Do you remember the beautiful gardens I had at Summerhill? I do. I’m reminded of them every day when I look out the windows of our new house and see nothing but a sea of mud in every direction. The contrast to the views I had last spring is hard to ignore. I remember the […]
Tag: Sketchbooks
Daffodil Days
After a long winter that seemed like it would never end, I had a chance to welcome spring this week at Joe Hamm’s Daffodil Hortus, a daffodil farm set amidst the rolling hills of Washington County, PA. I met up with some of the Summerhill Sketchers for a garden tour and painting session. (Yes, we’re […]
Floral Watercolor Monograms – Part 2
In my last post, I showed you the floral monograms and cards I made for my sister and mother for Christmas. For the past several days, I’ve been putting together a tutorial for you about the process I used to create the monograms and print the cards at home. I’ve taken pictures, scanned images, edited […]
Floral Watercolor Monograms – Part 1
We all know the challenge of trying to find a gift for the person who has everything. How do you find something that’s personal, useful, beautiful, and/or different from anything they already have? Well, here’s a great idea that I came up with for my mother and sister this past Christmas. This project was inspired […]
Step-by-Step Watercolor: Blackwater River Sketch
It was the final afternoon of my painting getaway at Canaan Valley and I had gone for a short hike with my friends Jane and Elaine to stretch our legs and grab one final sketch before the sun set. We found a beautiful spot beside the river, quickly set up our stools, and got out our art gear.
Sketches from Alpine Lake
The past few weeks have flown by and, with all that’s going on with finishing up our new house, I’m afraid I’ve fallen behind in posting some of the sketches I’ve done recently. So, I thought I’d play catch-up and show you some of what I’ve been up to. I went to Alpine Lake several […]
Laurel Hill Sketch
Fred and I went camping last week at Laurel Hill State park. It’s up in the mountains east of Pittsburgh, a great place to get away from it all. (Translation: there was no cell service.) Our campsite at Laurel Hill When I talk about camping, I really mean “glamping” – we aren’t exactly roughing it […]
“How to Paint French Macarons” + Week 3 Giveaway
Have you ever tasted a macaron? These cute, colorful, double-decker meringue cookies come in an amazing range of flavors, anything from strawberry and vanilla to pistachio, salted caramel, mocha, and rose petal. They are the perfect combination of crunchy, crusty outer shell and soft, chewy inner tastiness. And the fillings are nothing short of swoonworthy. […]
“52 Ways to Sketch a Garden” + Week 2 Giveaway
Week 2’s lesson of the week is “52 Ways to Sketch a Garden”. It’s a perfect complement to the “Flowers & Foliage” painting lesson I featured last week, but this lesson focuses on sketchbook page design rather than on painting techniques.
Gettysburg Sketch
My husband and I went camping last week near Gettysburg, PA, and spent a day visiting the Gettysburg National Military Park Museum and driving around the battlefield. We followed the auto tour through beautiful Pennsylvania farmland with fields of corn, split rail fences, and beautifully restored Civil War-era farmhouses. 5 x 8 Pentalic Aqua Journal […]
