Daffy Down Dillies for Self Care

This time of year, you find potted flowering bulbs like daffodils and tulips in the stores, offering a taste of spring at the end of winter.

I use these flowers in my artistic self-care routine by sketching and painting them.  When I draw or paint something, I connect with it deeply, and connecting with the vitality of fragrant daffodils lifts my spirits.

I started this painting by mixing the colors I saw in the blooms, and choosing a composition.  I sketched with my watercolors rather than using a pencil.

After letting the first washes dry, I added shadows in the yellow blooms by mixing Permanent Blue Violet with Cadmium Yellow Hue.  I used Permanent Rose mixed with Viridian Hue to make leaf shadows.

Orange yellow and blue violet are opposite each other on the color wheel, and so are rose and green.  

Whenever you mix a color with its opposite, you create neutral browns & grays.  

When you place two color opposites next to each other, they create bold contrasts that catch the eye.

At this stage, I thought about leaving the negative space around the flowers white, but I decided to add a bit of drama to the scene using color opposites.

I painted the area around the flowers with clear water, then touched in a brush rich with color, working quickly and using Permanent Blue Violet, Permanent Rose and French Ultramarine Blue allowing the colors to blend on the page. 

Before the washes had dried, I sprinkled in table salt to add a feathery texture.

After the painting had completely dried, I brushed off the table salt.

Playing with color opposites is a great way to liven up your artworks. 

Why not play with paints, markers, colored pencils or whatever you have on hand for creative self care?

You're worth it!

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!

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!

Beach Postcard Painting Inspiration

One way to keep enjoying your vacation once you return home is to create from your photos. 

 I have been diving back into pics from our recent Florida trip.

 The beauty of the wild dunes and the clean ocean sand made me wish I had more time to paint the scene while there in person, so I snapped this photo with my cell phone.

I've used this photo to create a little postcard.  This one is roughly 3" x 6".  The first washes were made with a number 8 round brush.

I finished the card with a number 1 rigger brush (shown in the top picture). 

Why not dig out your favorite photos from a past trip and immerse yourself in them artfully?  

Or find a photo of a place you'd like to visit and make a journal entry, a post card or a painting. 

 Follow your intuition!

And remember that you're not a camera, you're not trying to create an exact replica of the scene in the photograph.  Your goal can be to simply experience the beauty you see in a photo.  

Art at the Beach

 

Over last weekend, David and I vacationed in Florida on a gorgeous natural beach.  The beauty of the dunes, the plants, and the wildlife inspired and relaxed me.  

Between dunks in the Atlantic Ocean, I sketched, snapped photos of nature, and painted.  I used the photos I took to create more pages in my travel journal after we had left the beach.  

Above is a painting I made of Sea Grapes while waiting for our flight home.  Here's my reference photo:

My travel art supplies fit into a makeup bag I bought at the Goodwill.

Less is more!

I find that having fewer supplies makes me more likely to draw and create, and that filling a 6"x 8" journal page is less daunting than a larger space. 

Why not give yourself the gift of a mini art vacation to sketch, relax and play with your art supplies?

Even if travel isn't in your plans, you can still set up a travel art kit.  Pick out a few of your favorite supplies and tuck them into a pocket, a pack or a zippered case, then visit someplace interesting to you.  It could be a coffee shop, a park or a greenhouse in your area.  

Any sketch, even one you see as imperfect, is far more interesting than a blank page.  

And every time you create, you build your skills & practice self care.

Create. You're worth it!

Flower Power!

I bought carnations for my drawing students at the Community College of Beaver County to practice on last week, and had some leftovers after class.  

The flowers have brightened up my studio, and inspired me to play with India ink in a Pentel Pocket Brush Pen. I focus on making marks that feel freeing & expressive.

 After the ink dries, I add watercolor washes.

Because India ink is waterproof, you can add watercolor washes over the top as soon as the ink has dried, creating bold contrasts.  

I hope you can have a play with colorful art supplies and a bouquet of flowers.  

The flowers will lift your spirits twice - as you enjoy the blossoms decorating your home, and as you create artworks based on them.  Remember, you're not a camera.  You don't have to create a super-realistic artwork.  Just play with lines & colors inspired by the flowers! 

Color in Winter

When the weather is February gray, and you feel like you need a splash of color, try cutting up small pieces of watercolor paper and playing with watercolors, making brush strokes that feel natural to your hand.

I began this piece by splashing in watercolors.  After that layer was dry, I added India ink touches to pop the contrast up.

These are great to prop in a place you will see them, so you can benefit from their bright colors.  I dropped this one into a letter to my best friend.

Happy art-making!