Tutorial: 12 years and counting

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Tutorial: Do you make art in your sleep? Hydrangea watercolor process

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Tutorial:Which is more important: value or hue?

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Tutorial: Loose Urban Sketch with Bright Watercolor

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Tutorial: Revamped! 2025 kit for urban sketching

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

My kit really IS small.

The 5×8 sketchbook is the largest item! The case is about 7″ long. My cup is oversized for the need. But hey, I can carry ALL of this in one hand. Chair in the other. Easy peasy!

Advantages of a small kit are myriad!

1. Easy to transport. No excuses.
2. Tucks into a backpack, purse, car glove box……
3. Eliminates hemming and hawing over which of 5 sketchbooks to pull from a stuffed backpack.
4. Color choices are limited – so forces practice mixing. Always good.
5. Very little maintenance to keep it sketch-ready.
6. Not expensive since you don’t need to buy all the colors or all the sketchbooks.

Sketchbook idea

Have you tried sketching your kits as you change out items? It’d be great to date them and see how your supplies changed over time. Make notes about what you swapped out and why so you don’t revert back in 20 years when you forgot why you didn’t like an item back then.

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Styles of sketching

I have so mannnny styles, depending on my mood. Lately I’ve been trying to practice editing ruthlessly to get down to simple basics. This sketchbook is dedicated to that style – and that’s what’s in the new class too! Going through the planning and filming, I realized if I keep my brain focused on that, I don’t tend to try to stuff in all the details.

Urban Sketching Jumpstart Class

The new class is in pre-registration period right now! That means a deeper discount than normal; I like to reward the early adopters! I’ve got everything filmed but it takes lots to edit, process photos, write up lessons….so the Preclass lesson is done now, and has the first 2 pages for you to work on in your own book, plus elements you can set up for future lessons. Along with, of course, the supply list. 

I plan on having everything fully ready for Saturday the 19th, I’m so excited to see people sketching!!

Tutorial: Keep tiny watercolor flowers bright on a background

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

The bookmark pad

The pad is a different size than I’m making to fit the sleeves I bought – but I can trim these down easily. But for the demo I worked at full size.

The paper worked nicely – though supersoft papers aren’t always my jam. I do a lot more fussing around and soft papers can get a little pilly with overworking, so I did have one spot that pulled up while removing the masking fluid. But other than that – no warping from the paper at all. You might be able to paint directly on the pad without warping? If you’re not splashing on gobs of water, I bet that would work out great.

The paints and brush

Let’s talk about that teeny tiny brush first – it’s a DaVinci, one of my fave brands, and a synthetic. It worked fully as expected, it achieved all those tiny floral details…..except my hands are too big for that tiny brush, I think! I did try putting it into a pencil extender – and if you try that you’ll likely have to put some tape on it too, since the handle isn’t as thick as a pencil. 

While the brush can make lovely flower petal marks and points very nicely – it doesn’t do much to add large washes. I was trying to ONLY use the kit, but would recommend pairing it with your other brushes.

The Schminke paints were interesting. Lemon Yellow (cool) Helio Cerulean (cool) and Cad Red Light (warm) was an interesting choice – I wasn’t able to make a nice purple from these since the red was so warm. to make a warm green you can add a dot of the red to a cool green mix, though, so that’s a nice option if only having three colors.

I’ll have to paint more with these to decide if I like them. They felt more….chalky? Creamy? I’m not sure the word for it, but they reminded me more of Gansai Tambi than regular watercolors. Maybe those who use Schminke can weigh in and make some suggestions for me! I’ll try them with my other normal supplies and see what they can do.

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The redo!

I spent a little time revamping the red flowers, making them more flower-shaped in many cases, bigger in most, and collecting some in groupings. I think the scale helped make them not look so much the same size as the daisies. I mixed the red, blue, and yellow together to make a dark center color. And got out some white gouache to add tinier flower dots all over, which I think made me happiest of all.

So what do you think? Did I ruin it? Or nah?

Watercolor bookmarks

The Wednesday Zoom calls have been fun so far – an hour each, lots of painting going on! If you missed out on them, or if you know you’ll be missing a future one, then hop over to the class and sign up. This month, your entire $25 goes to ICAF – I’m covering the Paypal fees myself! So you’re doing a good deed AND getting some watercolor instruction you’ll be able to learn from for  years to come as you revisit the lessons!

Tutorial: Making traditional watercolor jealous

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

14 techniques with watercolor pencils

Powder painting on wet paper: lay down an area of water and create pencil powder by grating it on a tea strainer, nail file, or sandpaper. (each provides a different result)

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Kitty needs a nap!

I think I need one, too. But isn’t she sweet? If she looks like your baby, she’s in my shop for sale – and 10% of the sale will be donated to ICAF for our fundraiser!

