Valentine's Inspired Weekly Planner

Snowed in and making Valentine's cards, I felt the draw of bright pink gouache paint for this week's planner page.  

I love Valentine's Day, making Valentine's cards and hearts in all shades of pink and purple!

Finding the theme, medium or idea that's inspiring to you is the first step.  The next step is to give yourself time and permission to play with that idea or material.  A weekly planner page is a great, low-pressure place to play.

Happy Creating!

Weekly Planner in Gouache & Marker

I was painting with gouache this weekend and decided to use up the extra blobs of paint in my weekly planner.  I love this planner because it gives me a reason each week to play with random art supplies.

I had a fistful of beautiful Faber Castell markers with dual tips -- a fine point at one end and a brush at the other -- found on a recent visit to the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse.  

The gorgeous markers added a lovely detailed element to this week's planner page.

I enjoyed the slow process of layering one medium on top of the next.  The clouds at the top of the page and the white lettering on the right side of the page were done with acrylic ink, and I used my Lamy fountain pen with permanent black ink to label the days of the week.

This quiet process of slowly making art based on your intuition and whims can be very relaxing and playful.  You don't have to make anything "important;" just play.  The beauty of the process is that you often develop ideas that you would never have thought of if you'd been "serious" about your art always.

 Art goals are fantastic to pursue.  Just remember to leave yourself some open time to play, too.

Happy Creating!

Painting in a Campground

A Wednesday afternoon in the state park campground provided a quiet woods with plenty of picnic tables for me to sit and paint at.  

Now that school is back in session, demand for campsites during the week is low, so tents and occupied campsites were few and far between.

I took advantage of the peaceful woods, finding a beautifully weathered and gnarled maple tree to paint in my 6"x 9" Soho kraft paper nature journal.

 I began with a rough pencil sketch, then began mixing colors and painting larger shapes and slowly added more details.  I focused on the bright highlights and dark shadows on the maple, and made sure to lay in a variety of greens in the forest canopy background.  

I ran out of time before I finished on location, so I took a few photos of the scene and finished the painting later at home.

Before I left, I wrote:

Sun-dappled woods.  An old, knobby maple tree in the campsite catches my eye -- packed with holes, warty, mossy & worn -- you know it has stories to tell.

Looking back at this entry, I remember the freshness of the air, the peace of the woods, and the mosquitoes!  And how I hiked down the hill to meet David for a paddle on the lake below.  The beauty of a September afternoon is recorded for me to visit whenever I wish.

I hope you take some time to record what is going on in nature around you today.  

Happy creating!

The Meadow in Gouache

One sunny afternoon, I set up my paints in a meadow to explore: 

• the contrast of bright Queen Anne's Lace against woodland shadows, 
• the textures of wildflowers & meadow grasses, and 
• the contrast of bare hickory branches against the blue September sky.

 

I made a simple pencil sketch, then painted the sky, the trees, and the meadow plants with gouache.  

Using this tan mixed media paper saved me from painting the tan grasses in the meadow.  I love using midtone paper, because it shows the highlights well.  Look at how the white Queen Anne's Lace blossoms shine brilliantly against the tan mixed media paper.

Before painting, I walked a path around and through this meadow several times.  As I walked, I noticed scenes and subjects that caught my eye.

You can use this trick any time you're out walking, even if you don't have your art supplies.  Simply walk along and notice what you are drawn to. Say "I like ..."

Are you fascinated by the puffy clouds in the sky, the autumn leaves, the dry grasses, or the way a spider web beads with dew?  

I've noticed that I like high contrast scenes, like the sun setting behind trees, when the light shines through the green leaves.

You could use your phone to take photos, and to record descriptions of what you like.

Sometimes I speak descriptions into my phone's notepad as I walk. I can later print them out and add them to my nature journal.

I hope you'll take some time in nature to create, or just to notice what you are drawn to.

Happy nature journaling!