Watercolour Sketchbooks Made Simple BOTANICALS

 

I started a new class with Life I Design called Watercolour Sketchbooks Made Simple BOTANICALS. I'm using my Paul Rubens landscape watercolour sketchbook - 8" x 5.5". 

Lesson One was Payne's Grey Florals.  A monochrome spread is perfect for days when I don't want to think too much but want to slop paint around.

Lesson Two was Loose Dried Florals.   I added some Neocolor crayons to the watercolour.  I often pick up things on my walk to capture in my sketchbook.

Next we painted leaves, mixing our own greens, some of them right on the page.  This time we sketched our leaves first; I used some watercolour pencils here too.

I'm having fun so far, and that's the main thing, right?

Painting With Joy

 

After a brief summer hiatus, Painting With Joy is back.  It proved to be what I needed to end my own hiatus!

We painted Van Gogh's sunflowers yesterday, and I really enjoyed it.  I used watercolor, Neocolor crayons and watercolor pencils in my 9 x 9 Leuchtturm1917 sketchbook.

Matisse - Vase of Amaryllis, 1941

 

I'm almost finished my Traveler's Notebook journal.  There might be room for one more Matisse!

Les Coucous Tapis Bleu et Rose, 1911

 

I moved from my largest to my smallest sketchbook with this Matisse.  (This is in my Traveler's Notebook.) 

Les Tulippes

 

I'm still enjoying painting with Matisse, although here I changed the composition slightly from the original.  I also replaced oil pastels with watercolor crayons; I don't like the transfer of the oil pastels to the adjacent page when the book is closed.  This one is in my A4 Royal Talens sketchbook. 

Making Masks

Watercolor Pencil Crayons
Traveler's Notebook

October Artist Trading Cards

Fall is firmly ensconced in the rain forest, and it is Thanksgiving in Canada next weekend.  There isn't much art going on in my world as my spare time has been spent doing a major clean out of art supplies.

I did manage some ATC's, some of which included some collage bits I stumbled upon in the clean out process!  I used watercolor crayons on a gelli plate to create the backgrounds and Inkadinkado and Cornish Heritage Farms stamps.  I have an old John Bull printing set that I used to make the word "October" and stamped that on washi tape.

Watercolour Crayons on the Gelli Plate

I've seen a few people playing with Scribble Sticks on the gelli plate, so I had to try with the supplies I have on hand, namely Karat Aquarell Watercoloring Crayons.

The method I prefer is to lightly spray the plate with water and then draw directly with the crayons.  (To get a light spray of water, hold the spray bottle further away.)  Here are a couple of my experiments along the way:

cardstock

I love the textures you get with a lighter application of water.

watercolour paper

Drawing Practice

Often when I draw in my journal I'm motivated by practicing my drawing.  A local park sculpture challenged me earlier this summer, so I returned to try a different tool - this time a watercolor crayon to draw the fat red forms rather than the lines around them.  My hunch was right - it was much easier this way!  Note to self:  Think about which approach would be easier before you start.

An Exercise from Quick and Lively Urban Sketching

My slippers are a frequent subject.  this time I was "drawing shapes", rather than line or form.

Merry Christmas, Everyone!

ICAD #44 - #49 Shapes

I got a bit carried away with doing shapes here, inspired by Jane Davies Stacks of Shapes

ICAD #25 - Pink Lemonade!

Watercolor Crayons

I'm linking this to Friday Sketches at Dion Dior and Artist's Playroom at Just Add Water, Silly.

Finding Inspiration for ICAD #19-21

I think it was Tammy at Yellow Daisy Art, the brains behind the ICAD project who did a summer to-do list on one of her index cards.  It was a great chance to play with alphabet stamps.

PS - Camping for me means sleeping in the basement when the weather is too hot to sleep upstairs!

Art Projects for Kids make great ICAD projects!

Watercolor Crayon

Oil Pastel and Twinkling H2O's

Dion Dior was the inspiration for this one, and it is dedicated to my friend, Janice, who is getting a great laugh at all of the various supplies I'm using.

ICAD #17 & 18 - World Cup Fever!

Pan Pastels and Gold Foil

Watercolor Crayons over Sprayed Colorwash

ICAD #15 - Figure Drawing

I bought a wooden manikin to practice my figure drawing.  An index card is the perfect place to practice!

Watercolor Crayons over Colorwash Sprayed Stencil

ICAD #5 and #6

Experiments are a recurring theme...

...to see which pens will write over watercolor crayons

...with journalling techniques and prompts from Journal Fodder 365, by Eric Scott and David Modler

Capturing the Moment

This is another page in my Capturing the Moment journal.  Laura was right - the more moments I capture the more I notice... and the more blessed I feel.

Artist's Play Room - Art With Words

It has been awhile since I played in the Artist's Play Room Challenge, but this week's challenge is art with words around it - right up an art journalist's alley!

 

Thanks to Penelope for this fabulous, bright idea!



Joy is Like the Rain

Watercolour Crayons

Thy Will Be Done

Micron Pens

Watercolour Crayons