I’m no professional, but you know what I prescribe for stressful days when life feels crushing? Breathing. Prayer and Scripture. Friends. Therapy. The outdoors. And low-stress painting! I can help you with the last one! Here’s a little color mixing experiment you can do with simple watercolor supplies. I found this idea for mixing greens in the Watercolor Fix-it Book by Tony Van Hasselt and Judi Wagner. To break out of the “tray” or “bottle” of greens and get...
Here’s a little easy, relaxing, no-pressure art project you can try at home! I love playing with abstracts when you want to experiment with color mixing and not worry about “getting it right.” First grab these supplies (Amazon links are associate links*): watercolor paints (I use this Koi brand tray set, my kids use a tray set from Michael’s) brushes + water thick paper or watercolor paper cut into small rectangles optional: oil pastels, Nupastels, or chalk pastels for...
I love this Youtube video of a shepherd calling his sheep to himself. I also love that God describes Himself as a shepherd. “A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will...
I almost didn’t post this one because it felt a bit chaotic with four sets of hands and arms and chatter, but friends say to post it, so here goes! Like most of you, my kids are home with me for . . . how long? I spent the first week of this alternating between doomsday scenarios, panic, and mentally checking out in a deluge of news and Facebook posts. I’m still checking the news, but I’m trying to...
This watercolor tutorial is all about playing with color! In the video below, my daughter and I walk you through ways you can play with the color purple. I think you’ll be surprised with the varying results. Here are some things you might want to have on hand before you start the video: jar of water (we reuse yogurt containers) paper towel for blotting watercolor paints. We use something like this* in the video (ours came from Michael’s). your favorite brushes...
My son joined me for a simple little tutorial today! One of my favorite paintings in the home is a watercolor sketch I did on a page from a book about blackbirds (pictured below). I thought this would be a fun project to share with you! Full disclosure: I didn’t plan on him joining me, but we rolled with it. He did so well, and even said he thought his painting was better than mine! You’ll need the following: jar...
It’s been SO cold here in Virginia this last week, so today I’m dreaming of sun and Spring flowers as I sit under my sun lamp trying to make up for my lack of Vitamin D (and general sense of joy). Do you remember my first watercolor tutorial (you can find the first it HERE)? Today I had a lot of fun recording a second super simple watercolor tutorial video. There’s also a free printable template you can use with...
If you’ve been around the blog or followed me on Instagram this year, you know I’ve fallen in love with watercolors. It started as stress relief and has turned into such a life-giving addition to my drawing (which I still love, of course). Watercoloring seems to bring out another side of my creative brain. It allows me to work more intuitively and freely. Today I’m combining my drawings and watercolors and hoping to share my love of watercolors with...
