DIY Travel Postcards

We just returned from a winter escape to Florida, where we spent our days on a lovely, natural beach. 

I carried in my art kit a few pieces of 140# watercolor paper cut into 4" x 6" pieces to make postcards with.

On the beach, I found beautiful shells to set up in the sand, and then sketched them in watercolor, adding waterproof ink lines with a Faber Castell Pitt Artist Pen when the paint was dry.

You can also draw the scene in pen first, then add watercolor washes when the ink is dry.  Either way works well.

If you're feeling the fear of the blank page, working on a separate sheet of paper can help loosen your hand up.  If the painting doesn't work out, you can recycle the paper and try again on a fresh sheet.  And if it does work, you'll have a postcard to send to someone!

I clipped the papers onto my travel journal, and used a water brush pen to paint.

You can see that the salty sea air caused unusual feathering in the backruns in the water & sand.  Salt attracts water, drawing the paint pigments with it and creating feathery clumps of color.  I love that the sea air collaborated with me in my art-making!

I enjoyed trying to express the incredible shades of blue and turquoise in the sky and water.

 Because postcards are so small, I could make a series of them quickly.

Back at the hotel, I laid them out in the sunshine.

I hope you'll make drawings and paintings from the photos below.

Happy Creating!

Art at the Beach, Part 3

The ocean waves rolling into the beach where David and I visited were stronger on the second day of our stay. I could hear the pounding surf all day long as we sat up by the dunes.  We could feel the energy of the waves washing over us, & scouring the grayness of winter from our bodies.

Our first day on the beach happened to coincide with low tide, and the beach was littered with beautiful shells.  I gathered a handful and made pencil sketches.

 

I enjoyed following the delicate lines of the shells, looking mostly at the shells sitting on the sand, and only occasionally at my drawing.

You can begin a journal with any theme you like, from nature observations, to your travels, to journals of imaginary characters.  

I hope you'll give yourself the gift of time sketching this week!