Touring the British Isles on the Queen Mary 2

David and I have returned from a tour of the British Isles aboard the Queen Mary 2! We have made Transatlantic crossings on this amazing ship in the past.  This voyage, we circled the UK, from Southampton England, past Wales, over the top of Scotland and back to Southampton.

The first stop on our journey was Cobh, Ireland, port city for Cork.  Kindly, local folks heard that our famous ocean liner would be pulling into the dock, and they came to see her.  We struck up a conversation with one of those locals, a red-haired, blue-eyed woman named Ann, who recommended that we visit Fota House, a restored home built in 1700 with working Victorian gardens and an arboretum. 

Along the dock & train tracks, we saw a mural celebrating local butterflies, right next to a lovely pollinator garden. I love how public art turns plain buildings into uplifting spaces!

We took a short train ride to Fota House, and walked through the grounds, finding this Victorian greenhouse.

I made a quick watercolor sketch of the gorgeous lilies I found inside.

The picturesque building was full of flowering plants like this scented geranium.

We also toured the arboretum, where I marveled at ancient, massive trees like this one. Many of the trees were planted in the 1800s.

I admired rose bushes like the one that bore these fruits.

If you'd like to learn more about Fota House and its history, check out their website here:

https://fotahouse.com/

If you find this inspiring, I hope you'll create art from these photos.

Happy Creating!

A New Week & New Art

One of the lovely things about a weekly planner is that you have to create it every week.  Because it's ordinary and routine, that takes the pressure off.  It's functional, with no expectations of being framed or even stuck to the fridge with a magnet. 

Let this be a reminder to give yourself time and space to doodle, with no expectations about the end product.  You don't have to make a planner page, just pick up a pen or pencil and a piece of paper and play! 

Happy Creating!

Summer Travels: The George Eastman Museum

Earlier this summer, my husband, David, my best friend, Robin, & I traveled to Rochester, NY to see the George Eastman Museum.  

We came to see the museum's collection of historic cameras and photographs, from early Daguerreotypes and box cameras ...

... to a massive camera designed for the NASA Lunar Orbiter Project in 1967.

An unexpected gem for me was getting to tour Eastman's home and gardens.

Here's a view of the flower garden from the second floor of the mansion.

I felt inspired by the beauty of his gardens, and snapped reference photos that I hope to revisit this winter when the world is cold and gray.

If you find any of these photos inspiring, I hope you'll make a sketch, a drawing or painting from them!

Inside George Eastman's house, we were treated to the elegance of a time gone by.  My favorite room was the library, full of books and comfy chairs.

Imagine unwinding in this quiet space!

Every detail within the house was artistic and inspiring.

We got to try our hands at opening Eastman's safe! Instructions were provided on the cabinet door.

We had a wonderful visit and I highly recommend it!

Happy Creating!

Organizing Your Art Supplies

I like to think of my art studio as organized chaos.  

Art supplies are gathered with similar materials, stuffed in baskets, drawers & boxes. Sometimes, the papers and brushes spill over their containers, but mostly, I have space to store items and space to work, and I can lay my hands on what I need.

I love this way of working -- letting things spill over a bit, but mostly having room to create.  My trick is to gather collage papers in one basket, watercolor brushes in a mug or two.  I gather similar things together, and find inexpensive storage supplies to hold them.

David built me this wooden bookshelf from lumber we picked up at the side of the road.  I love the old, funky nature of the wood and the memory of scoring it on a morning walk.

I bought an Ikea drawer set and decorated it with some old scrap wood I had.  You can read the post about that transformation here: https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/2024/06/an-upcycled-drawer-refresh.html

I like to keep certain often-used supplies near at hand. All sorts of useful things --from inspiring quotes to treats for the kitties -- live in these drawers.

I found this small metal drawer unit at a thrift store and labeled each drawer with white chalk.

Pens, erasers and pencil sharpeners are tucked into the drawers.

You may have seen the pegboard paint tube storage idea online. I got the idea of hanging up my acrylic paints from The Unexpected Gypsy.  It makes finding the right color easy!  And I love seeing my paints ready to help me create.

This old, wooden chest was $20 at Goodwill Industries.  I filled it with my watercolor tube paints and pastels (some of which were bought secondhand at the Pittsburgh Center for Creative Reuse (PCCR), a wonderful thrift store for art supplies.

I made the drawer organizer from cardboard boxes and hot glue.

Sketchbooks, class files and a wealth of papers end up in this Ikea cabinet:

Labels remind me what's stuffed in each basket and box.

We used to grow produce and haul it to farmer's markets to sell.  When we retired from farming, I turned our wooden bushel boxes, like the one below, into storage.

I bought the various boxes inside this bushel at PCCR secondhand.

A dear friend found this old wooden tool box at an auction and bought it for me.  It stores my colored pencils, ink dip pens and a variety of brushes, organized by medium.  Displaying your brushes & pencils  alongside nature's feathers, crystals & twigs turns your art supplies into a funky still life.

Though I have bought a few things from Ikea, most of my art studio organization comes from secondhand sources -- thrift shops, the side of the road, etc.  I go through my art supplies every few months to pull out items I no longer use so I can donate them at the PCCR.  

I consider cleaning up my space to be great self care.  I always feel more relaxed and inspired to create when I'm done cleaning up!

What can you find around your home to artfully hold your creative supplies?  Which of your art supplies would you like to put on display?

Setting up a beautiful, organized space to draw and paint in is a form of creativity.

Happy Creating! 

Dreaming of Castles

I've always wanted to sit and sketch a castle in the UK.  It seems such a romantic subject.

I was sorting through my collection of colored pencils --really just puttering and organizing supplies -- when a spark of inspiration struck.

I grabbed this antique postcard that I keep propped on my art table for inspiration, and I copied the image with colored pencils.

Sketching with my colored pencils helped me to figure out which ones to put in my pack for outdoor sketching.  And I got to pretend I was on the grounds of Kenilworth Castle in England.  

If you'd like to virtually visit this lovely historic site, you can check out the link:

https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/kenilworth-castle/

Happy Creating!

Sketch Autumn Leaves with Me!

A recent hike in the state park turned up a wealth of colorful sassafras leaves.  I had my nature journal and a pack of Caran D'Ache Neocolor II watercolor crayons.  I began with a pen and ink drawing, then added colors with the watercolor crayons

A bit of blending with a wet brush mixed the colors.  

Here are some photos from the hike. I hope you will to make your own colorful autumn leaf sketches.

Happy Creating!

Watercolor Vignettes of July

I finished a page of vignettes from earlier this summer.  You can see the photos I used for reference on this post entitled "Nature Photo Walk": https://betsyblissart.blogspot.com/2025/07/nature-photo-walk.html

Do you ever take walks in nature and find yourself whipping out your phone to snap a photo of a butterfly or beautiful leaf?  As I read through Rosalie Haizlett's Tiny Worlds, I realize that I see nature in detail -- the inchworm dangling from an invisible thread, the goldenrod blooming brilliantly in the sunshine, a single turkey feather dropped on the path.  Details capture my artist's eye.

 It's these small facets in the landscape -- the young cottontail rabbit I saw ahead of me on the grassy trail, the Redstart warbler who surprised me with his quick movements and bright call, the coneflower blooming elegantly in my flower bed-- that bring back that one walk earlier this summer. 

What catches your eye right now outdoors?  I hope you snap a photo of it, and make a sketch of your tiny worlds!

Happy Creating!