The idea for this page came to me because I was pressed for time. It was the first day of my Bruges workshop, and I had been busy all morning teaching and helping students with their sketches. When there was finally a break in the action, I sat down to sketch at our location in […]
Category: Calligraphy
Santa Barbara Travel Journal – Part 6: Lil’ Toot
Happy New Year! I hope your holidays were enjoyable and 2023 is off to a great start for you. My Santa Barbara travel journal project had to be put on hold for the holidays, but I’m back to working on it and I have a couple of completed pages to share today. It was Halloween […]
Biding Their Time…
Do you remember the beautiful gardens I had at Summerhill? I do. I’m reminded of them every day when I look out the windows of our new house and see nothing but a sea of mud in every direction. The contrast to the views I had last spring is hard to ignore. I remember the […]
Laurel Hill Sketch
Fred and I went camping last week at Laurel Hill State park. It’s up in the mountains east of Pittsburgh, a great place to get away from it all. (Translation: there was no cell service.) Our campsite at Laurel Hill When I talk about camping, I really mean “glamping” – we aren’t exactly roughing it […]
After the Walk: Finishing a Nature Sketch in the Studio
In yesterday’s post, (find it here), I shared how this page began with a walk in the woods and a “5-5-5 Sketch Challenge”, where I walked, drew, and painted one image at a time to create a composite sketch. The plein air sketching session gave me a good start on this page, but it needed […]
Camping, Sketching, and Some Really Big Fish!
We went camping for a few days last week at Pymatuning State Park in northwestern Pennsylvania, and I managed to squeeze in one quick sketch before our grandkids arrived. Two-page spread in a Khadi 5″ x 6-1/2″ sketchbook (Click to enlarge) And I do mean quick! I spent about an hour on it, start to […]
3 Easy Ways to Transfer Lettering to a Sketchbook Page
Have you ever wondered if there’s a better way to add lettering to a sketchbook page than simply drawing it directly on the paper? Sometimes we aren’t sure exactly what style we want to use or what size we need to fit in a particular spot. So we sketch a title or a phrase, then […]
Find the Perfect Lettering Style for Your Sketchbook Page
Hand lettering can add so much to a sketchbook page… It can personalize your sketches and make them more interesting, meaningful, and graphically pleasing. You can change the mood of a page from serious to playful with just a few strokes of the pen. You probably use your natural printing or handwriting for the […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor: The Modern Illuminated Manuscript
I made a decision several months ago to give up the commission side of my art business. As my calendar had filled with teaching engagements and trips to far-flung places, it became more and more difficult to find time to squeeze in the labor-intensive custom artwork. But when my friend Mary approached me a few […]
