Thankful time...

Let us be grateful to people who make us happy; 

they are the charming gardeners 

who make our souls blossom.
- Marcel Proust 

I've been missing out on giving my blog some love lately,

 as I've been consumed with the joys of teaching watercolor, 

building my website, and planning online classes…

seemingly...a "never ending process" these days.

This time of year, always brings pause for 

thoughtfulness & thanks.

I can't tell you all how grateful I am, for the support, from so many 

on my artistic endeavors. 

There is so much joy that comes from this artistic life 

and the connection to all of the lovelies 

we meet along the way...

you are all the ones 

that make my soul blossom.

In that spirit…

here's a tutorial on how to watercolor a "couple" of pears.

Afterall, what's one pear without the other?

A quick sketch and some water wash on the sheet ( I used arches 130LB)

Then a little leaf green- loosey goosey.

A little water where you want the color to go and some cad. yellow.

we're working light to dark… the leaf green has yellow properties.

more cad yellow...

A  little quinacridone gold in spots where you see the bruises and the darks on the pear.

A little cad red medium glazing over the still wet yellow...

Building up the cad red a little...

A touch of leaf green for some sparkle… 

careful, as it will get a little brown when mixed with the red. 

A light hand is best… a little brown will be ok, but too much will look muddy.

If it gets too muddy, lift it lightly with a corner of paper towel and add more.

The cadmiums aren't as transparent as other colors.

a touch more….

Quin gold over the wet cad red …gives that pear a little texture, 

almost like the rough skin on a pear.

Introducing…. indigo over the wet leaf green area. 

The darks are going down!

(I normally might go to ultramarine, but indigo has a dark blue black feel- 

looking for some drama here.)

a touch of leaf green again...

a little more indigo...

Drying down… the color fades a touch as it dries…

quinacridone started in the stems… 

For the stems… a little clear water first… 

a touch of quin gold over the water.

Then some paynes grey ever so lightly dropped into the stem.

Paynes + Quinacridone Gold make a beautiful earthy branch, twig, stem color.

This image also shows me adding a touch of cad over the dry area.

Finishing some paynes gray over the quin gold on the green pear's stem.

Background time… a wet wash in order to drop some complimentary color on...

I'm feeling some turquoise, 

to add some glow and enhance the color in the pears...

Viola! 

Signature time… or whatever style you prefer to finish with.

I chose a little rubber stamp today.

Two haPPy friendly pears with a glow of color.

My gift to you! 

haPPy Fall…Winter…

Season of Blessings…

Season of Giving.

At Long Last… and a Video too!

 Finally… at long last… woo hoo!

Thank-you, thank-you, everyone... for being patient with me.

 This is the second installment of my blog series… 

step by step watercolor.

In my last post, I had shared a bit about what kind of materials 

I like to use when painting my watercolor sketches, 

as well as a bit about my palette. 

I mentioned that I would do a colorful veggie sketch...

but actually was inspired by this lovely bunch of flowers I found 

at the Ballard Farmers Market, while visiting Seattle.

(No worries...I'll definitely do a veggie sketch on another post.)

I decided to put a little video together, so you'd have 

a true step by step experience.

The biggest take away I believe, will be 

the way I like to use my color wet into wet,

 and glaze over color, 

both, when wet & dry.

Many have asked me how I get such vibrant color…

I do believe it's the combination of mixing paint,

 to create great color

(not straight from the tube all the time)

as well as layering, 

one on top of another.

And of course, leaving some sparkling white of the paper 

to keep those little shimmers of highlight, on your subject.

Here's a little

step by step...

Take a peek and see what you think…

Flower Watercolor Sketch Video

The sketch in this video is done in my Stillman & Birn Beta sketchbook ...

a perfect paper for watercolor and glazing.

Next post will be another glazing process- maybe veggies… 

then we'll roll into some how to's... of the script handwriting 

that I like to do on my sketches and my signature block.

Stay tuned…. 

