Painting Tutorial: Citrus Illustration

Another 1-min video tutorial today! I absolutely love painting fruit—especially citrus and I thikn you’ll find these oranges a lot of fun to paint. I hope you give it a try!

SUPPLIES

• Orange and Green Watercolor Paint

• 140 lb Bee Paper, Cold Pressed

• Simply Simmons Round Brush, Size 8

• Cup of water

• Paper towel

STEP-BY-STEP

• Fill your brush with paint and water (but make sure it’s not dripping wet)

• Place the tip of the brush on the paper and apply pressure as you make the shape of a “c” (often called a comma stroke)

• Add another comma stroke opposite the first and don’t quite join them at the top

• Fill in the area with paint

• Add a stem using just the tip of your brush

• Add a leaf by joining two slight comma curves together and filling them in

Painting Tutorial: Watercolor Leaves

I learned to paint with watercolor thanks to the internet and lots of practice. I’m grateful for the artists who shared their talent and knowledge online because it allowed me to discover this creative outlet that’s made my life more fun.

If you want to get started with watercolor, here’s a quick 1-min video that will hopefully encourage you to give it a try. Step-by-step instructions are listed below. Let’s paint leaves!

SUPPLIES

• Green Watercolor Paint
  - Winsor & Newton Cotman Sap Green
  - Winsor & Newton Cotman Hookers Green
  - Van Gogh Permanent Yellow Green

• 140 lb Bee Paper, Cold Pressed

• Simply Simmons Round Brush, Size 8

• Cup of water

• Paper towel

STEP-BY-STEP

• Fill your brush with paint and water (but make sure it’s not dripping wet)

• Start by placing the tip of the brush on the paper and apply pressure (press down) as you move the brush upward into a slight c-curve (often called a comma stroke), and lift the brush to finish

• Do the same thing on the opposite side to make the other side of the leaf

• Add a stem using the tip of your brush

• Practice, practice, practice

• And have fun!

My Work: Watercolor Landscape Studies

Over spring break our family took a road trip from the bay area to Las Vegas, to the Grand Canyon, to a friend's home in Arizona, to Santa Monica, and back home. Lots of driving. And lots of scenery.

About a year ago I went to a watercolor class at the local library where the teacher shared how she would paint on a train and the challenge was painting fast (like within two minutes) because you only have so much time before your view is gone. I thought painting landscapes would be a fun challenge and pass some time during our trip and it was! I couldn't do as many as I'd like because I am prone to car sickness but I was able to complete a handful. Here are my three favorites.

Highway 5 South

From the train ride to the Grand Canyon

Leaving Arizona

For these paintings, I used used:

• 6x9 in 140lb watercolor paper from Bee Paper Company that I found on sale at Michael's
• Winsor & Newton Cotman Box Paint Set
• Grumbacher Academy Size 12 Round Paint Brush

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!

My Work: Bouquet Paintings

For the past few weeks I've been painting bouquets as often as I can and have shared many of them on Instagram. For inspiration, I've referenced bouquets in books, magazines, on instagram and pinterest, and fresh flowers on my desk from Trader Joe's (the best!!).

It's been fun painting arrangements in vases, some without, in various color palettes, adding details with color pencils or pen, and exploring different shapes and styles. 

In the Shop: Christmas Gift Wrap

PSA: Christmas is less than six weeks away! If you're in need of wrapping paper, I've got you covered.

Okay, so this paper is seriously so pretty and thick—but not too thick. It's quality paper and won't rip at the corners of your boxes as you're wrapping. If you're a wrapping paper fan, I think you'll love these!

You can choose a set of 3 sheets or a set of 5 sheets. Most of the designs are made-to-order just for you so expect to receive your paper 10-15 days from the date you place your order.  

I hope you love wrapping your gifts with these as much as I do!

Coming Soon: an online Shop!

Guess what!? In the next few weeks, I'll be launching a shop, right here on my website, where you can find goodies featuring my watercolor work! To begin, I'll have stationery, art prints, and a couple other fun items.

Speaking of fun items, here's a sneak peek at some zipper pouches that will be available. I had some of my patterns printed on linen cotton canvas and am so excited about how they came out. I think you'll love them too! I'm only making about a dozen of these and don't plan on stocking more so if you'd like one, be sure to follow me on Instagram for updates or join my email list (and get free downloads while you're at it!) to find out when they'll be available.

Stay tuned...