Blog
-
How to Draw Pumpkin Sketches with Fall Words
Pumpkin sketches and fall words are the perfect way to express the fall feels of the autumn season. “And all at once, summer collapsed into fall.” ~Oscar Wilde As if overnight, fall is here. And it amazes me each year that as the nights turn cold and the days become blustery, the craving for fall deliciousness comes wafting along with it. Apples. Soup. Chai (and coffee, but there is always coffee). Pumpkins … oh! the pumpkins ... Not just food though, fall makes me want to pull out my sweaters, walk through the crunchy leaves, hold onto a hot mug, and pack into a wagon for a hayride through the…
-
How to Make a Flamingo Drawing with a Splash
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been all about pink, green and blue. Why? I had a request for some artwork, a flamingo and a dragonfly. I love drawing dragonflies, but why had I never thought about a flamingo drawing?! Might as well stay with the pink for a little while longer. So, while I was drawing flamingos in different poses and painting them in different styles, I decided that a flamingo drawing tutorial would be the perfect end to summer drawings. Shall we take one more trip to the beach? It might be the last for a while. Let's get started.
-
Draw a Unicorn with a Pink Watercolor Background
Here it is! The promised unicorn loaded with pink and topped with gold. I decided against the glitter. Glitter is fun, but it never stays where it's told. Then it shows up in the strangest places, or all of the places in sparkling paths around the house. And no matter how much glue I use … it never all stays stuck. I may be a boy mom, but I still have a couple of special little girls in my life who are (or might be) completely in love with unicorns. Recently, I used one of these unicorns on a baby shower card in honor of a little girl on the…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
