek.

A Sphinx Moth found nectar on a bergamot blossom.

Butterfly weed attracted a bunch of different pollinators.

Maidenhair ferns caught a sunbeam in the shadowy woods.

A woodland spiderweb in the morning sunshine.

A dead tree still provides homes for wildlife, and for moss and lichens.

I hope you have fun creating from these photos!

Happy Creating!

Canoe Paddle & Nature Journaling

Quick sketching on a paddleboard is the essence of summer!  I had some new colored pencils to test out for my Nature Journaling class at the Community College of Beaver County, so I took them along on a paddle with David.

We traveled up a creek, under the canopy of the forest, where I cooled my feet in the stream water and sketched the overhanging maples.

When you sketch, you don't have to include every detail.  Pick out the areas of the scene that interest you, and focus on them.  You can simplify the rest.

I was interested in the areas where the morning light poured through the canopy and lit up leaves.  All around these bright areas were deep shadows -- a lovely scene.

I hope you take some time this weekend to make a sketch, & play with your art supplies.

Happy Creating!

Nature Photo Walk

One nature journaling technique I use when the weather is too hot or stormy to sit outside and sketch is to take a hike and snap photos with my phone.  Later, I can make sketches from the photos, and I often find tiny details that I'd missed when I first looked at the scene.

Let's go on a nature walk!  You can use these photos to make sketches as if you were walking through the meadow and orchard with me.

These photos were taken on a hot July morning on my farm.

I was entranced by the freshness of the bright green oak leaves on the tip of this branch.  New growth with  only a few bug holes! The darker, older foliage has been chewed by a variety of critters.

Trumpet creeper blooms.

These little mushrooms popped up all over the field.  We've had lots of rain over the last month.

The honeysuckle bushes are decked with bright red berries that catch the sunlight.

Wild blackberries have begun ripening.

Wild yarrow blooms along the fenceline.

I hope you have fun making art from these photos!

Happy Creating!

Summer Nature Journal: Watercolor Sketching

I snapped this photo of my neighbor's cow pasture on a morning walk.  I love this vista in any season.  This particular day, the blues and greens caught my eye.

I made a loose watercolor sketch of the scene using the photo above for reference.

When the paint was dry, I added a few lines with my Lamy fountain pen.  The combination of black lines and bold colors has always been a favorite of mine.

When winter comes, I will have a record of the summer's heat and growth in my nature journal.

If you'd like to nature journal with me, there are still a few spots left in my Nature Journaling class at CCBC.

Nature Journaling

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!