I was reading a book by David Attenborough this morning and he mentions that only 3% of the wildflower meadows of England remain. I find this utterly tragic. But today I’m going to paint a relaxation exercise based on the notion of a field or meadow full of a large variety of blooms. One ofRead more ⟶
Author: Diane
Dragonflies for your Junk Journal
I’ve got a new hobby! To my surprise I have started a Junk Journal. And what fun it has turned out to be. Why I haven’t done this before I can’t think. It combines everything I’m interested in – paper crafts, sewing, painting, decoupage, collage, and many other crafts – so I’m painting a littleRead more ⟶
Watercolor Fishing Harbor Scene
Paint this little fishing village harbour scene complete with boats and lighthouse in your Etchr sketchbook. Using A. Gallo paints and a Sakura Micron pen you can make up your own details to reflect your own experience of villages like this. Let’s go paint! What’s more delightful than hanging out by the water, and gazingRead more ⟶
Simple Olive Leaf Bookmarks
Here’s a sweet meditative and relaxing warm-up exercise for you to achieve two things – practice watercolor techniques and create a little gift in the form of these Simple Olive Leaf Bookmarks! All you need is your watercolor set, a brush and a fineliner. Plus half an hour of your time and away you go!Read more ⟶
A Kaleidoscope of Butterflies!
Some days it’s hard to raise a smile, let alone a chuckle! But if you can manage to find a paintbrush and stir your stumps as they say in the navy, then you can get your mood to lift and you might even laugh out loud! These pretty butterflies with their simple embroidery-styled embellishments areRead more ⟶
#Paint a Bird a Day Series
This month we are running a series of tutorials to help you beat the blues and create. What better to lift your spirits than a little bird – or two, or three … So today I’m going to feature the Imperfectly Perfect Circle Birds. You’ve heard the expression “I can’t draw a straight line” andRead more ⟶
Turning Circles into Roses
If a quick floral is what you are looking for then look no further than these flowers, made simply and without stress to create a stylish image ideal for a greetings card, bookmark and more. The great thing about these flowers is they are totally undemanding and unthreatening. All you need to do is pickRead more ⟶
A Galaxy of Abstraction
Sometimes we just don’t want to paint anything particular. For example, we have kids to entertain and couldn’t possibly concentrate on a proper painting. Or we have a headache, or it’s just one of those days. This is when a Galaxy of Abstraction comes to the rescue! This painting can be as much or asRead more ⟶
Three More Wet-in-Wet Birds
Along with flowers, birds are top of most watercolorists lists of favorite subjects to paint. And the way to paint them ranges all the way from literally painting every feather on a bird (not my style!) to loose impressionistic renditions of the “essence of bird!” I prefer the essence of bird approach and I alsoRead more ⟶
Paint Scruffy Cats in Watercolor and Ink
Feel like painting something truly messy and scruffy today? Here is my Ronald Searle inspired cat painting tutorial to help you explore the real essence of cat with watercolor, ink and dip pen! Today’s painting emerged from a week of exploring cats and their characters with paint, pencil, pen and paper. Come along and seeRead more ⟶
How to Paint Loose Watercolor and Ink Poppies
Today we went for a walk along the road outside our property and saw that June had arrived in the shape of a little cloud of poppies! Couldn’t resist taking a photo or two, and my iPhone 13 did an amazing job of making them look like a work of art! Of course I couldn’tRead more ⟶
How to Paint Cute Whimsical Love Birds in Watercolor
Most of us used to doodle when we were on the phone – perhaps that is less common now that you can speak literally for hours on end whilst doing something else at the same time. But all of us know the pleasure of just playing with a pen or pencil and seeing what happens!Read more ⟶
Blast the Creative Blues with Circles!
Simple Circles for a Creative Afternoon! Would you like to paint something, but you don’t know what? Are you brand new to painting and don’t know where to start? Or would you like your picture to be simple, easy and full of joy? Then why not simply rely on simple basic shapes – for exampleRead more ⟶
How to Paint Cute Whimsical Birds in Watercolor
The eyes have it! Start your whimsical animals with the big googly eyes all the best cute animals have and let your imagination run riot! Get started in whimsy with this easy beginner-friendly tutorial showing you some of the tricks you need to know to get a light and airy feel in your paintings. TheRead more ⟶
Three Cute Wet-in-Wet Birds
Today we are practising wet-in-wet and water control and having fun at the same time! If you want to succeed with wet-in-wet you really do need a good quality paper, and there is nothing better than Arches 140lb cold press fine grain paper from France – it’s widely available online. I buy mine in sheetsRead more ⟶
Loose Florals and Neurographic Art
Today I decided to start my painting session with another neurographic exercise. I found a different approach described on YouTube – there is so much variation out there in how to do this technique, most of which have gone a long way from the original methods, and which, to tell the truth, I find moreRead more ⟶
Paint a Sunflower on Canvas
On our Facebook group we have a challenge running right now, with a prize at the end of May, to paint a sunflower painting every day until the end of the month. The idea is to use the sunflower as a warm-up for your painting session, and to practice skills without having to decide whatRead more ⟶
Floral Cards to make in under ten minutes
Who wouldn’t love to receive one of these delicately painted but “oh so easy!” little cards? I know I was thrilled when I received a similar one from an online supporter who gave me permission to adapt her design into the cards I’m showing you now. For these paintings the requirements are absolutely minimal. AnyRead more ⟶