First Snowdrop Sighting of 2023

 

The first snowdrop sighting is always a highlight of January.  I commemorated this year's first sighting in an older teeny tiny journal I found on the shelf.  I made this journal in one of Joanne Sharpe's classes and I added a little collage before painting the snowdrops.  Lots of fun!

Palette Cleanse

 

I cleaned out my watercolor palette by making circle shapes in my sketchbook.  I turned it into a bouquet of flowers by adding a little pencil crayon.

Happy Mother's Day!

Spring Floral Flourishes

 

Last night the Westcoast Calligraphy Society put on a marvelous Zoom program taught by Heather Held in Toronto.

Our project piece was an Easter egg but I was also thrilled with my practice sheet (below).  Too bad you can't see the shiny Stickles!

I had such fun, and I'm with Heather when she told us how she found this much easier than lettering.  After a false start with a falcon nib I found a Hunt 56 in my box, which further research today tells me is closer to the Hunt 22 that she was using.  Sometimes I come out of these evenings glad that I tried, but feeling ham-fisted and wondering if calligraphy is for me at all.  It is a rare treat to do so well the first time.  (By no means are these perfect, but for a first time attempt, they aren't too bad.)

I was reminded of a similar session presented by Wendy Cowley in 2014 (pointed pen mandalas) and how pleased I was with my results from that evening as well.  

Midnight Madness

 

I'm still playing around in my journal at midnight.  Last night my toys included a parallel pen, gel pens and watercolours.

Peonies

 

I loved the lesson on peonies in the Watercolors Made Simple class.  They are so much fun to paint. 

A Daisy a Day

 

Last week's spring temperatures moved my heart to flowers, so I thought I would dive into the Watercolors Made Simple class that I started last fall.  I'm still enjoying the result despite the plunge in temperatures (and snow!) this week.

It Wouldn't be Valentine's Day Without Tulips

Dreaming of Spring

Crocus

 

We can all use a lift these days.  Never mind, spring will soon arrive!

Hydrangea

 

Who cares if it is raining or even snowing outside?  I'm having fun making spring inspired cards!

A Flurry of Card Making

 

I have been taking a course called Learn to Make and Even Sell Greeting Cards taught by Nicki Traikos at Life I Design.  This has led to a flurry of card making as I play with supplies and art bits I already have.  I'm having fun and filling up the card box for the spring birthdays at the same time.

These two were done with Finetec metallic watercolors.

Also a Bit Reckless

 

Here is the second card I made on Wednesday when I was feeling "strong and brave".  It turns out I was also a bit reckless with respect to the size.

I painted these on 1/4 sheets of card stock, and by the time I mounted them they grew to a tiny bit wider than 5".  Finding envelopes will be a challenge.

Note to self:  Plan just a little bit before cutting.

Strong & Brave

 

I woke up yesterday feeling strong and brave and decided to cut into some precious paper.  (Yes, I do know it is only paper, but knowing it with my head and feeling it in my heart are two different things.)

I made a couple of cards out of pieces I did in the Flat Brush Flowers course with Violet.   I'll string you along and post the other one tomorrow. LOL

Snowdrops

 

This was a piece I did in the Flat Brush Flowers 5 class with Violet Smythe.  Snowdrops are one of my favorite flowers; the first flowers that I see signaling the coming of spring.

Allium

 

This is my homework for Week One of Fabulous Flat Brush Flowers #5 with Violet Smythe.

Flat Brush Flowers

 

 I'm looking forward to the next session of Fabulous Flat Brush Flowers next week so I painted a bouquet of posies in my journal.  I'm happy to say that after some warm-up strokes I found I had enough muscle memory to pick up where I left off a month ago.

Violet, the instructor of the courses, starts each class with a page of  warm-up exercises, and I may have finally learned how important this is.  It isn't something that comes naturally to me, but I find when I don't know what to paint that making some simple strokes also gets the creative juices flowing!

Dagger Brush Flowers

 

I've been using my new dagger brushes for the urban sketching challenges, so I spent some time seeing what interesting shapes they would make and trying out some flowers.  

Every brush is different and it takes a lot of playing to get comfortable with them.  As long as you keep a spirit of play and don't set expectations ahead of time it is fun!

Church Bulletin

 

Our minister has retired, so it is all hands on deck to put on the Sunday Zoom service.  I have agreed to provide pictures for the weekly bulletin.  This week I added some calligraphy to a flat brush tiger lily.

Gladiolas

 

It's a little early for gladiolas, but come August, I'll be ready! LOL  We're having more fun in Flat Brush Flowers.

Red Hot Poker