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 […]
Category: Step-by-Step
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 […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor: Lake Scene
I visited my mother last week at Alpine Lake, West Virginia, and while I was there spent a wonderfully relaxing couple of hours following the walking trail that meanders through the woods along the shoreline. There are so many pretty, sketch-worthy scenes, but I finally chose this one: Stillman & Birn Zeta series sketchbook, 7″ […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor: How to Paint a Blue Hydrangea
Everybody loves hydrangeas. They’re big and showy, and the range of colors runs from the palest baby blue to deep burgundy and purple. I love them all, but my favorite has always been the traditional blue mophead hydrangea, and I thought you might enjoy seeing step-by-step photos of how I go about painting one. 6-1/2″ […]
The Most Adorable Ruffled Lampshade On Planet Earth
Here it is! The most adorable ruffled lampshade you’re ever going to see… And it belongs to the most adorable baby in the world! That’s my granddaughter, Callista Rose, just 18 months old . She’s the sweetest, cutest, funniest little girl, and I just love her to pieces! When her mom was decorating Callista’s new […]
Sketchbook Journeys – Italy: Piazza San Marco, Venice + Step-by-Step
Ready to escape to Italy for some fun in the sun? Come along with me as I work on finishing up the travel journal I started on my two-week trip to northern Italy and Tuscany last spring. I worked feverishly on the sketches last spring and summer, adding watercolor to line drawings I had done […]
Fabric Origami Step-by-Step – “Fennel”
Fabric + thread + beads + buttons + wire = WOW! This “Fennel” origami ornament is a perfect example of the end result being greater than the sum of its parts. In just a few minutes, using the simplest of supplies, you can create a beautiful Christmas ornament sure to impress anyone lucky enough to […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor Painting: Highland Light – Cape Cod
When we were in Cape Cod last week, I did a quick vignette sketch of the Highland Light near Truro, and I thought you might enjoy seeing a step-by-step of how I added the watercolor back at home. Here’s the completed sketch… “Highland Light”, 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″ ink & watercolor in Stillman & Birn Beta […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor Painting: “Autumn Glow”
It was one of those absolutely perfect fall days when I grabbed my sketch kit and headed out across the fields. The sky was a brilliant blue, and the trees in the woods fairly glowed in the sunshine. Fall was almost over, and I was determined to hold onto it the only way I knew, […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor Painting: “My Own Sweet Time”
“My Own Sweet Time”, 10″ x 15″, watercolor & ink This post is a behind-the-scenes glimpse into my sometimes focused, often haphazard, approach to painting the watercolor shown above. If you don’t care to read all the details, just scan through the pictures, but if you’re like me, you might find it interesting to see […]