Tutorial: Wet in wet watercolor (painting a vintage key)

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

Wet in wet watercolor

One of the most fun moments for me in watercolor is watching paint flow — how one color moves into another, merging and blending, combining the effects of one color with those of its neighbor. It invents all sorts of new colors along the way – and creates a loose-looking watercolor painting, while in control within a specific area.

That’s why I decided on that technique for this piece – the wet areas would be within shapes, a key and some words, and the looseness is there while also the controlled detail within the drawing. Kind of the best of both worlds, right?

Unfettered plans vs play

According to Merriam Webster, the definition of “unfettered” is

Unfettered: not controlled or restricted : free, unrestrained

But didn’t I just say in this painting, the wet in wet techniques are within defined areas? Yes. But, dear reader, dear artist….I know you. I know that freeform unfettered wet in wet freaks people out. (Yes I am one of them!)

So one step towards truly unfettered – no outlines, no definition, just go wild – is getting free and unrestrained within an area we can control.

Did you know you can plan that section of a painting?

Sometimes it’ll be the dress of a person in a painting. Or the canopy of a tree. The rest of the painting can be in different techniques, but you can plan to specifically let colors get loose and blend into each other in one particular area without changing what’s happening elsewhere.

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Newbie painter phase

And when it comes to figuring out the plan for a painting, I know newer artists need a few guardrails around the wildness of watercolor! When I spoke with the painter that I mentioned in the video, he told me the stress he had over watercolor doing what it wanted. As I asked him more about his watercolor experience, I realized he quit watercolor before he’d even done it very long! So he never got out of the “newbie” phase of his work before jumping ship to another medium.

That’s not to say that someone who made the jump to oils from watercolor is doing something bad at all. Some people are built for oils – and his work is lovely! But it’s left him with a feeling that he can “only” paint in a controlled way, that he’s not a good enough artist to be able to watercolor. Even though he’s doing wonderful work, he carries the defeat he experienced when he gave up too soon.

So now it’s a class

As I worked on this piece I thought about my friend. He just needed someone to help him find some controlled ways to let go….and that there are a lot of artists like this out there!

I realized this piece could be a good step for newer painters in how to let watercolor do its thing while ALSO staying under control, I decided to only show part of this painting on YouTube, then walk through it much more slowly, in realtime, in a class. While you don’t need to take the class in order to paint wet in wet, it may well be just what the doctor ordered to help you get looser and to find the joy in wet-in-wet techniques. 

In the course you’ll see all the different ways wet in wet can be layered, tweaked, and even fixed! Because yes I am always doing little repairs! 

The class is also a “snack” course – I began those when I created a few on Artventure years ago, budget-priced courses with less content but really concentrated on one thing. You can see them all here – it’s a great way to be able to learn something new without busting the budget in your art studies!

Unfettered Play: Watercolor

Get a taste of wet in wet watercolor and create an art piece fit for framing in this Artventure “snack” course! Trace the provided art and learn how to control the aspects of watercolor that you can, and let the rest blend and mix right before your eyes.

World Watercolor Month: The Rules!

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

The rules – and how to break them

The gist of the “rules” goes something like this:

“Use the prompts to create watercolor paintings every day in July while sharing online and raising funds for charity.”

But I’ve got a few caveats!

Use the prompts. Or not.

Charlie provides prompts…not just for this July celebration but all year long. (Go subscribe to his email list for more info!) But you know what? You don’t have to follow them! No one will fault you for going your own way. You do you! What inspires you right now? Paint that!

I follow some prompts and not others – sometimes (gasp) I don’t even look at the day’s prompt and I just go with what I feel like. Today was an accident since I needed to get started on my July phenology wheel (more on that in a few minutes) – the first prompt is “radiant” and my wheel has radiant lines. Check that box by accident! ha!

I will be following the prompts for my Wednesday Zoom paintalongs, though!

Must use watercolor?

The definition of “watercolor” is pretty expansive. Gouache counts. As do watercolor pencils and markers. And you know what? I have classes in traditional watercolor as well as these others! So if you need a start in one of those mediums, check out what’s available here.

My definition of “watercolor” has been even more expansive through the years – I call using “color” to create a drawing or painting of “water” counts! Alcohol marker drawings of the ocean, colored pencil drawings of a fish swimming in coral. Get creative – and get creating!

Oh gosh, paint every day?

Making art daily IS good for you. I’ve always encouraged people to do a little something every day in order to grow as an artist, so I won’t tell you not to aim for daily.

But you don’t have to do MASSIVE paintings daily. You don’t have to finish the art. You can work on one painting all month! Or do something like this phenology wheel above and paint something tiny every day. (You could make it a grid to be easier, just paint something in a little square!)

