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C and Candelabra
Letter C and Candelabra This project is part of a study in letter styles and object styles beginning with that letter. Each week will focus on one letter and one object beginning with that letter in order to collect and practice various artistic styles and alphabets. Recently, I had the opportunity to accompany my son and his class on a field trip. It consisted of touring several local historical sites. I’ve lived here for 18 years (yikes! already?) and had never been inside of any of them before this trip. One of our stops, the Slifer House, a mansion built just before the Civil War, overflowed with antiques. Large…
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Make a Simple Watercolor Wash
Make a Simple Watercolor Wash Watercolor washes have many uses. A background for a card or a hand lettered quote. A first layer for a design or to add depth to a painting. Not only are they useful, watercolor washes are simple too. Ready to give one a try? You will need: Watercolor paper (I am using Canson 140lb.) Masking tape Clipboard Flat brush Paint Water Paper towel 1. First, tape your watercolor paper to a clipboard or other surface to keep it from warping as it dries. I like to cut my paper into quarters to work smaller. Then, if I want to use a wash for a…
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Basic Hand Lettering Supplies
Lettering supplies can be simple or complicated. There are so many options to choose from, and each lettering site you visit will have their preferences. If you’re a beginner, start simple. There’s plenty of time to jump into the truckload of tool options later. For now, grab a brush pen and a pencil. A good eraser doesn’t hurt and some graph paper. Just work on form and give your muscles some practice. I know it’s tempting to go buy all of those pretty color options. I had to hold myself back when I started. Funds don’t stretch forever and I don’t like to have things I don’t use laying…
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Basic Watercolor Supplies
When you get started with watercolors, it can be quite overwhelming. My advice? Begin small and cost-effective. You’re learning and maybe don’t know if you like painting with watercolors yet. You don’t need artist grade supplies to get a feel for the medium. Buy them when people start asking you to paint for them. That said, artist grade paints will have more pigment in their colors, making their colors richer. But no matter which brand you buy, each behaves differently, so you will always need to get to know your brand. Here are a few basics to get you started painting because painting is the goal, not amazing supplies. Winsor…
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Letter B and Blowfish
Letter B and Blowfish This project is part of a watercolor and hand lettering style study. Each week will focus on watercolor and ink using one letter of the alphabet and one object beginning with that letter in order to collect and practice various artistic styles with each. Several objects beginning with the letter B begged me to paint them. Bees, of course, as we have two hives in the backyard. As I thought about bees, I realized I’m not quite sure what I want my bees to look like and everything I drew became too complicated and realistic. I like realistic, but I want my own style of…
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Watercolor Mother’s Day Card Tutorial
Watercolor Mother’s Day Card Tutorial Today, I’ll share a watercolor Mother’s Day card tutorial with you. With Mother’s Day, memories of the sweet influence of so many wonderful women crowd my mind. Some are mothers. Some are not. Some are here and some have passed on. For those who are here, a card seems appropriate to remind them of my care. For those who have passed on, I’ll take some quiet moments to remember the joy they brought to my life. Among the millions of store bought cards, I rarely find one that I want. The quote doesn’t fit or the look isn’t my style. So I dreamed…
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Hand Lettered A and Watercolor Azalea
This project is part of a study in letter styles and object styles beginning with that letter. Each week will focus on one letter and one object beginning with that letter in order to collect and practice various artistic styles with each. Hand Lettered A and Watercolor Azalea Has A come and gone already? That time-disappearing speed must mean I’m having fun. I hope you are too. And already I see there will be some letter styles I continue until the end of the alphabet and some that I drop off after a few letters. Feel free to do the same as you study your letters and objects.…
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Mix a Color Wheel
Mix a Color Wheel May snuck up on me. I wanted to keep studying style, even repeating the exercises over and over with new objects and letters. So, I will with a continued style study. You can find the introduction here. Sometimes I feel constrained by time. It places boundaries on me that I don’t always like. In saying that, give me a time? I tend to be early. Sometimes too early. But there are times when time just feels like it wants to tie me down. I can feel that way when I’m working on projects here. Because I frame ideas and projects by the length of the month.…
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For the Love of Style Study
This project is part of a study in letter styles and object styles beginning with that letter. Each week will focus on one letter and one object beginning with that letter in order to collect and practice various artistic styles with each. For the Love of Styles Last month, I had so much fun thinking of different styles to paint that I didn’t want it to end. So, as a challenge to myself and because I have the interest, I decided to continue processing in the study format. I plan to continue looking at a single something (object, animal, flower, scene, word, etc) and look at it through several…
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Analyzing Style
Analyzing Style Earlier in the week, I posted my promised verbal style project, Your Style in Letters. If you didn’t see it, you can check it out here. The visual style project using Trillium is here. I will refer them below. Now that you’ve spent a little time looking at, thinking about, and playing with style, take a little time to think through what you learned about yourself and your art. Jot it down so you can refer back to it later to see how you change and grow … and to see how it affects your art. Pieces of Learning I’ll share a little about what I am…
