On Earth Day, I spent some time under my favorite tree with my favorite art supplies. After some thought, I decided to stash the pencil and eraser back in by bag and do everything by instinct. As I splashed the paint around, it started to rain, and I let that become part of the painting too. I first thought of who would be living in the brook splashing by my feet, and a dark-eyed naiad started to take form. And while that one started to dry/get drizzled on, I grabbed the other sketchbook and started to use the firey colors that hadn't been in the first painting, inspired by the luscious pink blossoms overhead. My favorite, final touch was a small pink petal from my weeping cherry tree that spiraled down and landed right in the paint. It was like getting a kiss from the tree.

This is a bracelet I was given on the Mother's Retreat. It was randomly placed in my folder, but those of you who know me know that I don't believe much in coincidence. There is a reason for everything. At the time, I wondered, "Why mercy? Why couldn't I get grace, or courage, or love, or one of the other bracelets instead?" And I put it on my wrist and have been wearing it almost constantly since then. Whenever I look down at my hands or roll up my sleeves to wash dishes, I see it and am reminded again... of mercy. And again, I wonder what the message is there for me.

I think I am beginning to figure it out for myself, but I wonder - what are your experiences with mercy? Why do you think I was given this bracelet?

Here, finally, are Paul's trees. You're seeing them much much smaller than I painted them; in real life, they're 12 inches across. But they're about to get bigger...

Since we built our fireplace years and years ago, Paul's always wanted to have different pictures hanging above it. Something with lots of trees, since we both love them, and paintings we could change with the seasons. But I work on a rather small scale, and this size honestly took me days and days and days. Weeks even. Forests are involved like nobody's business, and it's hard to get down the feeling and the color of the forest without making it look like you're being clubbed with the details. I kept remembering this painting my Grandma had where every single leaf was rendered, and I was trying to do the opposite of that. I would paint in my studio, bring everything down to the dining room and paint more while the kids had a snack, look at it after dinner and splash more paint on it, hate it the next morning and lift sections of paint off of it only to drip on more once it all dried again. I swear that last weekend I was painting WHILE I MADE DINNER. I had it propped up on the counter, would go stir everything the stove, turn around, and paint again. I literally could not stop painting.

I have one small bit left to do on the path, and then I'm scanning it all in. Inspired by the way the poster of Tree/Bird/Heart came out, we're making it into a poster so it will be huuuuuuge! Framed and matted, it'll go over our stone fireplace and we'll be able to see every line and edge of color as we get close up to it.

And from the couch? It'll just look like a forest.

At last, here's Peter's painting of his favorite stuffed animal, his beloved Duckie. He wanted a formal portrait of Duckie after considering and then (thankfully!) discarding the following subject matter:

1. Portrait of Cookie Monster to go next to the painting of the chocolate chip cookie he requested when he moved into his own room (actually, that would have been pretty cool to paint, I have done the big guy before.)

2. A race car with everyone you can think of from Sesame Street riding in it. No, wait....

3. Five cars, and all of them should have a separate Sesame Street character in it... and they should all be racing!

And thankfully, idea four was Duckie.

The part that impressed me most was that Peter showed this painting to everyone who came over for Christmas, and rated it as his favorite present over (get this) two remote control cars. What 4-year-old boy likes a painting of his special fluffy over remote control cars?

A boy who loves his Duckie. And clearly, who has good taste.

Extreme closeup:

I foolishly didn't have time to scan in any of these Christmas presents (held by my awesome niece and nephews, their proud owners), so I had to settle for snapshots as they were opened. I'm especially miffed I didn't get a good shot of Kermit, as he came out pretty darn good.

But my favorite story is about the space pic in the lower left corner - it was for my nephew Joe, who as I understood, wanted "the night sky." So I looked up what the constellations would look like on his birthday, masked them out, added a moon, and painted it up. One night while I was talking to him on the phone, he mentions the TIE fighter he wants in the picture. "What TIE fighter? I'm done!" I said. But he's my nephew, and one of my godsons, and darnit, it's Christmas, and I love him, so I went back in with a wet brush and lifted out a whole bunch of sky and made him a TIE fighter, and while I was at it, made the moon into the Death Star for good measure. I think it came out even better, so everyone wins.

