How-to Archives - Dragonfly Spirit Studio

Loosen Up Your Watercolor Painting—Here’s an Exercise to Try

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.

Paint Shapes, Not “Things”

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...

Colorful Thoughts

by lbaur | Aug 21, 2015 | Behind the Scenes, Creative Play, 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...

What Makes a Good Painting?

by lbaur | Aug 7, 2015 | Behind the Scenes, Creative Play, How-to, The Artist's Life

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...

Present Your Watercolors Without Glass!

by lbaur | Jul 16, 2015 | Behind the Scenes, How-to, The Artist's Life

I’ve been presenting my watercolors without glass for quite some time. I love the clean look! Here’s everything you need to know to present your watercolors using this method. In the video, I demonstrate one way to do this, using the method (and products) I use...

I Found the Collapsible Cup!

by lbaur | Jul 10, 2015 | Behind the Scenes, Creative Play, How-to, The Artist's Life

Many of you have asked about the little collapsible cup I carry with my sketching stuff. I finally found it on Amazon, so now you can have one, too! The exact one I have seems to only come in a set with a bowl, but there are quite a few other silicone rubber...

9 Tips for Better Sketches (and More Fun!)

by lbaur | Jul 10, 2015 | Behind the Scenes, Classes & Events, Creative Play, How-to

Yesterday, 12 intrepid sketchers from the Watercolor Minimalist class at Wet Paint descended on Como Conservatory determined to learn some tips and tricks for sketching on location in a short amount of time and with minimal stuff. It was a gorgeous day, there were...

Line-and-Wash—Watercolor Painting Anyone Can Do

by lbaur | Mar 6, 2015 | Creative Play, How-to

A lot of people are still digging out of the most recent swath of snowstorms, but here in Hudson, it’s in the upper 20s, with a forecast of temperatures in the 40s in the coming week. Time to get outside to paint or sketch! If the idea of painting outside or...

12 Tips for Happy Brushes—How to Care for Your Watercolor Brushes

by lbaur | Feb 20, 2015 | Behind the Scenes, How-to

I’m welcoming some new watercolor painters to the medium, so there have been some requests for information about caring for watercolor brushes. (Even if you know all this, you might want to skip down to item 9. In the third paragraph, there are two links to...

Watercolor Mandala Templates for You to Use

by lbaur | Feb 13, 2015 | Classes & Events, How-to

Looking for templates so you can try it yourself? Templates are at the bottom of the Mandala Mini-Retreat class page. Last weekend’s mini-retreat on Mandalas for Prayer and Meditation at Wet Paint was a wonderfully relaxing way to spend a Saturday afternoon! If...

Go (a Little) Wild!—How to Loosen Up (Just a Bit) in Watercolor

by lbaur | Feb 13, 2015 | How-to

Are you a control freak when you make art? Or does your inner child go wild? Most of us want to make art that combines structure and spontenaity, but that’s not easy! In workshops and classes at all levels, when we go around the room and talk about what we want...

Explore Your Pigments with a Color Wheel—Primaries, Secondaries, Tertiaries

by lbaur | Jan 28, 2015 | How-to

When I’m laying a wash, I want to focus my attention on creating color mingles, wet-in-wet effects and edges that are just the right degree of softness. So many things that will only happen if the timing is just right! I want design and drawing and color all...