And if you miss a day or a few or a week, get right back to it when you can. It’s summer, don’t give up a day of snoozing under a tree with a book on your lap!

A lot of my students use the month to paint through my 30 Days to More Confident Watercolor Sketching class each July – they have a tutorial for the day, they don’t have to think about coming up with an idea, and they can track how they’re growing year by year.

I have to share my work too??

Oh heck no! There’s no rule about having to post your art. I know when I was starting with watercolor I had to swallow hard knowing someone would SEE the mess I’d just created, GASP! So I get it.

But you know what? There’s someone even newer than YOU out there. Someone who has always wanted to watercolor but is too embarrassed to try it. You could be their inspiration! Just think, that could be the next famous watercolorist on the scene in a few years, and they’ll say YOU were the one who encouraged them to buy some paints and get  started. Wouldn’t that be cool?

If you’re looking for a safe place to share – I can vouch for the community at Artventure over on Mighty Networks. It’s such an encouraging place! No one will shame you, they’ll give positive and constructive tips that’ll help you grow. You can see their work and know everyone is learning alongside each other. Most are my students so you’ll even see homework from classes —and you can ask people how easy or hard one is that you’re considering signing up for. You’ll get unvarnished opinions from them rather than relying on me!

Artventure’s free to join, I pay for it myself – and you can download the Mighty Networks app to participate there, or just do so on a web browser without an app. And if you’re interested in the free Zoom calls, that’s where you’ll need to go RSVP and get sketches and the zoom link. Sign up here! 

Ooh fundraise?

Some people get intimidated by the idea of fundraising, others run towards it – and there are options for just quietly doing your part – or for shouting it from the rooftops and spreading the word.

The charity we’ve fundraised for is the International Child Art Foundation – ICAF – they work with kids in their communities and help them make ART! Next year is their every-four-years event in DC, and I’ll be going there for it and teaching!

But as for this year, ICAF saw their National Endowment for the Arts funding cut in all the chaos in DC this year – so we need ot step up so the kids know their art is important to some of us adults!

I fundraise every year, and this year the options are:

1. 10% of EVERY class, not just watercolor, are donated to ICAF through July. (use this link to see them all in a mishmash list, or use the menu on that site to navigate to your favorite medium).
2. 100% of several new products will be donated to ICAF through July: Animal Artist Printables, Robot Printables, and Watercolor Bookmarks Livestreams 2025. (You can attend the livestreams for free, but could also donate the $25 for the course and not only be able to miss some of the Zoom calls but to watch them over and over.)
3. 10% of fine art purchases are donated to ICAF through July. Shop now!
4. Donate your art! We’re collecting handmade art bookmarks to give to the kids ICAF serves in 2026, and there’s more info on that here.

The bookmarks made during the Watercolor Bookmarks Livestreams Zooms may or may not be appropriate for the kids – like Espresso, which is the them for tomorrow’s call. But you can use them, swap them, give them as gifts – and you’ll learn some fabulous techniques!

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And now…what’s a phenology wheel?

All through 2025 I’ve been working on mine daily, after seeing Marion making her own. Phenology is the study of how nature changes over time, and documenting the world right around you is eye opening! 

Each month I’ve chosen a different theme, and used different mediums….in April I created a handmade round book to keep everything together and to allow me to take it with me to show people at events. I’m half a year in and it’s coming along so well, as you saw in the video!

My themes each month have been:

1. January: all things green, watercolor
2. February: skies, gouache
3. March: birds, marker and pen
4. April: spring buds and blooms, watercolor
5. May: deciduous and flowering trees, alcohol marker
6. June: tiny flowers on weeds, colored pencil

This month I want to try something different and follow ONE plant through the month. My hydrangeas have started coming in, and I’ll be painting from the inital bud to the full on blossom. My Mom, who passed last year, would be so happy it’s still blooming after all these years since she bought that bush for me and helped me plant it. In August it’ll be a year without her, and this is a happy memory to spend time with as my sisters and I come up on that sad anniversary.

I’ve seen lots of people starting to make phenology wheels, and that’s so great! Remember these are about the progression of nature over time – not just a random picture from your phone a few months ago. It gets you out there to look at your surroundings and notice things every day. What new birds have arrived, and which don’t you see anymore? What did the initial buds look like on a fig tree that’s now bearing fruit? I now have my eyes wide open while out walking my dogs. I used to just listen to podcasts but now I’m too busy listening for birdsongs and visiting trees I’ve sketched, just to see how they’re different now than before.

Will you be participating?

I hope my un-rules inspired you to jump in and take part in World Watercolor Month this year! I’d love to see what you’re creating, and Artventure is the only place I can count on to show me the creations all the time, so I hope you’ll join us!