We talk about Intuitive Art and painting from the heart but where to start? I wanted to share with you something that I’ve found to be immensely helpful and discovered recently – Aboriginal song lines! Song lines are these amazing pathways of traditional knowledge, stories, and practices that are deeply connected to the land of…
Author: Diane
Create your own Reverse Coloring Book
Currently, there is a popular trend of drawing on top of pre-printed loose watercolor backgrounds. People are purchasing books with these pages to add their line work on top. But why not make your own personalised reverse coloring book to your own taste? Today, I would like to discuss how and why you might want…
Exploring Watercolor Animals
Adding a bit of whimsical fun to your animal paintings is a great way to make them truly special. If you’re looking for a creative card or gift idea, try adding a few whimsical animals to your work. A delightful creature can really bring a painting to life and give it a unique feel. Whether…
Let’s get Abstract!
We all need more time to relax in our lives nowadays and what better way than letting the paint flow and the brush glide across the watercolor paper? In this video I’m going to talk about how to create a simple abstract without stress. In fact, the whole process is pleasurable and relaxing. What’s not…
Easy Floral Bookmarks to Create
Everyone needs a new bookmark! Come the very first harbingers of spring and our thoughts turn naturally to flowers, and one of the earliest is the crocus. Last month we made bookmarks with a Snowdrop design and this month I’m going to show you how I painted some purple Crocus bookmarks, and just for fun,…
Easy Landscape for Beginners
This landscape is ideal for all beginners, and for anyone wanting to move from painting flowers and leaves into the slightly more challenging field of landscape. So let’s break all the rules – of composition, color theory, and technique – and paint a luminous, evocative landscape we would all love to live in! This landscape…
Easy Abstract ‘Nature’s Dance’
Let’s paint another abstract in soft muted rose pink and apricot, with contrasts of chocolate and ginger leaves to create a warm, relaxing vibe. Easy as pie especially if you have watched the introduction to abstract art video here https://youtu.be/5mE-Ln9v5Mw as this project builds on what you learnt in the first one. Materials paper Fabriano Artistico…
Celebrate the Year of the Rabbit
Happy Chinese New Year! 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit in Chinese culture and I decided to paint a rabbit in honour of the new year. Keeping it really simple I outlined a rabbit in Chinese style, and painted it in a traditional shade of red. Red is considered to be good luck in…
Easy Abstract Winter Mood
I felt it was time to dig out my dip pen and some ink and have a scratch into an abstract background, so that’s what I’m doing in this quick study. I picked a piece of paper from my stash more or less at random. It’s a piece of Saunders Waterford paper, 100% cotton, but…
A Page of Hearts
How to Paint Loose Watercolor Hearts – More Fun with your Paintbrush for Beginners and Relaxation Here’s a fun and relaxing way to paint a page of hanging hearts using whatever paints you have on hand and a spare half-hour of time. You can adapt this design to create your own Valentine’s cards, or use…
Easy Winter Landscape
Easy Winter Watercolor Landscape for Beginners – PLUS How to Paint Snowy Trees and more Here’s a fun and easy Winter Watercolor Landscape for Beginners and Improvers full of simple but effective techniques for achieving a great painting. You can find the sketch for this painting here free to download. In this video I show you…
Beginners Start Here!
Learn to paint watercolor the fun and easy way In this video I show you how to choose a colorscheme from your Kuretake paint sets, plus ways to use a brush, different types of brushes, water control and much more. Plus you are going to create a super attractive abstract piece of art that will…
Paint a Cute Whimsical Turtle
Playing around with a box of paints and a white gel pen often leads to an idea for a painting, and that was the case with this pretty, blue turtle which I have for you in today’s video. Watch as I guide you through the process of choosing harmonious colour schemes, and then painting and…
Mr & Mrs Snowman and some Baubles
Inspired by the paintings I did of the little tree angels I’ve had for half a century, when Mr and Mrs Snowman came out to play on top of the Christmas cake this year I couldn’t resist borrowing them for a few minutes to paint their portraits too! The sketch for our snowpeople is available…
A Partridge in a Pear Tree
Here’s a traditional version of a contented partridge nestling in a pear tree just in time for Christmas! The sketch for this painting is available free to download here and full instructions are on the video which you can watch by clicking below: Materials Here are the materials I used to create this painting. Paints…
Easy Last-Minute Christmas Cards
Squeezing in painting time is often a challenge no matter how much you want to do it, and lengthy projects often fall by the wayside this time of year. I know – happens to me too! So here are some quickies that you can do in just a few minutes, with the minimum of materials…
Whimsical Angels
Every year I hang three little wooden angels on the tree for Christmas. These little angels have been with me through thick and thin and have lived on three continents with me. Somehow they have managed to stick around despite all the upheaval in my life. This year I decided to use them as models…
Winter Watercolor Bouquet
Here’s a little idea for a sweet gift for a friend or relative who loves flowers and art. Ideal for beginners, as this style of watercolor requires no experience and no expertise whatever to achieve a light, modern look sure to please. You’ll be amazed when you pop your creation in a simple frame and…