When I Am Afraid

#30daysofbiblelettering is in full swing!

Silly Scraps Saturday

Follow the Bouncing Ball

This is another paper crazy quilt.  This time I did the quilt on rice paper and then glued it onto my journal page.  It made it much easier to cut the scraps off the left side, without the binding in the way.

I also used completely random papers - i.e. without a color scheme.  I like the "craziness" of it.  This is a really fun way to use up scraps!

Next time I'll take some pictures along the way in case you're interested in the process.

Painterly Days Watercoloring Book

When Schiffer Publishing offered me a copy of a Painterly Days, I decided it was finally time to try out the coloring craze.  The watercolor part of this is what pushed me over the edge.  Coloring is not my favorite pastime; I find it too slow and too finicky.  But slopping paint around a large area appeals to me, so I thought I'd give it a try.  The books are 9" x 12".

I think I'm hooked!  I'm not an accomplished watercolor painter, but I love the surprise factor of the medium.  Having all the designs pre-drawn allows me to focus on the watercolor, and I'm not worried about ruining a drawing that I've spent hours on.  So I'm having great fun and getting lots of practice mastering a medium that some say is difficult.

There are three versions of the book:  Patterns, Woodlands, and Flowers.  Each book contains 25 double sided patterns, printed in grey on watercolor paper.  The  paper in the book is pretty good if not great; as long as you use lots of water and don't scrub the paper too much there is no issue with pilling. For $25US per book it is good value.  

One of the nice little details that make this book a treat to use is the fold-out front and back covers.  If you wrap these around the pages before and after the page that you're painting, the rest stay nice and clean.

There are also painting and artist tips in the book to go with each page.  As an added bonus, the author, Kristy Rice, has made some You-Tube videos which can function as a watercolor class to go with the book.  I found her instruction very useful and inspiring.

I would definitely recommend this book!

Thirty Days of Bible Lettering

Warming Up

These are warm-ups for the July return of 30 Days of Bible Lettering.  They were all done with a brush and watercolor at the end of June.  All start posting the July ones tomorrow.

Silly Scraps Saturday

This assortment of scraps is a paper crazy quilt.  I've tried a few lately - I remain unable to predict the outcome at all, so I'll keep trying until I conquer the concept.

Returning to Native Trees

 

I frequently return to the native trees of Vancouver in my nature journal.  I'm trying to get the hierarchy straight in my head.  I can't remember the Latin names, either, and keep reverting to the common names.  It is the common names that make it confusing though, and I know I should learn the Latin.  For example, the "pines" are both a family and a genus, and Douglas-firs aren't real firs.  No wonder I'm confused!