So I was telling my brother (his dad) that there's now a TIE fighter, it looks great, the force is with me, and all that. And he says, "Which kind of TIE fighter did you paint?" and my blood ran cold. I had no idea there was more than one kind! Luckily for me, the one I painted was the correct one. Phew!

While my pre-Christmastime was very busy with all the painting and crafting, I can honestly say it was also exhilarating. I spent my time painting and painting and painting, and I was so proud to when it came time to wrap them. I learned something new with each painting, and yes, there are even more to show (and... to finish.... ) I still also have one yet to scan and two more still to start! I'll show Peter's (which I did scan) next, and Paul's which is a work in progress that is proving to be quite a challenge.

I've been madly painting and sewing in preparation for Christmas! Here's Sophie's painting. Her request was "A lamb wearing boots, a cat wearing boots, and a dog wearing boots." One sketch had them all having a picnic tea, but she voted for this one instead, playing in the rain.





More Christmas paintings to come...

Dancing squirrels, a little rambunctious for Illustration Friday this week.

Remember I gave everyone on our gift list the choice of an original painting? Well, Angela requested "Squirrels, dancing." And so she shall have them. I had a sketch where one was upside down on his hands and she was really opposed to it for some reason, so here are her dancing squirrels, all on their feet. They'll need to have shadows underneath them, but other than that, I don't think I want to do too much more to it. In a perfect world, I would have painted the background FIRST, but I'm toying with going back in and adding in a light wash.

Extreme tail close up:



Tomorrow hopefully: painting in progress of a lamb, a cat, and a dog, all wearing boots and carrying umbrellas.

Guess what's on newsstands now? :) See the full recipe here.

If you didn’t see the “handmade pledge” button last holiday season, here’s your chance to be a part of it for this year. Instead of adding to the commercialism of the season and spending extra money, why not try to make your gifts, or purchase them from those who do?


This year, I’ve already told friends and family that if they’d like, I’ll paint a picture of pretty much anything they want for Christmas this year, instead of buying a gift. So far I've had requests for the night sky, Kermit, koalas, soccer balls, and (this could only come from Sophie) "A lamb and a cat, both wearing boots." My kids know also that they will be getting homemade dolls and can pick out some of their clothes as well, and my husband already has asked for a painting with “lots and lots of trees.”

Buying from small businesses and crafters assures artists that they can keep doing the work they do so well. And if you’re lucky enough to be the one doing the creating, you’ll see the joy that comes from making – and giving – a present that’s one of a kind.

♥ Take the Handmade Pledge here.
♥ Check out Etsy for all sorts of simply gorgeous artwork, jewelry, and other homemade items.
♥ Have you taken the Pledge or are you an artist with things to sell? Leave a link in the comments and tell me about it!

I will be taking the handmade pledge this year, which is worth its own post. Last year I was struck by the fact that I was getting ready to sell my work at a craft fair, showcasing my prints as a great Christmas present, when I had already bought all the presents we were giving out this year and wasn't giving any art. I wanted to remedy that.

So this Christmas, I asked everyone we usually gift if they would like an original painting instead, of their very own. As most of them are kids, we've gotten some really interesting replies! I'm so excited to be spending my time making something from my heart for the people I love best. I'll be painting everything from soccer balls to sheep wearing boots!

Meanwhile, if you would like to give artwork this year (or heck, just keep it for yourself), since I haven't set these up in the store yet, I wanted to post these paintings here. If you want one, email me with your info, and leave me a comment here claiming it as your own. One's gone already!

(I should also note, I should be getting in posters any day... here's hoping they turn out well, if they do, I'll post them!)

