My favorite Pink

I went to the Tumwater Historical Park, hoping to find some blooming plum trees.
I was disappointed, it must be a little chillier down there. But, I did find these daffodils.  My bouquet of daffodils at home are finished, but I have this picture on my desktop.

 

a little visit to my mom and dad...

they have a beautiful Wild Currant in bloom.

I love this color, as you will see later in this post.

 

A break to make a snack!

Spiced Pecans: a Pinterest recipe

I think I'll sprinkle some on our salad tonight

(if there are any left).

 

I keep grabbing 15-20 minutes here and there to work in my art journal.

This one is watercolor on dictionary page. I think there's a little acrylic mixed in there (the white dots).

 

The opposite page... more watercolors on dictionary page.

I write down stream of consciousness words of what I am thinking about.

Some day I'll probably look back and go "huh?"

 

See what I mean about that pink?

 

I started this branch below with watercolor pencils.

I didn't like how it was coming out so I went over it with

watercolors from my koi field sketch set.

I

I had fun with the colors - it reminded me of coloring Easter Eggs.

 

and another version in a different book.

 

 

A fun technique to share

Today I tried out a technique I learned on PINTEREST.

 

supplies: 

watercolor paper

watercolor paints

stencils

 

I just used the stencils I had on hand.

I looked at the dollar store, hoping to find some

children's ones - like zoo animals

but no luck there.

 

My plan was to see if it would be possible

for my grandchildren to do.

A successful technique with watercolors?

 

This one got kind of runny and messed up.

using the right amount of water is important.

 

but some sketchy outlining saved it somewhat.

 

Its easy to mix colors.

 

Yes, I think the grandkids can do this!

I'm thinking the images could be cut out and made into a greeting card, or place cards or a bookmark.

 

 

You might see me at Joann's checking out the stencils tomorrow.

Bits and Pieces of me

I've been up to my eyebrows in paint and various media...A few nights ago I looked in the mirror and saw white paint (gesso I believe) in my hair!

 

Watercolor is my favorite though. The above dog on beach

is the best part of a larger picture...

 

Above I experimented with painting gesso over a magazine face, then painting over that with acrylics. I liked how the eye came out...

 

Now we're into my art journal...above

 inspired by a Julie Fei-Fan Balzer YouTube tutorial.

 

And having fun on St. Patrick's Day.

 

A little spread about a day spent with Tori and Wyatt.

 

A new stencil to try out...

 

fun with ink and watercolors on dictionary page.

I really liked how the watercolor worked on this paper.

I'll be doing a little more of this.

"I stuck my head out the window...

...this morning, and spring kissed me bang in the face."

                                                                  Langston Hughes

 

(picture from The Country Diary of an Edwardian Lady by Edith Holden)

 

Really!  The birds are singing - its like being in the jungle! a tree in our neighborhood is covered in pink blossoms!The sun has been shining all day and it is relatively WARM.

 

Blooming Hellebores at my mom's house...

 

...and a nest just waiting for a robin to return...

 

and primroses at all the stores.

What else says Spring like primroses?

 

 

Enjoying the journey.

OK, I know these aren't GREAT, but you are all my friends and I feel like I can show you without too much fear of harsh judgment.  I have great fun doing these, and I KNOW every new thing I paint I learn a lot and I can see getting to "where I want to be" eventually.

 

This is the Old Olympia Brewery.  I drove down there one day when the sun had been shining (but it wasn't any more) and took a few photos.  I sketched/painted the above from my photo.

 

and a while back I took a picture of the Crosby House in Tumwater.  I wanted to see if I could do justice to the gingerbread trim on it.  This was harder - too much white! but it was still fun and maybe if I do it again in a year I will see progress! Both of these I painted on old book pages, first prepared with a layer of gesso, so some of the book page shows through.

 

I started a new book/log of books I read in 2013.  I have three books inside - a drawing of the covers on one page, and on the opposite page is my little book review.  Its just for myself. This was a sketchbook with an advertisement on it, so I gessoed over it and sketched in my stack of books.

 

 

These are not my creation, but something I've been thinking about making just for fun. And, hey, its almost February 14th!   Victoria and I made her school valentines together.  A biggish butterfly cut out of scrapbook paper: a tootsie roll pop inserted where the body is supposed to be. A valentine greeting written on the back.

They're so cute, but I didn't get a picture.

 

I need to fill bobbins and get sewing tonight on doll clothes!

 

 

 

What I love ...

