Can we CROWDSOURCE color?

Can we CROWDSOURCE color?

by | Jun 3, 2025 | Featured, Fine Art & Sketching

My crazy schedule continues right now….I was going to do some coloring today, but I’m burnt out at both ends! I decided to do something a little different – and went for a walk. ha! That saw me return with a handful of leaves that had looked different outside while on trees, in sunshine, and in shade. Instead, in the studio…they looked mostly the same color!

But honestly they aren’t the same when you look close. Textures are very different. Veination. Margins. (Yes I’ve learned what to call leafy things!) 

So I gave my marker fingers a little break and traced the leaves, added some veins….and created a little crowdsourcing project for us!

Tutorial: Can we CROWDSOURCE color?

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

SUPPLIES

Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art

Copic Sketchbook 9×12

Copic Multiliner

Class and downloadable

Crowdsource with me!

Go pick up the printable – you’ll get the photo too, so you can try out some color combinations to see how close you can get! It’s not a big hurry – later in summer I’ll recap the submissions that come in.

When you figure out some colors, if they’re Copic or Olo I can replicate them for that video; if it’s Ohuhu I can borrow this set of pens again. But if it’s another brand, and you want to send me a physical swatch of your color mix, that’d be awesome so we can compare apples to apples. 🙂

Get the printable

Preregistration discount

Don’t miss the $10 off this week – once class begins Friday the price goes up!

If you’ve got markers and paper, that’s about all you’ll need. You can make a sketchbook like I’m doing with just things like a bone folder and scotch tape! Or cut the pictures down to make cards with them. 🙂

 

Treemendous Sketches

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For Ohuhu Hex Chart customers

I’m working my tired fingers to the bone – staying up til 3am clicking away to add the chart back to everyone’s account. (And trying not to swear out loud at the shop platform for removing it!) I appreciate your patience – you’re the best!!

Try THIS SECRET to learn to draw ANYTHING freehand

Try THIS SECRET to learn to draw ANYTHING freehand

by | May 17, 2025 | Featured

Does drawing freehand scare you? Let’s talk about the best approach to get a good start to the drawing so the rest will go much more easily! Draw along with me, then we’ll go to Zoom with our blocked-in rough sketch and learn to add all the fun detail.

Get out some paper and a pencil, and a kneaded eraser if you have one – and we’ll make a drawing during the video. You’ll need the photo reference of the bird….and a link to Zoom. It starts at 8:30am Pacific today, May 17 2025!

Photo reference
ZOOM LINK

Tutorial: Try THIS SECRET to learn to draw ANYTHING freehand

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

SUPPLIES

Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art

Paper

  1. JetPens Kanso Noto notebook (52gsm white with dot grid) 

Pencil

  1. Caran d’Ache Grafwood pencils 9B: BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS 

Eraser

  1. Faber Castell Kneaded Eraser: BLICK  AMZ  JACKSONS 

Blocked-in sketch

The loose sketch is just that….loose! Use light pencil marks to jot down the major shapes, and divide those into the smaller shapes. 

After the zoom call I’ll add a picture of the final bird to this post – as well as a link to the replay!

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Zoom replay

I don’t always plug the replays or make them “public” on my YouTube channel – they’re less formal, and not always the vibe I want out there. But since this one is part 2 of a drawing….here you go!

What is a Pigment Brush Pen? 3 Styles of art to try

What is a Pigment Brush Pen? 3 Styles of art to try

by | Sep 24, 2024 | Featured, Watercolor Pens/Inks

New pens, who dat? A few months ago I did a freelance project for Staedtler, the maker of these pens, creating a tutorial that could be used at an event. It would be using the 12 pen set – lots of fun, bright colors.

As we talked a little further, I said I’d like to make a video with them, and they offered to send the full 36 colors….so you get to see alllll the colors in today’s projects and video!

The Staedtler Pigment Arts Pens are a brush pen; the nib is a short one, with about a medium-to-stiff type of nib. You might think it’s just like any brush marker, and it looks that way on first blush.

But I played around with them, realizing they dry quickly – and that got my brain thinking about all the things they could do that normal water-based markers could NOT do. 