The sets: three matted prints in a white wooden frame with glass. Images measure 4.675" x 6.675". Entire piece measures 10" x 20". Each piece is $40 (+ $10 USPS Shipping: Priority Mail, Insurance, and Signature Confirmation. )



Framed and matted prints in black wooden frames with plexiglass. Images measure 5" x 7". Each is $15 (+ $5 USPS Shipping: Priority Mail.)



Framed prints in wooden frames with plexiglass. Image area is 5" x 7". Each is $10 + ($5 USPS Shipping: Priority Mail.)



Framed prints in hand-painted wooden frames with plexiglass. Image area is 4" x 6". Each is $8 + ($5 USPS Shipping: Priority Mail.)

A new painting, another learning experience!

I've been trying (and not too successfully) to paint every day, and so I've been using photos from my idea folder to work with. That way, I don't think "I don't know what to paint," I think, "Okay, let's do this one today." I'm trying to not overthink it, just to get messy and just jump in. So... here's the original photo of Miss Sophie out in the yard, and yes, there is a story there, and you will all hear it one day, and I did make the wings myself and will try to post instructions when I get around to it, I promise:



Trying to be faithful to the photo, I did a pretty tight sketch and started to do some watercolour washes. But the spirit of it just eluded me... every time I would put down a color, I'd blot it back up. I was being really timid about paint, which just ain't me.



It was starting to be pretty, but that wasn't what I was going for. So I put it aside, and thought about it, and realized what I was doing wrong. Like this painting, I was trying to do watercolor "right" and try new techniques out I wasn't comfortable with, but it instead was losing the whole spirit. Remember when I did the painting of Angela in the grass and I said, "I did the background first, next time I'll do the subject first"? Well, that's what was missing. The point of the whole painting is Sophie, the fairy girl.

And more about that - I'd decided early on that I didn't want this to look like a little girl in a costume in her backyard, but that's what it was turning into. So I stopped thinking of her as Sophie. And that helped immensely. I didn't worry if her coloring looked right, or her hair, or if she looked age-appropriate blah blah blah. I was painting a fairy, and that meant I could get as wild as I wanted!



Before... I'm trying too hard to make her look natural and as lovely as she is.



After... while it may not look precisely like Sophie, it captures her spirit so much more vividly (and accurately).

I wound up erasing all the pencil I could, leaving just what I needed for the barest guidelines, and went to town, splashing color all over the place. You all have no idea how much I had to fight myself NOT to go in and do perfectly rendered veins on the wings, to do her eyelashes and hair perfectly, and to make the lines in the watercolour set perfectly straight. LESS IS MORE, remember? I'm so proud that I refrained from overworking it all.



Take this down: It doesn't have to be perfect.

The last thing I'm really proud of is the background. All those trees, and the path, and all that stuff - not necessary! And it was pulling my attention away from my fairy. So instead I erased everything, and wet my background area with water and a brush, being verrrry careful to only put it where I wanted paint to go. And then I color-bombed it (ala this one). I lifted up the paper and let the color find its path, staying only where the paper was wet. (Mind you, you only want to try this when everything else on the page is dry.)

I am just so happy with those edges where one color bumps up against the other - back in the day, I would get that kind of contrast with a very sharp pencil or fine pen. Now it's nothing but pure color. (Ooh, I'm getting shivers about it again.) And the hair, I'm quite pleased with that. And especially the edges of those wings becoming organic and leaf-edged - I couldn't have made that happen if I tried.



(Petey wants to know, when is it my turn to have a painting?)

From my homepage of 9/11/02:

This is what I wrote one year ago; and I painted to get myself through my grief: a series of self-portaits of what I saw reflected in my studio window, some with my thoughts from each day written across them. I thought maybe I'd share them someday.

I still can't.

Which is why today you should go over and visit my brother's site and read his post; he says it better than I ever could.

Many times I share a new painting because I love it, but this time it's more that I'm posting a painting that was frustrating but taught me a lot. (Which of course, I will share.)