...about watercolor

1.  it dries fast
2.  you can mix any color under the rainbow
3.  If you mix a color you like, let it dry up, all you do is add water later
4.  cleanup is a snap
5.  I love the look of the vibrant colors
6.  it washes right off my hands
7.  it doesn't spill
8.  if my paper buckles, I just iron it.
9.  easy to start and stop many times during the day

 

I found a tutorial on these little "six stroke figures" on Pinterest.

They are easy! It's just a technique.

Look on my "watercolor" board if you want to see for yourself.

 

I've finished the "color" section of my online class.

 

warm colors (like sun and fire)

 

 

cool colors (like ice and shade)

 

...and many new background techniques...

 

When I paint, I set out FOUR water vessels. That way I can paint for quite a while without having to change water.  And if I'm using reds, and there is reddish water in one of the containers, I use that one.

 

Finally I am using all those brushes and paper and watercolor paints and things I've been collecting for years!

 

Soon I'll actually be painting objects (next lesson).  

Watercolor homework

1.  Mix colors on the paper - make leaves.

 

 

2. make flowers and background and shading with one color - several "values".

 

 

3. make flowers and background using primary colors: red, blue, yellow.

 

 

4.  paint with more color combinations.

 

5. make it rain. 

 

This lesson was all about color - mixing, choosing, painting.

 

no real artwork yet - just experimentation.

 

 

 

Messing it up again.

Now that my art room is nice and clean...time to mess it up again!

 

I'm watching my Alisa Burke Watercolor Bliss videos and online class and she demonstrated lots of watercolors, and also pointed out how you can make your own paints - out of things around your house...

so, I decided to paint a page using Red Rose Tea and a little Pinot Noir out of my wineglass...

 

 

I also used a little blue watercolor for shading.

I was surprised that the wine wasn't redder and that the tea wasn't browner.

The tea in the cup is several applications of tea.

Still, its unique. 

 

I also decided to do some demo pages of all the different kinds of watercolors I own.

This way I can take a look and decide what look I want when deciding which ones to use.

Below is my new Koi watercolor set.

24 vibrant colors!

 

...then I have a paint set from JoAnn's with 36 colors (left).

They are more opaque and look less "watery".

On the right is Royal Langnickel "tube" watercolors.

Pretty!

 

 

Alisa suggests starting with "cheapie" kids' watercolor sets.

That is what the one on the left below was from - dull and lifeless!

On the right are my Lyra Aquacolor watercolor crayons.

I like their look a lot too. (24 of them)

 

Below left are Caran d'Ache Neocolor II watercolor crayons.

They are gorgeous and easy to use. Perfect for art journaling.

And finally on the left are watercolor pencils.

Prisma (36 of 'em)

 

I had so much fun I was dreaming of watercolors all night.

It's a little embarrassing to have so many choices, and most of them are practically new.

The tea and wine were a fun experiment, but I Love color!

 

When I'm not dreaming of watercolors, we are watching Downton Abbey.

Love it!

 

Mission Accomplished and moving on...

I've been working on reorganizing my studio since Walker went back to school on the 13th. I did the same thing last January.  My mission was to get my sewing AND my art stuff all in one room - no more "spillover" into Walker's room...

 

I only bought one thing - a folding table for my sewing machine.

My sewing center is under the window.  My 18" dolls are under the little desk in the corner, reminding me to make some clothes for them and for their little cousins under the care of my granddaughters Taliah and Victoria.

 

This table is where I work on my artsy/paintsy things.

I am so happy to have a whole room for just my stuff! 

I got rid of a lot of things I had to ask myself hard questions about: rubber stamps, cooking magazines, quite a few quilting projects.

 

I tried to organize my painting stuff into one area, rubber stamp carving, ephemera, drawing supplies. I have a LOT of interests.

 

But, now I can start doing what I want to do with my free time!

 

I signed up for Alisa Burke's "WATERCOLOR BLISS" online class.

Diving right in!

See the little paintbox? Its the Koi Field Sketch pocket paint set.

I bought it on Amazon with some of my Christmas Gift Cards. 

 (Thanks guys! you know who you are!)

 

 

A flavorful gift

A gift received

 

 

Lemon salt and Lime salt

 

Ready to be sprinkled on...

salmon, steak, pork chops, stir fry...

Vicki gave it to me today at lunch.

 

I've been having artsy fun going over all the archives of Alisa Burke. I liked her "Fashion Fridays" and tried sketching what I was wearing today. I'm considering taking her online watercolorclass.  I like how free and easy her sketching and painting are. Mine is still a little "stiff".  Yes, that is supposed to be me.