It’s always good finding out what properties your art supplies have so you’ll be able to strategically choose which medium and pen  is perfect for what you want to create!

Tutorial: 3 Styles of art with Pigment Brush Pens

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

SUPPLIES

Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art

Pens

  • Staedtler Pigment Pens
    1. (36) BLICK  AMZ Staedtler 
    2. (ALL) BLICK

Water – blending::

Impressionist:

Realism:

  • Magnani round cold press paper BLICK  AMZ

The colors

The range for these colors is pretty nice – they don’t get REALLY dark, a few are really light, but most are nice bright midtones. These come in various sets of 12s up to 36s – and other formats of pen too.

I used the Pigment Pens (36 set)  (BLICK  or AMZ ) but to see all the different sets, click here.

Water blending

Playing with these pens and water with a brush or aquabrush – that’ll show you quickly how fast the pigment pen ink dries – and I found that some colors dry quickly and others a little more slowly. Test yours out – both if you get these pens, but also with other water-based markers.

PICK UP THE BRANCH PRINTABLE HERE.

Loose Branch Printable

This is available as a printable download –  though it’s really easy to draw, too. To watercolor it, try a laser printer; some of them can print on watercolor paper and you can use light watercolor with it – don’t get too splashy and sloppy, but under control you might be able to add paint. Otherwise try markers, colored pencils – have fun with it!

LOOSEBRANCH

Impressionist

Given the permanence of the colors, I decided this medium might be just perfect for blobs of color to create a pointillist or impressionist project! Be aware the colors are still transparent, at least the lighter colors (the dark blues and purples did cover what’s under them)…..too many overlapping blobs could create some mud. But fall trees are perfect for analogous colors.

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Realism

Using the markers in a dense fashion on watercolor paper left the surface….damp? primed? I’m not completely sure. it wasn’t wet enough to move with water, I do know that. But it was so easy to make a strongly pigmented drawing with these pens! Yum. Color theory for the shading win!

Livestream ahead!

You can go “rsvp” on YouTube – if you have notifications on, it should send one about a half hour ahead. (It’ll also show you what time it’ll be in your time zone.) Leave comments with questions you might have – or drop them here on this post. And wish me luck, I’m terrible at streaming for some reason, ha! Supplies are listed in the doobliedoo on that video.

RSVP
UPDATES: My Book and Commissions!

UPDATES: My Book and Commissions!

by | Oct 10, 2023 | Featured

Welcome to the blog! Where today I’ve got a couple updates I’ve been wanting to get to. Watch the video then read on for more info.

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

Order “Enhanced” Workbook

By the time I’d order, pay shipping, packaging and outbound shipping, I think we’d be better off with you getting it on Amazon for $19.99 if you don’t want a customized book….I’m not sure how long they’ll be available on Amazon, but if you want to get one that way, do it soon!

I’m offering books with some enhancements….first, a personalized note from me, and secondly a watercolored page included! Once I order them in November, I’ll get them painted and mailed out asap after receiving them.

Order enhanced workbook

Pet commissions

In November I’ll open up commission applications; that way I don’t commit to you before looking at the photos you provide of your pet and deciding if I can do it justice! I’ll be working on some sample portraits in the rest of October and figuring out pricing by the time applications open up. Stay tuned!

New classes comin’!

I’ve been working for about a month on new classes – four of them! All inspired by the Julie Andrews song “My Favorite Things” — such visual images in the lyrics. We’ll be humming about bright copper kettles, warm woolen mittens, girls in white dresses with blue satin sashes, and more! 

The classes will be in alcohol marker, colored pencil, gouache, and watercolor. And all level 2 – no crazy scenes, just great techniques for coloring images for holiday cards. ALL the images are included, as well as a card sketch with fun-fold template to use for each lesson! 

Stay tuned this weekend – watch your email! Or subscribe to this blog, or to the Art-Classes email list, or check in on social. Lots of ways to find out, but given how hard it is to break through on social media, I thought I’d give you a heads up!

PS…

Some of the images in the classes will be available for purchase separately. And given that there are lots of my students who work in a bunch of mediums, there’ll be discounts for signing up for more than one class. 

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