I’ve had a thought about my art lately that’s been nagging at me, and I thought I’d drop it in your head too—and see if it’s just me, or if it helps you to: we need to dream big dreams for our art. Small thinking is getting us nowhere.
Tutorial: Dream BIG dreams for your art
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!
Dream BIG dreams
I’ve realized recently that I’ve lost my BIG dreams of my youth. I had so much I wanted to accomplish artistically! But I had those dreams while I was doing life – working a job, volunteering, doing regular stuff. I saved those “big” ideas for one day when I’d be able to finally be a full time artist.
But once that transition happened….I sort of lost it all. I didn’t know how hard it would be to cobble together an income, and how much of my time would get eaten up by minutia. (You know, that stuff that brings in the bacon!)
Perhaps I “trained” myself to just make a lot of quick projects because I spent so many years in crafting where a few hours on anything was more than enough. And I never returned to those huge ideas I had when I was young. I wish they were at the tip of my mind and inspiring to get “back” to, but I’m a different person now—and I’ll be looking for my own big dreams for the artist I am now.
Don’t settle.
Don’t settle for what small dreams are right in front of you. And beware of all that “life” stuff that’s going to try to get in the way. The small stuff is always trying to get attention…maybe simply because it’s small stuff! See if you can find the big stuff out in the distance waiting for you.
Look out over the horizon: what’s out there? What might you need to get there? Training? Resources? Time? What baby step can you take right away that will move you even a few feet closer?
A little about this piece
This imaginary hot air balloon sports its own sail (lots of my big dreams happened when I was sailing on SF Bay) and wings….a crow’s nest with an umbrella to keep foul weather at bay while I watch out for those big ideas on the horizon. A weather vane is atop the balloon to keep me headed in the right direction. Signage reminds me to indulge in my fantasy – no practicality, just look for big ideas which won’t always make ssnse!
It’s created on terrible Strathmore 400 Cold press – it turns out terrible for watercolor, and even fought the Faber Castell Watercolor Markers (some of the permanent ink even lifted up when using the marker on it! gah!) so I’m glad I opted to make it a primarily pen and ink piece. And am glad I only had one sheet of this stuff in the studio.
Dream Big Hot Air Balloon
Created to inspire artists to dream BIG dreams for their art! Print it out and hang it up as is, or add some color. Use it for art projects like cards or journal pages, or frame and display!
Don’t worry if you don’t know it yet — some people try to make one up just to say they have a dream, and I think we’re safer if we just stay on the lookout and let it reveal itself. But if you’ve got one, lay it on me!
Water soluble ink can make sketching easier – learn to sketch a winter forest and vase of lavender in the video!
Studio cleaning and storage-swapping
But first….some BIG NEWS! (that few may care about, ha!)
I cleaned the STUDIO!!! A deep clean wasn’t done in here since 2021 and it was so needed. My huge counter was intended for staging projects. But it was buried in stacks of supplies, partly done projects, wanna-do projects, and so much more. The new tools I got this year didn’t have a “place” so they all sat on the counter….so…..
A year ago I added a drafting table to the studio, and reorganized in its wake. (a little footage coming next week!) I had some of my art supplies in the next room, but I found those just never got touched. Too far away! Things I rarely use like dies and sequins and glitter are now in the other room. New stuff can now fit in drawers!
I’m super excited for what this’ll mean for having several projects underway at once. Now I can lay them out without stuff falling over and keep on juggling everything! (Vienna steals pencils when things fall down, eeep!)
PLUS I found a bunch of STUFF! Things I’d been looking for. Watercolor dot cards. Brushes and other materials I was going to test. Inks that got hidden behind other things. Papers, papers, papers. I uncovered my pen storage box – and found my Visconti Mirage pen inside!! The box had been so buried I practically forgot it. But no more! And my dremel project is now back in sight – it lights up, so watch out for that in the month ahead, I think it would be a great valentines project. Can’t wait to get going on it!
Okay enough of all that now. Let’s get to some water soluble ink sketching!
Tutorial: Techniques for Sketching with water soluble ink
Since my Mirage needed to come out of hiding – and get itself all washed and new ink put inside after sitting there for over a year! – it’s time to do a little sketching. These are easy so I hope you’ll consider trying one!
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!
