I’m working on a sketch which I’m getting ready to paint. This is part of an online workshop called Watercolor Dreams with the very talented Katrina Koltes who lives in Italy.
Katrina’s portrait paintings are more realistic and have a real dreamy vibe which I love and long to create. Getting this sketch just right seems to have taken me hours to complete. But that only means that I need more practice. So I’m showing up to learn more and improve my skills as an artist.
The portrait below was my first taste of Katrina’s surreal style of painting and I was hooked. I won’t even tell you how long this sketch took me to complete 😅 But it was one of the best realistic paintings I had ever done up to that point.
So I invite you to come along with me on this fantastic adventure of creating magical paintings. Wish me luck 🤞
Thanks for stopping by!!
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PS – I found this quote to be pretty funny because that’s kind of how I’m feeling right now 😂
“I put my heart and soul into my work, and have lost my mind in the process.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
This past week I joined Laly Mille a very talented artist from France for a free online workshop. It was absolutely wonderful as we created this journal spread together. I find Laly’s art mesmerizing with the lovely colors and dreamy romantic layers that pull you into each painting.
This butterfly spread took several layers but it was worth the wait. Originally I wanted the angels to be fully visible but then I thought angels are rarely seen but you know that they’re there. So I covered them a little, making them much softer and I liked how they turned out. I love pretty much the entire spread but my favorite part I think is the twinkling fairy lights, they look magical ✨ What’s your favorite part?
I highly recommend you hop over to Laly Mille’s site and revel in the beauty of her art at LalyMille.com. She also offers online courses which are available on her site.
Hope this inspires you to create some art!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Share the Happy💖
“I dream of the painting and then I paint my dream.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
I’m really enjoying filling the pages of my Simplest Things Journal which I started as part of Amy Maricle’s Simplest Things Challenge at Mindful Art Studios.
I made the 3 inch square flower painting last week and wanted to find it a home. I was drawing a blank on what to do next in the journal and then I read a comment on Instagram by an admirer about the flower and butterfly:
“The little butterfly with the trail just makes it, I love how the daisy is reaching out for it.”
So I thought lots of swirly, crisscrossing butterfly trails would make the perfect background, and there simple too which fits with the theme of this journal. It was pure luck that the trail of the butterfly on the painting lined up with the trail in the background. I mean honestly, what are the odds? 😂
But it’s a happy colorful creation. What do you think?
Hope this inspires you to create some art!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Share the Happy💖
“Color is the place where our brain and the universe meet.” ~Paul Klee
I added another painting to my Simplest Things Journal. I’m really loving the slow drawing process. It quiets the mind and soothes the soul 😊 This was a design I made in a smaller version and thought it would make an interesting big design. But instead of painting another circle, I wanted to try a freeform design.
What I love most about this design is how the lines overlap in some areas making thicker lines that look like folds and creases. What do you think?
Hope this inspires you to create this weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Share the Happy💖
“Art is a natural as sunshine and as vital as nourishment.” ~MaryAnn F Kohl
This was my inspiration for the the painting above 😊
Last week I participated in Amy Maricle’s Simplest Things Challenge. On day 5 I created a few simple circles with different designs. I thought they looked pretty cool and wanted to make them much BIGGER! So I did full sized drawings of these two. What do you think?
I love watching the watercolor paints mingle and mix. You never know what they’re going to do and that’s the fun part 😊
Hope this inspires you to create this weekend!
Thanks for stopping by!!!
Share the Happy💖
“We don’t make mistakes, just happy little accidents.” ~Bob Ross quote on creating art
This was my inspiration for the the 2 paintings above 😊
Amy Maricle @amymaricle at Mindful Art Studio hosted a challenge this week called The Simplest Things which I participated in. The idea was to create art everyday, from the simplest things. It was a 5 day challenge which started Monday and ended yesterday.
Originally I wanted to create a handmade journal for this challenge but it’s been a busy week so I ended up using a 6×6 inch mixed media spiral journal instead. I normally like heavier paper for journaling but the 90 lb mixed media paper worked well for this challenge.
Day 1 Prompt: Cursive Letter L
The photo above is for Day 1 and since I’m in mega love mode painting my hearts for the Expressions of Love Collection I couldn’t resist painting a few watercolor hearts that I cut out and glued into the journal.
Day 2 Prompt: Thread
Now this one was pretty funny because I started with threads which turned into seaweed which turned into an underwater world 😂 You never know where your imagination will lead you!
Day 3 Prompt: Leaf
I painted watercolor leaves which I cut out and glued into the journal. Technically the prompt is leaf, meaning only one but it depends on how you look at it. Plus I was having so much fun playing with my gold pen I had to make some extras.
Day 4 Prompt: Write then Cover with Watercolor
I’m not the type to put all my thoughts and feelings onto paper for the everyone to see. So I poured my heart out into the journal with a watercolor pencil and then did a very colorful watercolor wash for the background. Since I did actually pour my heart out into the journal I thought it was only fitting to add the heart inchies I previously made to these two pages.
Day 5 Prompt: Watercolor Wash and Marks in Pen
I decided to keep this one simple with painted watercolor circles and patterns using a Sakura Micron 05 pen. But the white space was just too plain for me so I added some glitter and now it feels finished!
This challenge was lots of fun and Amy was wonderful in teaching new tips, techniques and different ways of thinking about art! If you’re interested in learning more, please visit Amy Maricle’s site at MindfulArtStudio.com. She created a new online course, The Simplest Thing Journal which is based on some of the practices used in this challenge. It’s currently on sale sale through 2/13 so don’t miss out!!
I hope you enjoyed today’s post. Thanks for stopping by and have a wonderful weekend!!
Share the Happy 💖
“Art is not what you see but what you make others see.” ~Edgar Degas
I’m taking a much needed break before the holidays so I’m sharing with you a very inspiring quote by the late Dr Wayne Dyer on my watercolor painting titled “Change.”
“If you change the way the look at things, the things you look at change.”
Hope this inspires you in some way. Thanks for stopping by!!!
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!!!
I finished another segment in Tamara Laporte’s online course, “She Blooms in Ink.” This was my first dark skin girl and she was ever so challenging. Her skin kept coming out blotchy and the more I tried to fix it, the worse it got. So I cleaned it up the best I could and called it a day.
After everything was done, I thought she turned out pretty cool, even with her blotchy skin. I loved the color combination on this one, the green gave it that extra pop. I added the quote using a stencil which I just got on amazon. It’s part of a 20 pc set of inspirational quotes and was very reasonably priced. The stencils are perfect for journaling.
If you’re interested in learning more about the online courses offered by Tamara Laporte, please visit her at Willowing.org.
Having a Labor Day Sale in my Etsy Shop this weekend with BIG savings on my original paintings. Perfect time to get a jump start on holiday gifts or to treat yourself because you deserve it✨
Flowing Waters Art 