Sketchbook Sunday: Geraniums

Hi friends! Today for Sketchbook Sunday I am painting geraniums! These hardy plants do well in Maine, I got a potted geranium from my sister last week from mothers day (that’s the one we will paint) and a hanging basket from hubby and the kids. The hanging basket is currently on the porch but I am waiting to plant the potted one until the weather warms ups a bit.  I did feel bad for the hanging basket one night and brought it in but so far so good. I hope it can deal well with the cold and lack of sunlight. Tomorrow is supposed to be 70 but thunderstorms, hail, and windy rain. I might have to bring him in again and save him from the shock!

As always my sketchbook Sunday paintings are in time lapse but I do have a real-time lesson for this painting in Critique Club.

Supplies (Affiliate links used)

• Watercolor pencils
• Watercolor paints
• Gouache
• Watercolor brushes: #8 round, #2 round and this is the Princeton Cat’s Tonge that I used for most of the painting

Thanks for stopping by today! I hope you had a chance to work in your sketchbook this Sunday and til next time happy crafting!

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Expressive, Bold & Bright Bouquet!

Hi, friends! This week I was inspired by some lovely flower arrangements at a funky restaurant. I snapped a photo of one before I left because I wanted to paint it. Here is the photo I took:

And here is the painting we will paint today!

You can follow along and do what I do or you can use the photo and paint it differently. Watch the video for the real-time lesson and paint along! I recommend sketching on scrap paper and then transferring it on your good watercolor paper so you don’t have to be worried about erasing and marring the good stuff plus if you don’t like your painting you have the sketch already done and you can try again!

Supplies:

• Hahnemuhle Expression 140# CP watercolor paper. Also available at many fine art stores!
• M Graham Watercolors: Colors: Ultramarine, burnt sienna, sap green, permanent green light, Cad yellow light, card red light, Quin Violet
• Brushes: Creative Mark Mimik

*Want more flower painting lessons? Check out my Watercolor Flower Workshop and save 20% with coupon code TRYME OR learn the basics in this course Essential Tools and Techniques for Watercolor Painting. If you want more pastel training (not just for highlights) check out my course Soft Pastel for Beginners. The 20% off TRYME coupon will work on any course to learn something new and save some money today!

If you have any friends who would enjoy learning to paint please share this blog with them! I hope you enjoyed this supersized lesson and til next time happy crafting!

Confused about How Much Water To Use when Painting? I’ll show you!

Hi friends! I have had a few questions from readers lately wondering about how much water I am using. Specifically when I rinse my brush; do I blot it, tap of the excess or what and how much water am I mixing in my paint and adding to the paper.  Because my usually water bucket is large and unsightly I keep it off camera. I want to show the painting and palette as large as possible so you can see it better and I fear the camera might focus on the ridge of the bucket rather than on the artwork. But today, I found some smaller jars to put my water in so I can show you how much water I am working with. I hope you find it helpful as we paint this sweet scene together.

Gather your supplies and join me for a paint-along as you learn about water control!

Supplies (Affiliate links used)

• Windsor & Newton Watercolors (24 half pan in professional series) Colors used: Burnt sienna, Prussian blue, Ultramarine, Yellow Ochre, Sap Green
  On Amazon USA or way cheaper at Jackson’s Art (Worldwide shipping/low prices) On sale for $63
• Watercolor brushes: #12 round, 3/4″ flat (you can use 1/2″-1″ flat), #2 round or liner
• Paper: I used 8″x8″ Fluid Cold Press (I used Cellulose in this demo but I prefer cotton) Jacksons carries the 8″x8″ in both materials. Cellulose and Cotton. Amazon has the 8″x8″ cold pressed in cotton only.
• Other: 2 water buckets, a rag, paper towel and a cut up credit card

If you are new to watercolor and would like more training on the medium you might enjoy my online class Essential Tools and Techniques for Watercolor Painting. Use the coupon code TRYME for 20% off, learn more here.

If you enjoyed today’s tutorial please share it with a friend! It helps me know what tutorials are worthwhile and which ones are not. There are handy buttons below if you would like to pin it on Pinterest or share it on other social media sites too and I totally appreciate it more than you will ever know. Thanks and happy crafting!

Enjoying the weather while it lasts

Hi friends. It was full on sunny yesterday, not a cloud in the sky!

I took a long walk, treated myself to take-out and ate my lunch near a pond.

 

 

Then I painted a tree. I used the $13 Meeden fan palette and Arteza Watercolor Sketchbook like I did on my Kayak trip the other day. (Affiliate links used)

I hope you had a good day. Happy crafting!

Sketchbook Sunday & A Paddle on the Pond

Hi friends, Today for sketchbook Sunday I have a beachy (kind of) themed sketch. A mason jar of seashells:

I really didn’t know what I was going to work on. I’ve been in a funk but I had this jar of shells on a shelf in my studio for years and I thought that this is as good as anything and I also wanted to use my PanPastels so I decided to use them both.

