Have a Blessed Easter!

Multi-media Paper

I recently purchased some of the new Multi Media paper from Strathmore. This is a portion of a painting I just finished and I did like the new paper very much. Some of the pros are that it took watercolor washes quite well, and colored pencil worked much better on it than on the coldpress paper I had been using. For this painting I used watercolors, watercolor crayons, and colored pencils.

Some of the cons were that the watercolor seemed to have less depth, and the washes seemed more flat. Also, I was unable to lift highlights out with clean water, like I do with regular watercolor paper. I think I will try hot press watercolor paper at some point, as it will probably have the same texture as this paper, and I can buy it in a block, which is what I prefer. Watercolor paper comes in different textures: rough, coldpress, and hotpress. Coldpress had a medium texture and is more absorbant than hotpress.

All told though, I enjoyed using this paper and playing with my new watercolor crayons, and can't wait to start a new painting tomorrow!

New and Fun

I recently bought some Caran D'Ache watercolor crayons, and I am having such fun with them. This is a portion of a painting I did using the crayons for the background. I did a crayon layer, then a thin acrylic layer, then more crayons on the top. It is such fun to color again like I did as a child! For more detailed area, you can use the crayons just like a pan watercolor, and load your wet brush directly from it. I also purchased some mixed media paper to try instead of my usual watercolor paper, so I get to play with that next!

Sample Time!

I love opening the front door and finding a great big box from one of my manufacturing partners. This week I got boxes from Carson Home Accents and Bits and Pieces Puzzles. I'll just show you a few things, but trust me, my basement is getting full! Here is a Summer floor mat from Carson. I am ready to see flowers again, aren't you?


I put this flag straight outside. I know I should have waited until after St Patrick's Day to put out Easter decorations, but I couldn't wait. We are having hurricane winds today, so I had better check this morning to make sure it hasn't blown half the way to Timbuktoo! (You know, I never realized what a dull gray my carpet was until I took these pictures!)

Here is my first shaped puzzle. It was difficult to design it to work within the hat shape, but it was a fun challenge. I think I'll get this one set up in the family room this weekend. It will be a good project for wintry weather!Finally, here is a picture from our trip to Estes Park last weekend. Estes Park is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National park and is an hour's drive away. The town is rather touristy, but the views are spectacular. I was pleasantly surprised to see my Aeropostale line on display in one of the shops!

Harvest Abundance

I am always so happy to see how my art turns out when it is published, so I was very pleased to see my new fabric line, Harvest Abundance, from Wilmington Prints. I love how the color palette came out on this line!
This is one of my favorite patterns from the line. I think Autumn is my favorite season to design for. I love the warm, cosy feeling of the reds and ochres. It makes me want to snuggle up in my nest. I am a homebody at heart!
Here are some more patterns. I think these will be a lot of fun for quilting. I know Mum can hardly wait to get her hands on them! The line will be in shops in May, so she still has a little while to wait, I'm afraid.

This shows how many designs I needed to paint for this line. I love how Wilmington put them together. It was such fun to paint all the coordinating pieces! I admit, sometimes I get a little bored when I am painting a big collection, I do sometimes get tired of the same palettes, but sometimes I start on something that just feels so good that I just can't stop painting it.

One of the nice things about Wilmington is that they create lots of patterns using the fabrics. Mum is going to make the Stack and Whack placemats for me, which will look lovely in my kitchen. I am so lucky to have someone who loves to quilt so much!

Happy Valentine's Day!

It is Valentine's Day this week, so I am taking the opportunity to send my love to you all. This is a cropped portion of a recent painting. I have tried lots of new techniques lately. On this painting, I have collaged in some of my fabric. I have never done much collage, but it is lots of fun. I also tried watercolor crayons for the first time. Did you know you could use them on top of acrylics? They make lovely washes. I have used watercolor pencils many times, but I always thought that the crayons wouldn't blend well enough with a wet brush, so I was happily surprised. I can't wait to use them more in depth.

My daughter was in my studio the other day looking at the supplies gathered on every surface and said, "You sure have a lot of paint!" I looked and thought how happy it makes me to be surrounded by so many beautiful colors every day. Is there anything nicer than art supplies?

Art Journaling

Ever since I got home, I have been compelled to paint, paint, paint what is in my heart. For a change I am not planning the art based on what I think will sell, but just trying to express myself. It feels so good and I am really feeling renewed.

I have starting art journaling, which is a lot of fun. I am going to try lots of new techniques in those pages. One of these days I will get back to painting my little birds and flowers, but right now I am just going to enjoy these days of simple expression.