In the Studio with Mary: Paint Poppies with Me! *a FREE tutorial + printable paint guide* by Marydean Draws Paint poppies with me + a FREE printable 5×7″ paint guide Read on Substack
February 14, 2025
art with kids•paint with me•printable•watercolor
Printable Bird Heart Watercolor Template
I had the opportunity to lead a Galentine’s Day watercolor night this week, so I thought I’d share with you the template I used. Just download the template and print on watercolor paper (or any thicker paper that will take some water). Then collect your watercolors or any of your favorite art supplies and enjoy! The file is sized at 8×10″ but can be printed on larger or smaller paper. To get your file, just click on the link...
I do a simple watercolor activity with friends at a local community center called Our Community Place once a month. I’ve been painting watercolor birds these past few weeks, so this week I used my iPad and Apple Pencil to create a paint (or color) page of local birds here in the Shenandoah Valley. I thought you might enjoy painting this page too! You can look up the birds and their colors, or you can dream up your own...
I was so honored to get to display my art in TWO local shows. One was at The Church of the Incarnation here in Harrisonburg. They have an entire Arts Incarnate program dedicated to platforming local artists and celebrating the arts with monthly art shows and musical and dance performances. My First Friday opening was shared with a local basket weaver and a performance by a local band. It was so fun! I am displaying the large landscapes and...
It's here! The Bright Spots Collection is live! I've been working on this collection through the dark winter months. I enjoyed playing with mixing the mediums of watercolor and pastels (and sometimes pencil). I explore the way colors played with each other. Each piece is named after the "bright spots" we've found this past year.
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...
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...
