-
How to Draw a Surfboard to Celebrate Christmas in July
After deciding on this tutorial, I realized that Christmas in July has an actual date, July 25, rather than celebrating the whole month. Makes sense. The 'real' Christmas has an actual date, too, but ... I still celebrate it all month long. So, even though I missed the actual date, the tutorial stands. If you'd rather use it to celebrate something else, like a birthday, it will work for that too. I'm all for celebrating whenever we can, so the idea of an extra holiday in July totally works for me, minus snow. I can't do snow. Though I look for holidays all over the place, seasons are to be…
-
How to Make a Beach Time Clock Drawing
Most of the year, I keep pretty busy in among a slurry of artwork, sports schedules, gardening and the neverending homemade menu. But when I’m on vacation, everything is peaceful and relaxed. All time melts into a calm, very flexible plan. We rarely have to be anywhere at a given time. I mean, who cares if we eat at set times? Sure … we have time for another walk on the beach. Ice cream instead of lunch? Let’s do it! Sit on the balcony and stare at the waves for hours? Soak it up. In fact, on this year’s vacation, I realized just how stressed I operate the rest of…
-
How to Draw Snowflakes on a Cozy Mug
I like having a variety of seasons, and I’m lucky enough to live in a part of the world that allows me to taste a touch of each season. This year, we are having a very winter kind of winter, much like the white winters I grew up with close to the snow belt. I think this is the first winter that rivaled my childhood winters since I moved away 20 years ago. If you’re like me, winter makes you want to hunker down, find a warm (preferably soft) blanket, and sip a hot drink. I search out and claim coziness, especially on the coldest, windiest days. But, let’s get…
-
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…
-
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…
-
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…
