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Draw with Words – Turtle Lettering
Get ready to draw with words as we create turtle lettering inside a turtle drawing. I seriously debated between more turtles and a unicorn. I know. I don’t usually head down the unicorn road. I’m a boy mom, after all. But I have a couple of special little unicorn lovers in my life, one of whom will soon have a birthday. That makes me want to pull out the calligraphy supplies, some pink and purple watercolor and … you guessed it! Glitter. I think I’ll save that unicorn for now (it might be the next tutorial … we’ll see). After the last tutorial, a turtle drawing, it felt like too…
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Calligraphy Turtle Drawing on an abstract background
In this tutorial, we’ll create a turtle drawing and some beach grass on an abstract background with a turtle shell design. We might as well finish the summer keeping with our beach theme. We’ve come this far. And by summer, I mean the days leading up to the return to school. My children are still young enough to measure life by school. It’s only natural that I do too. As we walked through the tutorials from the past couple of months, we’ve drawn a beach scene, a sand castle, and a beach quote but countless sketches have sprouted from my pen in search of each tutorial. These drawings include many…
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Beach Quote, Beach Words, Beach Background
Oh … that beach still calls … those waves still beckon … so let’s continue with our beach theme a little longer. How about some lettering styles for a beach quote or a few beach words. Then we'll bring in some beach color with a watercolor background. Calligraphy and watercolor, my favorite mix. I have really been missing the beach this year. These summery projects help me feel a few moments of that relaxing beach feeling, the glint of a beach memory. I hope they bring some vacation reminders and cheerful thoughts to your day too. I'll walk you through the background and quote I chose and include a video…
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Sand Castle Drawing with a Loose Watercolor Background
Okay, I admit. I’m missing the beach. Don’t get me wrong, I love the rolling hills and low mountains that I call home, but it’s been several years since we were able to take a beach vacation. And I’m longing to go again. When I go to the beach, I can relax and enjoy the salty smell, the tickling breeze, the warm sun, digging my toes in the sand while I read a book, the rhythmic sound of the crashing waves … the cool water lapping at my toes as I walk and look for shells, sand dollars or shark teeth (depending on the beach) … sigh … I guess…
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Beach Drawing and a Happy Birthday Lettering Printable
Learn how to make a beach drawing and turn it into a birthday card with one of the style options on a Happy Birthday Lettering Printable. Most of the designs I make are created around flowers or colorful backgrounds, but occasionally, I like to come up with cards or designs that show off a scene with a touch of humor. These cards are created while thinking of the men in my life and usually involve sleeping and mishaps (ex. A hunter falling asleep in a tree stand while a big buck looks on or a fisherman sleeping while a large fish thinks about nibbling his fingers). With the approach of…
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Ink and Watercolor – Testing Ink with Water on a Dragonfly Drawing
Let’s test a few inks to see how they hold up to water. Are they really waterproof? How soon can you paint over them? How do they compare with ink that isn’t waterproof? Learn all about it with a dragonfly drawing. Have you ever wanted to do something creative with watercolor and ink only to have the ink run all over the place when you put the watercolor on top of it? Or have you painted a lovely watercolor background only to have the ink bleed when you added your calligraphy or drawing layer? How frustrating! In this article, I'll compare a few waterproof inks with a non-waterproof ink and…
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Easy Drawings for Plant Labels
As summer approaches, we add to our garden and patio plants weekly. Plants often inspire my drawings and watercolor, and the outdoors teem with inspiration right now. Strawberry plants bloom, tomatoes and peppers wait for the day they become fresh salsa, lavender promises blooms and aroma while chives and parsley offer deliciousness sprinkled over food … I could go on and on. This week, we’ll turn this inspiration into easy drawings for plant labels. After drawing, painting, and lettering them, you can use them to decorate indoor plants or gift them with a plant. (These markers are for indoor use only, as they are not waterproof.) We may get our…
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Lilac Drawing With a Watercolor Background
My watercolor painting often follows outside inspiration this time of year. Lilacs are blooming, so it’s time for a lilac drawing tutorial. As much as I love putting pen and paint to paper, I also love being outside watching the world change and being a part of it … running, hiking, and growing things in my garden. Spring is the perfect time to be outside. I love to take my lunch or coffee out and sit on our brick patio, soaking up the first warm rays of sunshine after winter. I close my eyes and listen to the birds celebrating the return of spring. A couple of years ago, I…
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Calligraphy Alphabet
Sometimes … okay, often … I get tired of writing the same way. I love to explore different ways to write the same words, in as many calligraphy and lettering styles as possible, and I have many calligraphy alphabets that I rotate between. Maybe you feel stuck in one calligraphy style and would like to develop a new calligraphy alphabet for yourself. You’re in the right place. I’ll show you how I work through developing a new calligraphy style. You can apply the concept to any kind of lettering, using any tool you have. When developing a new lettering style, it’s helpful to think about one letter rather than all…
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Drawing Tulips
with a Watercolor Color Blend Drawing tulips doesn’t have to be complicated to be beautiful. In fact, minimal design can make the most memorable impact because of its simplicity. In this tutorial, I’ll show you how to draw a tulip in a few easy steps, then we’ll add a watercolor bleed color blend similar to the one we used with shadow lettering in the last tutorial. See the last tutorial here: Tulips Lettering. Are you ready to explore tulips? What you need: Watercolor paper Water, paper towel, and masking tape Round paint brush Winsor and Newton Cotman Pocket set (I used Cadmium Yellow Hue, Alizarin Crimson Hue, Viridian Hue and…
