It’s Thanksgiving Day in the U.S. as I write this post, and it seems everyone in America is writing about gratitude in some way or another. I’m going to write about gratitude, too, even though you won’t see this post until Friday or Saturday, when the dominant theme will have moved on to “leftovers”. But first, I…
Do you love intricate patterns? The wild popularity of Zentangle tells me a lot of us do! What is the fascination? The soothing repetition? The almost-magical emergence of form from a few simple shapes? The need to pay close attention that blocks out cares and worries? The echo of Nature’s beautiful intricacies? Whatever the reason, winter is a perfect…
I got a new art toy recently. It’s called a Gelli plate, and it makes gelatin monoprints sooooo much easier than in the past. Instead of explaining how to make a gelatin plate for printing, I’m going to point you to a great tutorial on The Sketchbook Challenge site, because there’s also a ton of…
Some days, I wake up feeling the pressure of everything that has to be done that day, and taking time out to work in my journal seems like a luxury I can’t afford. Some days, I am so exhausted at the end of the day, I just want to crawl in bed and sleep. Some…
A couple of weekends ago, we had a beautiful 70-degree day with this year’s glorious fall colors just hitting their peak. On the spur of the moment, I grabbed my backpack and headed out to paint with a friend. I had forgotten to bring masking tape, so I couldn’t tape down my paper to keep…
For those who aren’t familiar with the phrase, painting en plein air is just a fancy way of referring to painting on location, usually outdoors. It’s a challenge! In addition to all the usual problems a painter has to solve (composition, color mixing, brush handling, etc.), there is the constantly changing light, the sun, rain and wind,…
Get out the Crayolas with no apologies! A report in this week’s Huffington Post on coloring as a great stress-buster for adults is making a splash on Facebook and other media outlets. It seems coloring—for adults—is all the rage in Europe, and just starting to be trendy in the U.S. Well, ha! We’re on the cutting…
Who is that mysterious woman peering out of the headline of this week’s post? Read to the end to find out—she has a little magical treat for you! In this week’s post, I invite you to try your hand at cartooning. Wait! Keep reading! I promise anyone can do this kind of cartooning! This activity…
I keep finding myself telling followers of this blog about these fun little how-to videos I’m making for my beginning watercolor classes. Three in particular—on brush-drawing—just seem perfect for journallers. Brush drawing is a great way to try to see and capture the essence of something—both how it looks and how it feels. In a brush…
Making a mandala (circular drawing or painting) has long been considered an act of devotion in many cultures all over the world. No matter what your religious or spiritual beliefs, it’s great to have a way to take a bit of time out from the busy-ness of your schedule for contemplation, meditation and renewal. Circles…
Well, actually, I think pretty much everything is sacred. But, even sacred things can evolve, develop and transform. So your journal pages certainly can! In fact, if you don’t transform certain journal pages, they become the journal equivalent of that mysterious plastic container at the back of the refrigerator. The one that you know you’d better throw away…
The moon is full this coming Monday night and it looks like we might have clear skies here in the Twin Cities area. One of the things I love to do in my art and in my journaling is celebrate the natural world—changing seasons, dramatic weather, the plants and animals I live among. And the full…
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