Feel free to leave any comments or questions... 

Check back if you're interested 

or join this blog site by signing up on google connect.

( see connect block in left column.)

Watercolor time...

Some days I find I am writing more than painting. 

Who knew? 

Some days I find I am building my website more than painting… 

Who knew?

Some days I find I am tending to others needs more than painting…

Who knew?

This path of growing an art life will always be riddled with stops and go's...

making that time spent painting 

so much more appreciated.

So with those moments…

I've been working in my S&B sketchbook painting a series of veggies. 

This time of year, brings back memories of summers 

on the east end of Long Island…

where a farm stand resides

on many a small town road.

Fresh strawberries abound, for making jam.  

and..veggies brighter than the sky, 

delight the eye with their homegrown goodness.

I got to thinking about my affinity for painting elements 

from different seasons…

the flowers of spring, fruits & veggies of summer, the leaves of fall… 

and the flowery greens of winter. 

I find myself returning to them, just like home.

In the wake of developing this little series...

I've been getting tons of questions and requests regarding my palette, 

my process, the brands I use, the glazing, the calligraphic words, 

and my little signature block.

I've decided to do a series here to provide answers to those questions.

Woo hoo! Went through a dry spell with words,

and now have an array of informative posts planned for you all. 

If you have any specific questions about my process, 

feel free to leave a note in the comment section.

I'll be posting once a week…

starting with my palette and brands of paint.

Grateful for all of your artsy support friends!

What's so BIG About January & February?

(working as an apprentice under the masters, allows one to explore 

the master's style… and later apply to your own works)

Part of my BIG for this year 

was a commitment to learning & growing…

a promise to myself to develop my own art with intent, 

as well as the art that I am teaching.

Kind of like those New Year promises that we make

that involve a gym, losing weight, and eating really healthy.

I am happy to say, that I haven't joined a new gym- 

haven't been drinking green blender drinks either...

 but I have kept the commitment to develop my art 

and I am really happy with what I feel is happening.
Part of the BIG 
was taking two online classes while juggling the rest of life.
Turns out to be one of the best decisions ever!
The quality of the two classes, along with the content has stretched me, 
pushed me, disciplined me, and opened a sense of freedom 
beyond what I was accustomed to in own my process.
So… the recommendation's go like this…
Studying with the Master's
a Jeanne Oliver class with some all-time favorite teachers 
(including my beloved Junelle Jacobsen)...
and Full Circle Workshop with Misty Mawn.
Both are in process, but are accessible online for a year or more.
Both have been instrumental for creative growth bigtime!

The charcoal sketch above and two pieces below are from

 Misty Mawn's Full Circle workshop.

The variety of work Misty teaches is amazing, and the techniques she shares, 

soooo allow you room to build upon. 

The parallel I found here, 

was whether working from 

the "masters" or working 

from a "master"…

you're going to learn about yourself & build upon your own style.

Just as "art learning" should be… 

I can see the BIG part of the past 7 weeks or so... 

to be that self-discovery 

that will only sharpen 

the process, and make my art 

and teaching better for the people I share with.

So grateful that we can learn so much from and with other kindred spirits

through this crazy thing called e-course!

…more master's study with Matisse..

Does Watercolor Scare you?

An essential aspect of

creativity is not being

afraid to fail.

-Edwin Land

Fearless, fearless... that's what I know to be true.

The mind says "be fearless"...
but the heart says... 
"Yikes... this is out of my comfort zone"

So many people tell me they think watercolor is a difficult medium.

I don't know why, but watercolor came easier to me than oil and acrylic.

Although I LOVE both of these mediums... 

there's something about the organic nature of watercolor 

that forever calls my name.

I think the "uncontrolled" temperament of the medium 

is what scares & delights at the same time.

I've been asked by so many 

to share some of what I know...

the hows and whats of my process.

Talk about having to be "fearless"...

I finally completed the process of learning how to make a video

that I feel comfortable putting out into the world.

Grateful for a course that I highly recommend...

