I started a new botanicals journal using a Strathmore Mixed Media 5.5×8″ Journal. It’s a medium weight paper (90 lb / 190 gsm) that works pretty good with watercolor paints as long as you don’t get the paper too wet because it will buckle.
I love roses and creating these in watercolors was so calming and soothing. There’s something truly magical about blending delicate hues of pink and crimson, letting each stroke tell its own story to create a dreamy yet whimsical floral painting🌹
Hope this inspires you in some way today. Have a wonderful day, thanks for stopping by!!
Most of you may know, I’m a bit of a color nut and love painting in bright bold colors. But I thought I’d challenge myself to create a journal layout using only white and gray. It was much harder than I thought but this was my creation in my Strathmore 7.75×9.75″ watercolor journal.
There are lots of layers and texture. Plus I added a quote which reads: “Sometimes to move forward we must face our innermost darkest fears.”
This wasn’t intended to be sad but instead a gentle reminder. Life will throw many obstacles in our path. But we each are endowed with an inner strength that if we will allow, it will rise up and conquer that which we fear most enabling us to move forward.
Hope this inspires you in some way, thanks for stopping by!!
I’m an avid collector of inspiring quotes and found these beautiful words by Maya Angelou and thought I’d share them with you. They’re featured on one of my abstract watercolor paintings:
“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~Maya Angelou
A gentle reminder to treat others with simple gestures of kindness and touch their heart.
Hope you enjoyed this today, thanks for stopping by!!
I had a bit of fun over the weekend and created this in my Strathmore 7.75×9.75 inch Watercolor Journal. I painted it mostly with acrylic paints but what I love about using a watercolor journal is the thick 140lb paper which stands up well to just about anything. I have thoughts I journaled on the first layer followed by watercolors, then decoupage, gesso and acrylic was the last layer.
I love roses but I’m a little rusty painting them so I’ve decided to add them to my daily art schedule so I become more fluent in painting them.
Hope this inspires you in some way, thanks for stopping by!!
I wanted to have some fun creating watercolor abstracts in my Strathmore 8.5 x 5.5″ watercolor art journal. To create this fun design simply add your watercolor paints to the paper (leaving them fairly wet) and cover it using plastic wrap. Set it aside to completely dry. Then remove the plastic wrap and see what fun shapes you have.
For this design, I saw mountains emerge and went with that. Some areas turned out too light so I used colored pencils to give it more depth and to define the mountain tops a little more. It was still needed a pop of color so I added I added pink flowers and of course finished it off with a little bling.
Hope this inspires you in some way today. Have a fantastic weekend and thanks for stopping by!!
I remember shopping at the grocery store when I was a kid with my mom and being able to buy fruits only when they were in season. I also remember everything bursting with flavor and aroma. But if you go shopping today, pretty much every fruit is available year round from all around the world and sadly they don’t taste or smell as good as they used to.
After doing a little research I found that many fruits are artificially ripened using different chemicals and here’s why: In order for fruit to ripen naturally, it must contain ethylene, a gaseous plant hormone. Green, unripen fruits have low levels of ethylene. But as the fruit matures ethylene production increases and signals the plant it’s time to ripen the fruit. Even after the fruit is harvested, ethylene continues to be produced and as a result it decreases the shelf life of fruits.
Scientists came up with a way to extend the shelf life of fruits by picking them while green and ripening them with artificial ripening agents. However, this process is highly contested around the world because of the health risks associated with these ripening agents. It is said that consuming fruits, on a regular basis which have been artificially ripened can cause heart conditions, lightheadedness, and even skin ulcers depending on the ripening agents used. Thankfully most of the world banned the use of the really toxic agents but there are a few countries which still allow them to be used.
The reason the fruits don’t taste as good as they used to is because by artificially ripening the fruits only the external peel actually ripens. The inside of the fruit will basically remain green and raw. I’ve had avocados which I left out to ripen on the counter but they never did. After some time I ended up cutting them open only to find they were rotting from the inside out and now I know why.
With almost 80% of fruits being artificially ripened, I’m left scratching my head. It’s hard to tell what has been artificially ripened and what hasn’t unless you contact the companies and find out. Apparently, organic fruits aren’t excluded from this process but are less likely to be artificially ripened.
So what do you do? Fruits are very important for a healthy diet. Your best bet is to go back to the old ways and buy locally grown produce that will “hopefully” not be treated with these artificial agents. An even better idea is to plant a small garden and grow your own food. Mother nature made growing many plants fairly easy and you’ll have better control over your health plus you’ll reduce your grocery bill too.
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“A garden feeds more than the table, it feeds the soul.” ~Unknown
Painting trees and mountains is something new for me. I got a card in the mail with a beautiful sunset painting on it and thought it would be fun to create it in my Linden Art 5.5×8.5 inch watercolor journal.
It was certainly a learning experience. I made a lot of mistakes along the way, some of which I was able to fix while other stayed. Overall it turned out pretty good. I’m not totally thrilled with it but I do love the sunset background and this color combination. Plus I had lots of practicing to paint trees 😊
Hope this inspires you in some way today. Have a wonderful day and thanks for stopping by!!
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“As practice makes perfect, I cannot but make progress; each drawing one makes, each study one paints, is a step forward.” ~Vincent Van Gogh
Creating in this 6×12″ Strathmore Watercolor Journal can be challenging due to it’s size and shape. But I’m down to my last couple of pages in this journal and wanted to create a little whimsical Valentine painting and this is what I came up with.
I did a sketch first and then painted everything but wasn’t happy with it because it looked too plain. So I ended up adding splashes of color. I finished it off with a little shading using a colored pencil and pen plus glitter for sparkly magic.
Hope this inspires you in some way today. Have a great weekend and thanks for stopping by!!
Sometimes I like to do a practice run in my journal before painting on a canvas. Because I do a pencil sketch first, it allows me to easily change the design before I start adding the color.
This is “Marvelous Martha,” and she was created in my Strathmore 6×12 inch watercolor journal with watercolor paints, colored pencils and pen. I’ll have to make some adjustments when I paint her with acrylics on the canvas but the overall design will be the same.
So stay tuned, more to come with Marvelous Martha…
While on my holiday break I enjoyed working on inchies for my art journal stash. I love taking these on trips because everything fits inside a small ziploc bag. All you need to bring are the tiles and 2-3 different sized Sakura Micron pens.
I do a little prep work before the trip like cutting the watercolor paper into varying sizes. Then I’ll splash paint on a handful of tiles while leaving the rest plain. That’s it! When you have a little spare time, you can create some really interesting and fun pieces of art. There’s no mess and it all easily fits into your purse or bag. I love bringing minimal supplies and creating on trips because it helps to keep the creativity flowing😊 Plus this would also be a great idea for kids to use their creativity on trips!
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“A true artist is not one who is inspired but one who inspires others.” ~Salvador Dali
Flowing Waters Art 