by lbaur | Aug 14, 2019 | 2SLD Archive
Have you ever gone to some beautiful location to paint or sketch, and then found yourself so overwhelmed with so many fabulous—and complicated—things to paint that you wind up spend the whole time running around looking for a subject? Or you just take a zillion...
by lbaur | Jun 30, 2019 | 2SLD Archive
No more teeny timid lonely blossoms floating in a mishmash of streaky, muddy color. In honor of Mother’s Day, let’s take a look at some tips for creating bold, lively florals in watercolor. We’ll talk about design tricks that help you handle...
by lbaur | May 14, 2019 | 2SLD Archive
Demo Notes Handout for Apr 2019 Demo Do your shadows look like cardboard cutouts or dull, lifeless holes? Do you struggle with creating believable neutrals for things like tree trunks, rocks or weathered buildings? Do your clouds look like aerial dust bunnies? Mixing...
by lbaur | Apr 10, 2019 | 2SLD Archive
Gather your materials and test your setup indoors now to be ready for plein air sketching when nice weather arrives. In this demo, I’ll show you several different options for light, packable watercolor sketching kits, and give you a few tips for selecting a manageable...
by lbaur | Jun 10, 2016 | How-to
In the last post, I offered some tips for mixing natural-looking landscape greens, the first of which was “avoid tube greens involving phthalo green”. So, what do you do with the phthalo green (and mixtures using it) you already have? The secret is to tame...
by lbaur | Jun 3, 2016 | How-to
The weather is beautiful here. It’s the time of year when a lot of us are feeling that pull to take our paints and sketchbooks outside. It’s also the time of year that a lot of people struggle with GREEN! Do the greens in your landscapes look flat and...
by lbaur | Mar 3, 2016 | Creative Energy Journaling, How-to
If the idea of painting outside or while traveling is appealing . . . but intimidating . . . a great way to start is to try line-and-wash. Even if you think you are “not an artist” and have no experience drawing or painting. Even if you “can’t...
by lbaur | Feb 7, 2016 | How-to
Every time I lead a class or workshop, more than half of the participants mention the goal of “loosening up”. Here’s a skill-building exercise to help you move in that direction.
by lbaur | Dec 11, 2015 | How-to
Want your paintings to look unified? It helps to combine “things” into larger shapes, and then use smaller shapes to (partially) separate them. Here’s an exercise to help you practice. First, set up a still life with a couple of simple objects. Avoid...
by lbaur | Nov 13, 2015 | Creative Energy Journaling, How-to
I know some of you enjoy using the templates I create for my Watercolor Prayer/Meditation Mandala Mini-Retreats. I created a new one that was very popular at the last mini-retreat, so I decided to share it with you here. This one has some larger open areas for you to...
by lbaur | Aug 21, 2015 | Behind the Scenes, Creative Energy Journaling, How-to
Having recently accepted an invitation to fill a last-minute gap in the show calendar at Hudson Hospital, I’m in the “final countdown” phase of prepping for a show. No matter how diligent and organized I am, I seem to always require a final frenzy of...
by lbaur | Aug 7, 2015 | Behind the Scenes, How-to
That pesky inner critic! I don’t know about you, but simply telling her to sit down and shut up doesn’t work for me. Oh, I can get her to leave me alone. It just doesn’t lead to paintings I’m happy with. I need my inner critic. We all need time...