(by the incredibly talented, 
most fabulous soulful photographer
Vivienne McMaster...)
I now know that I can be 
"be fearless"...

(after really being out of my comfort zone)

 in creating video's to share along the way.

Thank-you Vivienne McMaster! 

This is only the beginning...

(to learn to make "soulful video's" and more... check out Vivienne McMaster's online courses!)

Palettes of color....

"I think palettes 

are a glimpse 

into the soul 

of a painter. 

Yep, you're going to heaven."

~Brian Schnetzer 

(friend extraordinaire)

When I posted a photo of my watercolor palette on facebook recently, 

one of my dearest friend's 

left the words above on my page.

I was so touched...

(well, he's that kind of person- one of those rare & cherished friends)

...he gave me cause to think...

our palette says a lot about who we are 

and how we approach our work.

If you've been on this blog space of a journey with me ... 

you are probably well aware of 

my affinity to 

w a t e r  C O L O R. 

(with an emphasis on the color part.)

 So many sweet friends have been asking about what colors I use, 

what type of paint, how etc. 

I thought it might be fun to start sharing some posts 

on the "how to's of what I do's".

I kind of see myself as a "rebel" when it comes to following (NOT) 

hard core "tradition" in watercolor. 

The very essence of the medium, evokes freedom and lack of control...

which is probably why I love it so. 

I am always learning lessons on 

 l e t t i n g   g o

a n d

t r u s t i n g,

when I create with watercolor.

Upon taking a deeper look at my palette, 

I noticed that I didn't have all of my colors lined up exactly 

with warm and cool colors in their proper place. 

I tend to put random bursts of color 

"outside of the box"

so to speak.

I also noticed that a lot of times, those random bursts of color 

are used in my work, as that color gem- that little sparkle added to the page.

Wow, there's more to your palette when you start to really look at it.

It's kind of a metaphor for how I like to create

and live my creative life.

What paint?? I am asked often...

I like a combination of Holbein & Windsor Newton brand.

You can see from my journal book pages 

that I am a big fan of wet on wet and glazing techniques.

I believe those techniques, allow me to achieve a lot of depth, 

as well as an organic feel to my work.

The "pear and lavendar" spread above, is from one of my journal books-

inspired by all that I learned from Wild Art classes with Junelle Jacobsen.

I am sooo in love with journal pages...

as it allows the freedom to explore and create 

for a larger work.

Tomorrow starts a "new session" of Wild Art  called 

Wild Art Summer.

I'm feeling like a little kid... so looking forward to creating new projects, 

and connecting with an incredible group of people.

If you like the idea of creating in a journal, exploring with watercolor 

and so much more... 

I would highly recommend signing up for Junelle's class. 

It starts tomorrow, but is a go at your own pace online e-course.

It's most inspiring for those who like to

"color out of the lines"... like me.

photo above: Junelle Jacobsen's wild art class

What colors are on your palette?

In my next post, I'll share a little on how I go about painting with glazes 

using my "out of the box" color palette.

Hope to see you in the Wild ART Summer group. 

The In-Between Spaces...

I've been away from my blog for a bit...

well... okay, maybe for more than a bit.

(g u i l t y)

I got to thinking...

sometimes in the craziness of our lives

when no words will come...

we just need to be 

quiet,

need to be 

still,

just need to 

be...

I like to think of these times 

as the 

in-between spaces...

...much like 

that dark crack in the concrete 

where you see a tiny bloom

poking through 

making you wonder...

I'm finding...

there's beauty in the 
in-between spaces...

it's where we grow.

During this time of 
in-between spaces

I find myself drawing & sketching,
planning  & gathering... 
  (for bigger, more scary things)

journaling & exploring ideas...

teaching & sharing with those I love...

painting, painting, painting...

and building toward my "art future".

(website, & video's are coming together)

Time to be accepting, 

of the time it takes to grow... in the 

in-between spaces.

What are you growing in your 

in-between spaces?