British Isles: Scotland and Dunollie Castle!

I finally got to visit and paint a castle as I'd always wanted!

Dunollie Castle was about a mile walk from the port of Oban along the coastline.  

We climbed the hill to the castle ruins and enjoyed the views.  I took loads of photos like this one, and later painted this spread in my travel journal.

I began with a pencil sketch, then added fine ink lines with a Faber Castell India ink pen.

I added washes of stone colors once the ink was dry. The stone is made from mixtures of ultramarine blue and burnt sienna with touches of yellow Ochre and sap green to create the mossy bits.

The sky came next -- a wet wash of phthalo blue with ultramarine blue mixed in here and there.  While the paint was wet, I dabbed out areas of clouds with dry paper towel.

Next came the greenery -- mixtures of sap green with various yellows, and Hooker's green with ultramarine blue.  Also, phthalo blue mixed with burnt Sienna created the deep, foresty greens of the ivy-covered wall on the right.  The vivid, almost cartoon green grass was a mixture of phthalo blue and lemon yellow.

A few more details were added to the hedge on the left with various shadowy greens to give it depth.  Also, the grasses growing on the top of the castle keep walls were dabbed in with sap green and yellow Ochre.

Finally, the white grout between some of the stones was added in with a white Prismacolor colored pencil.

It was a joy to visit Dunollie Castle, and a joy to paint it!

 To learn more about Dunollie Castle, check out their website here: https://www.dunollie.org/

Happy Creating!

Art at the Beach, Part 2

The beauty of a travel journal is that you can quickly capture the scenes and mood of a place to lock it into your memory.

On our recent Florida beach trip, the gorgeous turquoise and cobalt blue of the Atlantic Ocean caught my eye and inspired this quick watercolor sketch of a fishing boat motoring down the beach.

A friendly beach-goer wearing an Army sunhat sat for me to sketch him in my journal.

A first sketch - like this one of the dune - may not look "pretty" or perfect.  It's helping you to see the scene before you and figure out how to draw it.

Here's the second attempt.

And below is a study of the Sea Oats at the front of the beach dune.

As easy as it is to snap a cell phone picture, research shows that making a sketch instead will help you recall more details about your experience -- the people, the colors, the conversations, your feelings, etc. 

Each of these sketches were made at the beach, in the moment, and each one carries with it memories of those moments. 

All you need to lock in memories like this is a small journal -- mine is 6" x 8" -- and a drawing implement -- a pencil, a marker or even a ballpoint pen. Keep these items handy for a quiet visit to a coffee shop, while you're talking on the phone, or to take with you on a short "art date" by yourself. 

Happy Sketching & Memory Making!

Color Journal Update

I have been working long hours lately, and find myself hungering for time to play with my art supplies.  One Friday evening recently, I tucked myself away in my studio with colorful markers and my watercolors.

I began with my Winsor & Newton watercolors in lemon yellow, Winsor blue and Hooker's green.  After those washes dried, I followed my intuition in exploring the positive and negative spaces of the page with Posca pens, Faber Castell black India ink pens, a white gel pen, & a set of inexpensive permanent markers. 

I have a voice within that says "Buy new art supplies, then you'll create masterpieces!"  

But I find that my old familiar pens and watercolors are friendly and inviting. And I can create endlessly with what I have.  

Why not dig out your favorite supplies and simply explore what they can do?  I hope you have a little play time soon!