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How to Use Mixed Lettering on a Fishing Quote
I didn’t grow up fishing, but I did grow up going to the beach and the lake. These trips usually involved swimming, boat riding or skiing. But now I have a father-in-law who loves a good day fishing as well as a husband and couple of sons who enjoy it occasionally too. Me? I love the fishing day feeling … the aura that goes with the idea of a peaceful day on the lake. Whenever I smell salt or lake air, I see the beauty of creation and feel that I’m-gone-and-might-not-be-back feeling. Do you know the feeling too? Where do you go to let your cares drift away? Today, we’ll…
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Fall Quotes, Calligraphy Styles, and Watercolor Backgrounds
We must have had the perfect mix of hot and cold, wet and dry this summer because we are having one beautifully colorful fall. We needed an amazing fall this year. I needed it as a reminder that good things exist in the midst of difficult times. Today, I want to capture some of that beauty … some of that reminder ... in color and sentiment and style, in other words, watercolor, quotes, and calligraphy. We’ll paint a watercolor background using two different methods. Then, I’ll show you three of my favorite fall quotes, each written in a different calligraphy style. After that, it’s up to you to put them…
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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.
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Lettering Tulips
My family and I live in the country, so this time of year when the days are sunny and starting to warm, the outside beckons to me. It’s not enough to work at my desk and look outside. That just makes me feel cooped up. I want to be out there in the growing grass and warm breeze, 40s or lower 50s (I know, but it’s warm to me right now). Still … there is work to be done. During those times, I need a little more spring inside. In the last tutorial, we painted bright spring butterflies (if you missed it, you can find the tutorial here), so this…
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Thanksgiving Drawings for Name Cards
With Thanksgiving fast approaching (gasp … next week!), I know that some of you are getting ready for time with family and friends. Decorations, recipes, and little ways to make gatherings special are dancing through your heads. Today I have a tutorial to help those ideas turn into action. We’ll take some Thanksgiving drawings and add watercolor to make name cards for your food celebrations.
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Acorn Drawing
Today is a good day for an acorn drawing ... with a smattering of watercolor, of course! Fall is a bittersweet time of year. The growing season, the warm season slowly ends. And although I'm almost ready to hibernate by then, it still means the long, dark winter looms. We say goodbye to the color and warmth and hello to the cold, bland, endless months. Both seasons have their good points. Fall has its colors and smells like honey. It tastes like apple pie and pumpkin lattes. Winter has its cozy sweaters, warm fires, and promise of spring. I must say, though, I am particularly fond of fall. So, while…
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Watercolor Trillium Tutorial – Blow Painting with a Straw
One of the first flowers I think of in spring is the Trillium. I enjoy looking for their unique sets of three leaves during hikes in the woods near our home. I keep an eye out for other three-leaved plants, too (poison ivy), but with less thrill when sighted. Trillium bloom in white, yellow or burgundy, but it’s rare that I actually get to see one blooming. Today, I’ll show you one of the watercolor techniques that we talked about last week on a calligraphy drawn trillium. You could use any of the techniques for this project, but I decided to try the blown paint watercolor technique for this tutorial.
