When things get hectic and crazy it’s nice to read a quote that empowers and encourages you to continue. I painted this watercolor abstract on an 8×8 inch piece of 140lb watercolor paper. It has a beautiful pearl finish that glistens in the light and I thought it would be perfect to display this inspiring quote by Rumi:
“It’s your road, and yours alone, others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.”
Really love this quote. I hope you’re having a great week!
Sometimes we all need an unwind and the concept in Amy Maricle’s book “Draw Yourself Calm,” the practice of slowing down has been very sound advice. We live in a fast paced world and this is an excellent practice to help you destress. I try to create one a day. It doesn’t always work out to that but I do end up with several a week.
I like using 140lb watercolor paper because it can stand up to just about anything especially wet mediums like paint and inks. I’ll start by cutting a 9×12″ piece of paper into several sizes: 2 and 3 inch squares, ATC size, 3×4 and anything else I’m in the mood for. That way I always have them on hand and ready for some creative fun. When the mood strikes me, I’ll use my Sakura Pens to create some pretty cool designs.
I’m filling up a small basket of these little gems. Some I plan to use in my journals while others I may incorporate into larger pieces of art. Either way, I have a nice selection to choose from. Plus I have the satisfaction of creating and completing a work of art even though it may be small😊
I hope this helps you to stay inspired and create some art!
Thanks for stopping by!!
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“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ~Edgar Degas
I recently created a handmade journal in an online workshop hosted by Amy Maricle of Mindful Art Studios and Ali Manning of the Vintage Page Designs. Lately I’ve been immersing myself in creating botanical designs in the journal.
I’m trying out different things like using my brushes in new ways, mark making and just having plain old fashioned fun. What I love is that it keeps you in the creative zone even if you only have a small amount of time to spare.
It’s not about making an elaborate painting or drawing unless that’s what you’re aiming for. But instead I make my marks, don’t always like them and then use my creative imagination to save it 😂 But that’s where the fun is because you never know where it will end up 😊
Hope this inspires you to get out your supplies and starting playing! Thanks for stopping by!!
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“Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine, and at last, you create what you will.” ~George Bernard Shaw
I love books and creating my own journals, it’s wonderful. When I heard that Amy Maricle of Mindful Art Studios and Ali Manning of the Vintage Page Designs were hosting a free online workshop called Botanical Books on how to make a beautiful handmade journal I was thrilled and couldn’t wait for the day to come.
Well, yesterday was the big day and I loved every minute of it! Ali did a wonderful job teaching how to create the journal itself and Amy taught how to fill it with botanical designs. I was able to create my the first two paintings in the journal and I’m looking forward to filling it up 😊
For the covers I used a watercolor paper design from my stash which I always like to have on hand. This one had a botanical design from a handmade leaf stamp I made so I thought it would be perfect for this journal. Plus it was really popping with color.
Definitely check out both of their websites as they’re packed full of fun courses, ideas and lots of inspiration. You can also find them on Instagram @AmyMaricle and @VintagePageDesigns.
Also, Amy is hosting a challenge next week The Power of Starting Simple. Just hop on over to find out more details about the challenge and join in on the fun!
Hope you’re having a fabulous weekend, thanks for stopping by!!
Share the Happy💖
“Art has the power to transform, to illuminate, to educate, inspire and motivate.” ~Unknown
Can you believe that Valentine’s Day is already knocking on our doors and is only one month away? It’s one of my favorite holidays, but I wish it was longer than just 1 day. I always felt you should celebrate love every day of your life and not limit it to a single day 💖
I’m working on some new paintings but the ones in this post are currently available in my Etsy Shop. I’ll keep you posted with the progress on the others, but for now I’m waiting on a few supplies to come in.
I really enjoyed making all of these bright, fun mini paintings filled with lots of love. I love how the confetti makes it look like a celebration, it’s just fun! With that said the canvas panels with the creative lettering are my favorite. Which one is your favorite?
Have a wonderful weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!!
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“I love you, not only for what you are, but for what I am when I am with you.” ~Roy Croft
I came across an old issue of Romantic Homes Magazine and fell in love with some of the images. So I thought it would be fun to cut them out and turn them into a journaling layout.
I started with blank pages where I wrote thank you notes to all of my family members who are no longer here but inspired me on my artistic journey. It felt good to create this journal layout with all that gratitude as the foundation for these pages.
It took a bit of time to finish because there were quite a few layers and I had to be patient and let things dry. I was going to for a romantic and dreamy vibe. And I wanted to pull the viewer into my magical garden. What do you think?
Hope this inspires you create a fun journal layout with some images you love!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Share the Happy 💖
“Gratitude is the single most important ingredient to living a successful and fulfilled life.” ~Jack Canfield
Last year I had the pleasure of participating in Amy Maricle’s Inchie Challenge which was a lots of fun. I had so much fun that I bought her book, “Draw Yourself Calm.”
It’s a wonderful book that is well written and teaches you to simply slow down. The best part is you only need minimal supplies to get started. I find the practice of creating these mini works of art very calming and relaxing, a good way to destress. It’s also a good warm up for me to get the creative energy flowing.
In this video you an see the inchies I made for Amy’s 2022 Challenge that I put into a handmade book I created. I hope you’ll hop over to her site, Mindfulartstudio.com and learn more about Amy and her work. Highly recommended!
Stay inspired and create some art!
Thanks for stopping by!!
Share the Happy 💖
“Art is not what you see, but what you make others see.” ~Edgar Degas
I wanted to share with you a fun watercolor painting I created a while ago. This is one of my favorite happy color combinations. For this piece I actually made 2 paintings. One was used for the background and the other was used to create the birds which I traced from a stencil, cut out and adhered to the background painting.
One thing I love about watercolor is that you can lift the paint off using various techniques. For the birds I used a stencil and a Wet Ones hand wipe to lift the paint off the paper. When using this technique, you want to make sure you have a fairly dark background so you can see the color variations where the paint was lifted.
To make the blue bird at the top even more different from the others I painted it with clear glitter paint. I also used a stamp with white embossing powder to add more interest. The quote in the bottom right was getting lost so I added a border to give it more pop.
You only need a few basic inexpensive supplies to create art and have fun. So what are you waiting for? Start creating some happy now 😊
Hope this inspires you in some way, thanks for stopping by!!!
Juliette Crane a very talented artist who creates visually stunning whimsical and ever so magical paintings. I love her work!
Juliette is presently offering a free online workshop on her website JulietteCrane.com. So needless to say, I couldn’t resist! It’s a quick owl painting that takes about 30 minutes and is lots of fun. She peaked my interest with some new supplies that I will definitely be getting and exploring with.
Thought my little owl turned out pretty magical, what do you think?
Hope your having a great day and thanks for stopping by!!!
I was feeling a bit under the weather this weekend so I didn’t get much done in the studio so I thought it would be fun to share some encouraging words by Winston Churchill:
“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.”
Really love this quote. It gives you the power to persevere just when you’re thinking about giving up.
Flowing Waters Art 