Tag Archives: Flowers

Watercolor Dreams Workshop

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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

Thoughtful Thursday The Joys of Spring

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Photo by Alesia Kozik on Pexels.com

The first day of Spring in the Northern Hemisphere is coming this Monday, March 20, 2023 and it will run until June 21, 2023. You may have already noticed the warmer temps moving in, birds nesting and beautiful flowers beginning to bloom. Also, on this first day of Spring the hours of daylight and night are almost equal. It always takes some adjusting to the new longer days ahead.

On my lovely morning walks I’ve seen many squirrels busy building their nests. You can tell the difference between a bird and squirrel nest from the ground because birds primarily build their nests with twigs. Whereas squirrels use fresh branches with the leaves attached. You may also notice a lot of small pieces of fresh branches with leaves on the ground.

This was a photo I took with my phone of a squirrel nest. They’re easily seen once the leaves dry and turn brown. Squirrels can have anywhere from 2-4 babies usually between the months of February to May. They have a hefty appetite and will eat their own body weight every week which is about 1.5 pounds. I love watching them in the mornings with their high energy, it motivates me on my walks 😊

Have you checked your yard for signs of any new babies that may be coming soon?

Hope you enjoyed today’s post. Thanks for stopping by!!

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Watercolor Abstract

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I thought with Spring upon us very soon I’d share with you, this watercolor abstract I made a while ago. I used my Cricut machine to cut out the letters for the word Imagine and I framed it in a 12 inch square frame. This painting hangs in my studio because it was one of the first things I painted when I came back to my art after a somewhat long hiatus😊

I love that the flowers are loosely painted and you have to use your imagination to see them. It was also a fun way to experiment with the paints and let the colors mingle.

Our imagination is so important in our everyday lives. We use it for everything our minds dreams of and we create from that. So have some fun today and use your imagination✨

I hope you’re week if off to a great start! Thanks for stopping by!!!

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“Imagination will often carry us to worlds that never were. But without it we go nowhere.” ~Carl Sagan

Whimsical Journaling

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Journaling is a great way to have fun and unwind from a long week. This was actually a warm up exercise which is part of an online class I’m working on by the very talented Katrina Koltes.

Art journaling is anything you want it to be. It can be an abstract or a more serious painting or anything in between. You can write your thoughts in your journal and then cover them up or don’t. But the choice is yours. The main goal is to simply do whatever your heart desires and makes you happy😊 So what are your waiting for? Grab your journal and have some fun this weekend!

Hope this inspires you in some way, thanks for stopping by!!!

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“What keeps my heart awake is colorful silence.” ~Claude Monet

Botanicals Handmade Art Journal

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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

Sunday Afternoon Art Journal

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I recently came across a pencil sketch I did a while ago of this vintage 30’s girl. I really loved the styles back then so I thought it would be fun to create her in my 9×12 inch Strathmore Watercolor journal and bring her to life with some color.

I named this one A Sunday Afternoon because she gives off a vibe of being completely relaxed wearing her pretty Sunday dress and hat. Her eyes are closed as she takes in a deep breath and gives thanks for all the beauty that surrounds her 😊

How do you like to spend your Sunday afternoons?

Hope this inspires you in some way, thanks for stopping by!!!

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“Flowers are the music of the ground, from earth’s lips spoken without a sound.” ~ Edwin Curran

Fresh Start Art Journal

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I finally finished my art journal layout. I tried new techniques with this one but wasn’t so crazy about it. I had to keep switching out my ideas because things kept going sideways but that’s a part of the process. So I’ll have to rethink this a bit. But nevertheless, it was lots of fun experimenting.

Since it’s still just a few weeks into the new year, I found the words “Fresh Start” in a magazine and thought it went well. One thing I really like is how her blue hair turned out with the gold highlights.

Some of my supplies came in so I’m going to work on creating a few new paintings. How are you going to spend your weekend? Hope you have something fun planned 😊

Thanks for stopping by!!!

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“I am open to the mystery and magic this new beginning brings.” ~Unknown

Watercolor Flower Journaling

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I wanted to share with you a fun journal page I made in my Strathmore 6×12 inch watercolor journal. I started with a loose, watercolor wash for the background and once that was dry, I drew in the flowers using a Sakura Micron 003 pen. It’s a good way to have some old fashioned carefree fun! As most of you know, I have a thing for sparkly magic so I added accents of glitter throughout the design✨

Hope this inspires you to create art today😊

Have a fabulous day and thanks for stopping by!!!

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“Flowers are the music of the ground, from earth’s lips spoken without sound.” ~Edwin Curran

For the Love of Outdoors Art Journal

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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!!!

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“Gratitude is the single most important ingredient to living a successful and fulfilled life.” ~Jack Canfield

Family Art Journaling

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With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I thought I’d share these special journal pages with you. They were created by my family 😊

It was a fun time talking and laughing as we passed the journal around. The idea was that each person takes a turn drawing a line in the journal. You keep passing it around and adding more lines until it’s mostly filled up. It’s pretty funny to see the images that emerge from all the random lines. You can add some color if you like and you’ll end up with a fun family art journal that you can keep as a memento for your special day.

Hope this inspires you to create some fun memories this Thanksgiving. Thanks for stopping by!!!

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