I’ve been working on painting some of the unfinished sketches from my teaching trip to Tuscany last fall, and I’ll be sharing them with you as they’re completed. It’s getting me in the mood to go to Italy again! This page was drawn during a day trip to the tiny hilltop village of Certaldo Alto, […]
Category: Sketchbook Journaling
Spring Wildflowers Sketch
Something pretty to brighten your day…a hillside covered with wildflowers near Prosperity, PA. Woodland carpet of wild blue phlox, 5″ x 3-1/2″, watercolor in a Moleskine sketchbook I just couldn’t pass them by without stopping to sketch. I always tell my students that sketchbook journaling is all about sketching what makes you say “Wow!”, what […]
Spring Break Sketches
After a winter of traveling to teach workshops, I finally had a chance to go on a trip just for fun. I traveled to Florida a few weeks ago with a friend to visit my friend Judy, who lives near Bradenton. All of us are sketchers, so we enjoyed having a chance to paint a […]
Let’s go to Provence!
I have awesome news to share —– I’m going to be teaching in Provence in 2017! When the lavender is in bloom! Can you imagine anything prettier? I’ve been working with the folks at French Escapade, who have years of experience organizing artist tours, to plan our trip. Jackie Grandchamps is the owner of French […]
Bunnies and Daffodils – Spring is Here!
As I was working on the third lesson for my Intro to Watercolor class this week, I decided to do a step-by-step tutorial for the students to show them how to paint a still life from start to finish. As I cast about looking for subject matter, my eyes lit upon the cute little bunny […]
Sarasota Farmer’s Market
One last sketch from Florida… 5-1/2″ x 8-1/2″, ink & watercolor in a Stillman and Birn Alpha series sketchbook It was too windy to sketch outside on the day I visited the Sarasota Farmer’s market with my sketching buddies, so we snapped pictures and headed for a warm, cozy Starbucks nearby. There, we spread out […]
Fun in Florida!
I felt a teeny bit guilty leaving home when winter storm Jonas was on its way, but I had to go. After all, I was teaching in Florida! 4″ x 6″, ink & watercolor in a hardbound Stillman & Birn Alpha series sketchbook I had an early flight out of Pittsburgh, and since I had […]
Thumbnail Sketches – All Dressed Up!
One of the lessons I taught my students while in Tuscany was about using thumbnail sketches to zero in on a scene and test out various compositional options. I suggested using a separate sketchbook page for the thumbnails and later turning that page, with its accumulation of tiny scenes, into a dynamic page in its […]
2016 Tuscany Workshop
Imagine yourself wandering through the cobblestone streets of this medieval hilltop village in Tuscany. You stop at a sidewalk cafe for a cappuccino and pull out your sketchbook to begin drawing an ancient stone building across the way. Sip…….look……..paint……..see. This is the way we experience Tuscany, taking the time to meander and explore, or to […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor: Fattoria Bacio
In one of my recent posts, I promised I would show you the step-by-step process I used to paint a sketch of Fattoria Bacio, our workshop location in Tuscany. The villa is perched on top of a hill, surrounded by vineyards and olive groves. One pretty fall morning, I walked out along the ridge, about […]