Miss A, reading, on a blanket, in our backyard.

Most frustrating thing: after looking back at the lemon painting I had done with watercolour pencils, I decided that they were just what I needed to create a great texture for the line of arborvitae in the background. I spent ages blending colors, putting in shadows, blah blah blah, only to start adding water and realize that I was nowhere near the effect I wanted, and it was going to take another week of meticulous pencil blending. I said phooey to that, grabbed the paints, and started splashing them around. I was done with the trees in one night. Not only were the watercolour pencils a waste of time, but why did I start with the background and not with Angela, the focus of the whole thing? I was so in love with the idea of the prickly branch effect that I went straight to it. Next time, Angela first. Background later.



With my copy of The Watercolor Bible in hand, I decided to really try to apply the examples rather than just looking at the pictures. I read

"Remember to paint only as much detail as is needed to tell the viewer what an object is. Too much information is difficult to paint and makes it hard for the viewer to know what you intend as the focal point of the painting."

This is so different from the way I usually paint (anal-retentive amounts of detail) that I literally sat for a minute with the book in my hand, staring at the painting and wanting to throw the whole thing out.

But clearly, I didn't. One detail I do really like is the book in Angela's hand - there's no pencil work there, all edges are created from the edges of two colors meeting. Hand on leg, arm behind - edges of color to define them, and no leaning on an outline to separate them.



I sort of have a technique I use for hair, and it works for me. But I decided to go with the book's sample, and do washes instead. I didn't do the exercise, or use the colors they listed, just went with the general feel. Angela is in bright sunlight - you can't even see the difference between her skin and her dress at some points - and her black hair has to show it. Parts are black, parts are brown, parts are white, and parts are sort of some non-descript-un-color. I kept everything soft and built up the layers of color from lightest to darkest, adding touches of black at the end. I also added a wet brush and lifted color out in spots. And that sweet face! I went in only around the edge of the face with a sharp pencil just to provide extra definition. Had I been a better planner, I would have had that same definition of color I had around the book.



The grass was, at one point, painful. If I was really going to do it right, I should have masked some blades out. But then again, that might have been the detail-overload way. At one point, I could see myself grabbing the watercolour pencils again and making billions and billions of blades of grass.... I also was doing my media fast, remember? I usually work with the TV on in the background (I don't face it, but it's on as background noise); instead, I was so frustrated by the quiet on the first night that I literally couldn't work. I wound up putting on iTunes, standing up, and singing while I flung paint around for the grass - I had to work in a completely different way to break through my old habits. I do really like how the grass came out, though one teeny-tiny bit of masking fluid in retrospect wouldn't have been unwelcome. I like how it came out a little Brian-Wildsmith-y.

The whole painting is more in the feeling of this one - more loose, more fluffy, more flowy. I have been painting in watercolour for over 20 years. And I have so much, much more to learn about how to paint.

And how fantastic is that?

I've been feeling blurry lately, like someone didn't color in the lines properly. And I figured out that when I draw or paint every day, and when I go for a 2-mile walk every morning as well, everything comes into focus and I have loads more energy. So:

More drawing.
More painting.
More walking.
More yoga.

ps ~ This was so much fun to paint. See it bigger here.

This painting is an exercise I did a while ago, messing around with the watercolour colored pencils. I think it's interesting that I tend to go through waves with my painting - at least once a year I get really loose, and then a few months later, get almost crazily detail-heavy. I guess it's the times in between where I hit a balance. I like the loose, I like the tight, and I really, really, really like citrus fruit.

The things I do to keep myself from painting:

Surf the internet looking for great crafting ideas, home decorating tips, ways to make my own detergent from scratch, see what all the past winners of America's Next Top Model are doing today.

Surf the internet looking at everyone else's work, and comparing.

Listen to my children having an altercation 2 flights below me. Get involved instead of letting babysitter handle it.

Get distracted by the TV on in the background for noise (to cover sound of children).

Sleep.