It’s been absolutely frigid here for the past week, and it looks like it’s going down below zero again tonight. Our house is perched on top of a hill, so we are buffeted by winter winds all season long, and it’s really been shaking the house today! But we’ve had some beautiful sunrises and sunsets. […]
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January Sketching – Days 1-4
After a busy holiday season during which I took care of all the things I had to do, I thought it would be fun in the new year, to do something just because I wanted to. I didn’t have much time for sketching in December and when I don’t get a chance to draw and […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor: Winter Farm Scene
My Christmas gift to you…a new watercolor tutorial! The Minor Farm, Greene County, PA, 17″ x 10.5″, ink & watercolor on Fabriano Artistico 140 lb. paper Come on into my studio and look over my shoulder as I paint a rural farm scene from Greene County, Pennsylvania, where I live. This painting was done […]
It’s Here! Grab a Copy of “Sketchbook Journeys: Italy”
Ever since I finished my Italy travel journal, I’ve been wanting to publish it as a Blurb book, just like I did with my Ireland sketchbook back in 2011. But it’s been over a year since I put the final brushstroke on that last sketch of Pisa, and this project just kept getting pushed to […]
New Class this Winter: “Advanced Watercolor Explorations”
Over the past few years, I’ve seen that many of my sketchbook journaling students would like to build on what they’ve learned in my introductory classes and become more proficient with watercolors. They don’t want to paint huge masterpieces, they simply want to be more comfortable with the medium and less frustrated when trying to […]
A House Portrait with a Twist
A good friend of mine moved to Florida a few months ago (even though I tried my darndest to talk her out of it!) I guess icy cold winters and shoveling snow can’t compare to beaches and sunshine. Her husband and daughter wrote to me shortly after they arrived in the Sunshine State and asked […]
Fall Harvest Journal Page + Step-by-Step Border
This page from my new nature journal shows a selection of what I collected the other day when I took a walk in the woods near our house. I wanted to see how many “crops” (seeds, nuts, and berries) I could find as fall dwindles down and winter moves in. Ink & watercolor, two-page spread […]
Dogwood Sketch & Time-Lapse Video
I’ve painted quite a few fall leaves in the past couple of weeks, but I was especially struck by the deep, rich colors of these leaves from the Kousa dogwood tree in our yard. It seemed like every possible autumn color was right there in the leaves on this one twig – deep burgundies, rich […]
Nature Sketching
In September 2015, I’ll be teaching a four-day workshop called “Sketchbook Journaling in Nature” at Touchstone Center for Crafts. Touchstone is a residential learning center located in the Appalachian mountains about 60 miles south of Pittsburgh. We’ll be visiting during one of the prettiest times of the year and will have plenty of opportunities to […]
Out & About
One of the homework assignments I give my sketchbook journaling students is to paint a variegated wash on a sketchbook page without any thought as to what they might decide to draw later on the page. Then, after the wash dries, they are to begin their sketches, using the earlier wash as a unifying color […]