I hope you enjoyed the time lapse video. The real-time tutorial is available in Critique Club right now. Critique club is a monthly membership group ($5/month) that allows you to submit 2 paintings a month for customized feedback from me. You also get 2 real-time tutorials each month from my Sketchbook Sunday series explained step by step.

Supplies:

• Pan Pastels & Applicators
• Toned Grey Sketchbook

If you want to learn more about pastels check out my comprehensive online course Soft Pastels for Beginners. *Save 20% with coupon code TRYME Working with pastels is so fun, if you ever wanted to give it a try but you don’t know where to start this is the class for you! You learn the basics and create 4 complete paintings utilizing the skills and techniques I teach you. It’s a lot of fun too! I hope to see you in class!

I went for my first paddle of the season today…

Wait, let me back up a bit.  I ordered a stand-up paddleboard a month ago because I always wanted one and I thought it would be easier to take that out than a kayak when I want to get on the water. I don’t like to inconvenience anyone to go with me because I often want to stop and paint and it can be boring for others. I knew the paddleboard was heavy (53 lbs) so I started doing some resistance training to build muscle so I would be able to lift it on and off my van to get it to the water. I knew I had plenty of time to “muscle up” before the weather was warm enough because we have been living in perpetual winter since October. I was sitting on the couch drinking my coffee this morning and decided I wanted to go kayaking. Much to my surprise I could now lift, load and manage the kayak all by myself! Also to my surprize, I could shove it in my minivan diagonally! I grabbed a paddle, my life jacket and off I went. It was so peaceful, I was the only person on the pond. I paddled out to an island that is uninhabited as far as I know and took some photos.

I was thinking about pulling up the kayak and getting out to paint when I spotted this:

So many questions! Whos is it, how long has it been there, why is it there? As curious as I was I have watched too many horror movies to know better than to hang around to find out so I high-tailed it out of there as fast as my arms could paddle! After feeling that I had narrowly escaped The Island of Dr Moreau I paused to watch a pair of fishing loons and paint the view towards a marsh that opens up to a larger lake.  I kept drifting and my view kept changing but all in all, I am happy with my sketch.

I used the Meeden watercolor fan palette that I hadn’t used since last summer and the water in that waterbrush sure was musty! I had just put it in the van because I wanted to make sure I always have something handy, I guess I should give that a good clean LOL! That’s all for me today. It’s been a rough winter so I don’t want to waste a single decent day. Don’t take your time on this earth for granted. Do something good today! Happy crafting!

 

 

Watercolor Succulents! You can paint this!

Hi friends! I have had many requests to paint succulents in watercolor, honestly, I may already have and I forgot LOL! After 2000 videos they start to blur together!

I picked up a couple potted succulents last month in a vain attempt to bring some springtime into my home. I don’t know how much more dour Maine weather I can take. The snowbirds are looking smarter every year! I snapped a photo of the potted succulent arrangement (I got it Home Depot, it was around $7) so you can see the plant I am working from.

I got a magnifying lamp from Brightech (today’s sponsor) and it made seeing the detail so much easier. I have been using it for a couple of weeks and it has tremendously helped in the eye strain department. You can learn how to paint the succulent in today’s video and see the lamp in action in case it’s something that might be useful to you!

Sponsored by Brightech! Click here for a Coupon good for 15% off any Brightech magnifier lamp. See all Brightech designs here. My lamp is the Lightview 2 in 1.

Supplies (Affiliate inks used)

• Watercolors (Paul Rubens set of 24)
• Hot Press Watercolor Paper (Paul Rubens)
• Zen Watercolor Brush set (3/4 cats tongue and #8 round used from the set) *Make sure to use the $5 off coupon on Amazon to get this set for $20

I think I’ll spend sometime outside this afternoon. I drove down the beach after I went to the grocery store today and walked around. The water is really high this year, there was hardly any beach at my little pond. I think I need to pack up some paint and go back and make my own sunshine. Til next time happy crafting!

PS if you don’t want to draw your own succulents I did design a set of succulent rubber stamps for Rubber Stamp Tapestry you might enjoy:)

A Calming Scene in Water-Mixable Oils

Hi friends! I got busy yesterday and forgot to post my sketchbook Sunday, which was actually a painting on a canvas panel because that is what I felt like doing LOL!

I am so ready for spring and summer, I could totally imagine taking one of those boats for a spin! Watch the time lapse to see how I painted it.

Supplies available at sponsor Jerry’s Artarama! Use coupon code: frugal20FS49 for 20% off $49 + Free Shipping (Excludes: Sale, Super Sale, Egift Cards, Buy It Try It’s and Vendor restricted items. Look for the green coupon eligible icon on the product listing.

Supplies:

• LUKAS Berlin water mixable oils set of 10
• Canvas panel 11″x14″
• Mimik Hog Brushes
• Black Swan Brushes
• Reference Photo

I hope you have a relaxing day and enjoy the sunshine if you have it! Happy crafting!