more to adore

i absolutely adore hydrangeas.  

and this year, they're thriving on our back porch......

giving us more pinky-purply-blue-balls-of-floral-happiness

to look forward to this summer!

have a fabulously colorful weekend!!

supplies:  watercolor, micron pens, 4B pencil, white paint pen

le jardin

i hope you have a magnificent weekend......
filled with lots of time to dream creative dreams as you're
 walking through secret gardens.....

enjoy!


p.s.  my sweet aussie friends elaine and lisa at destination art invited me over for a little chat today!  you can read it here.....and while you're there, treat yourself to a look around at all of their fabulous artwork!  thanks again,  elaine and lisa!!

sweet magnolia

the magnolias have started to bloom here in north florida.

they smell so sweet and dreamy that i'm absolutely convinced
this must be what heaven smells like.......

 sweet magnolia!

journal supplies:  koi watercolors, derwent inktense w/c pencils, 

micron pens, 6B graphite pencil

list du jour....and some notes

i hope your weekend list is filled with fun things to do......

some things you might just want to do more than once!  :))
happy weekend to you!

*********

{sweet julie over at balzer designs invited me to be her guest blogger today!  woo hoo!
you can read my post here......thanks a million, julie!! xo}

{my brother jeff the master jeweler (remember when he created this heart-in-hand surprise for me?), has designed an absolutely gorgeous 14K white-gold koala bear pendant as a fundraising effort that will help send my niece alyssa to australia this summer as an ambassador with the people-to-people program!  
please click here for more information about this stunning pendant......the raffle is tomorrow!!}  

this journal page was created using micron pens, 4B graphite pencil, and pan pastels.

inspiration monday

sometimes all it takes to get started is to sit down with your favorite art supplies

and call on inspiration to help you fill those journal pages with 

the breathings of your heart!

this journal page was completed using a lime colored pencil, watercolor, micron pen,

uniball signo white gel pen, 6B graphite pencil

inspiration monday

i believe that if you're looking for true inspiration, you need look no further than your heart.  

it tells you lots of wonderful things that your head won't tell you.

and it's patient during those times when you listen to your head (instead of your heart)

and get distracted by other things.

it's where your creative path begins.....all you have to do is follow it.

journal page supplies: watercolor, micron pen, 6B pencil, scrapbook paper, pan pastel

inspiration monday

the more inspired you are to do something, 

the more fun you're gonna have.

i guarantee it!  

still having a ball creating these little faux postage stamps!

journal page supplies: watercolor pencil, micron pen, 4B pencil, pan pastel, niji waterbrush

celebrate today!

it's friday......let's celebrate!!

{and carry the celebration on into the weekend, too!!  woo hoo!}

party lanterns on the back porch.

journal supplies: watercolor pencils, micron pens, pan pastel, 3B pencil

flutterby

i had so much fun with the first butterfly stamp, that i just had to add another one to my journal......

this one is more of the color-me-happy variety!

supplies used:  watercolor, watercolor pencil, micron pens, 4B pencil, uniball signo white pen, niji waterbrush

inspiration monday

there are many times when i'm really inspired to create something, but i have no idea what that "something" is.  so, i've been on a scavenger hunt this past week.......in search of my muse.  and as it usually does, inspiration snuck up on me as i was rummaging through my closet and found my little collection of old postage stamps.  once i saw these butterflies, that flickering lightbulb over my head was suddenly shining bright!!

so, here's my sketchbook interpretation of that orange-tip beauty.
thank you, inspiration.

{want to know how alisa burke finds inspiration? click here!}

i heart my waterbrush

today's journal page is brought to you by one of my all-time favorite tools......the niji waterbrush!  i love this thing!   i use it when i'm working with watercolor, watercolor pencils, sketch & wash pencils, and any other time i need a little spritz of H2O.  i've had mine for several years, and the brush tip is still holding its shape beautifully.  it's great for travel,  or if you just want to set up creative camp in front of a movie some time!  

you can read more about the niji waterbrush here.

this journal page was created while experimenting with different tools and shading techniques as part of a lesson in alisa burke's sketchbook delight class.  supplies used:  micron pen, pencil, pilot G-tec pen, sketch & wash pencil, niji waterbrush

inspiration monday

"there's nothing quite so comforting & heartwarming than to see the porch light on after a long journey......i am home."  

here's to that warm light of inspiration that burns brightly in your heart, and continues to illuminate your path of creativity!
shine on, sweet artist!!  xo

journal page created using watercolor pencil, micron pen, 3B pencil, pan pastel
click on image for larger view

florida palm

we have several palm trees in our yard.  i like to call them "florida palms", although i'm sure that's not their scientific name.  

they're spikey, and spiney, and have tons of texture with all of that moss tucked in and around everywhere.

  

i tried to climb one when i was a kid........you only have to do that once to know it's not a good idea.  so as a bigger kid now, i'll just admire from a distance and try to sketch them...... :))

sketch pages created using koi watercolor, micron pen, pencil, and pan pastel.

sketchbook delight

when i saw that alisa burke was offering a new online class called sketchbook delight, i signed up.....real-quick-super-fast-why-is-paypal-moving-so-slowly-kind-of-signing-up!  it's not so much a class filled with particular mixed media techniques, it's more a class filled with examples and permissions for honing a particular skill......drawing.  

  

alisa is teaching us how to look at things around us with an artist's eye.......looking at things in our world, things that inspire us.  for example, i have always loved this wire basket with that chunky wood handle.....

so i interpreted part of it in my new sketch journal.  it doesn't look anything like the basket (actually, i can't figure out what it really looks like!).....but it sure was fun taking a simple object and creating something simple with it, using really simple supplies:

pencil, watercolor, micron pens, and a bit of imagination!

you can read more about alisa's class here!