Christmas Trees with Lights at Night
A watercolor postcard of lighted Christmas trees at night on a snowy slope.
Holiday Postcard Plan-Along
One approach to designing and planning a painting of your own, using a holiday postcard as an example. Come plan along with me!
How & Why to Keep a Studio Notebook
Expand your sketchbook practice beyond just making sketches. Your studio notebook is a place to brainstorm, explore, learn and develop your own creative style. Here are some ideas for getting started using a studio notebook to support all aspects of your creative development.
Stop Paint from Beading Up on a Plastic Palette
A simple and nondestructive way to stop paint from beading up on a plastic watercolor palette.
Exercise, Exploration, Experiment or Artwork?
In planning an artwork, you often need to conduct related exercises, explorations and experiments. But it’s usually a bad idea to let them slowly morph into unplanned attempts at the artwork.
How (and When) to Stretch Your Watercolor Paper
once you start painting quarter-sheet or larger, or getting the paper really saturated, stretching your paper makes your life sooooo much easier! This video shows my preferred method, stretching on the same stretcher bars used for canvas, and an alternate method for those who have difficulty operating a staple gun.
Three Ways to Transfer Drawings to Watercolor Paper
Three methods for transferring a drawing to watercolor paper: using self-made graphite transfer, graphite transfer paper and clear acetate.
Making a Painting Support Board (for Smaller Paintings)
This video shows how to make a lightweight waterproof board to support a small watercolor painting while you work. This method will not prevent buckling, but the paper will flatten out again after it dries.
Easily Scale Up Photos and Drawings Using a Home Printer
Ever wish you could print out a photo in larger sizes to transfer to your watercolor paper without making a trip to the copy shop? This video shows you how to use Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software which most people already have for reading PDFs) to print out large images on multiple sheets of letter-size paper.
Less Messy Spattering with Watercolor Paint or Masking Fluid
A way to spatter without getting paint (or masking fluid) all over you and your studio.
Three Ways to Mask a Crescent Moon
Three ways to use masking fluid (liquid frisket) to mask a crescent moon in a watercolor painting.
How to Resize Rectangles Proportionally (no calculating!)
An easy way to scale up or down and get a rectangle with the same proportions. No calculating, just a straightedge.