You might have some inks that are water soluble and not even know it! Get some paper and do a couple tests like I did. Try one line first, so you know if you just do a single outline, how much black/grey ink wash will come from it. Will you need to do two strokes? Or if you scribble over an area, will the lines disappear on that paper or not? Make sure you’re testing on papers you might like to use. I’m going to be making some postcards this week to mail out to chilly friends, so I need to test the ones I’ve got. (I found them, yay!)
Winter forest in water soluble ink
Since most of my country is under a deep freeze right now I thought maybe some folks would sketch some frosty-covered trees out the window! Spritzing is an easy technique, and sometimes comes out with no need to do the second inking pass – just the spray may be enough. Try out a couple papers and see what works for whatever pens you have.
Vase of Flowers (Lavender) in water soluble ink
The vase is another simple idea – you can make a simple rounded vase. It doesn’t need to be fancy – and if you’ve got some AI floral stamps, then make some stems to watercolor! (Yes your watercolor markers count as water soluble INK!)
Have you done a year-end cleaning yet?
It’s always my favorite deep-clean, because I’m already in the new-year-new-me mindset. And finding things that I wanted to use and haven’t yet, well, that’s just downright inspiring!
Why hello there and happy weekend! I’ve got a bit of a drawing tutorial for you today, I hope you’re going to try it! I’ve found that my 3-layer-tutorials have become popular, since you can choose whether to start with the simplest, try one that’s going to push you a little, or go for it with a crazier one! In the tutorial I’ll show you how to sketch out the perspective first, then color it with water based markers.
At the end of this post there’s info about the giveaway – please only enter if you’d actually use the markers…they’re gently used and I’d love them to go to a home that’ll put them to paper! 🙂
This whole lantern idea was borne of a drawing idea I had – I’ve been wanting to play with my new graphite pencils, and give them a real test to stand up to! They didn’t pass it, necessarily; they’re “matte” pencils which means the glare will be kept to a minimum – but I didn’t like that I couldn’t get a really great dark from them very fast, so switched to charcoal. Which….reflects. So I had to find a spot in the studio with no light glaring on it, thus the strange place I shot the photo!
But after nestling my marshmallow-toasting mice inside, I realized this is a project few would replicate, and as I had some big challenges, it wasn’t good for teaching. So instead, you get one of my easy/medium/challenging perspective lessons! Which might be far more helpful to everyone. LOL!
Tutorial: Drawing Lanterns in 3 different perspectives
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!
1. Easy / 1 point perspective
Looking directly at a lantern, not from higher or lower, and at a particular distance, you might not see the posts (poles?) of the lantern that are in the back. But if you raise the perspective slightly, and give it a little distance, the vanishing point can be in the center above the lantern – and that way you can see INTO the bottom of the lantern. It would affect the top (cap? lid?) of the lantern, but not enough to stress out if you’ve got a rounded top like this one!
2. Tougher / two point perspective
Two point perspective has two vanishing points, one on the left, one on the right. If you’re making something up as I am in today’s post, you can put those points anywhere – just put them ON the horizon. Here I chose the top left and top right corner of the boxes I drew. But sometimes (see next lantern) it’s totally off the page. Sometimes in the next room!
Each corner, though, has an edge that’ll join with the vanishing point, and those lines determine the interior bottom of the lantern. If the top has a fancy shape there are all kinds of rules that’ll apply – but use the rounded one I showed. Then you only need to worry about getting the “roofline” to join up with a VP.
3. Hardest / from below
The horizon line moves BELOW an object when it’s above your head. And in this case, the right hand side VP is off the page! And yes, I did tweak the bottom section after the video, I didn’t feel like posting the mushy one, LOL!
Card for patrons
I post videos (usually) weekly for patrons, sometimes just sneak peeks, and sometimes projects no one else sees….this is one of them. Join patreon to watch it get made!
And now, that giveaway!
The folks at Sketchmarker sent me a full(ish) set of their Aqua water-based markers, the Animal set, so now I can let someone else get some use from this set! I’m short three colors, but none are in the Animals set. 🙂
How do you qualify?
Go tap the like button on YT for this video, and leave a comment there if you have a sec. The algorithm needs a kick in the rear end and your engagement makes a huge difference!
Join Artventure. I’m excited about the new community and would love for you to be part of it! It’s FREE, and you don’t have to get the app, you can just access it via the web. And starting in January, I’ve got a plan for fun activities and prizes, so you’ll want to be part of it all.
Leave a comment telling me you’ve done the above, AND what YOU would like to learn to draw in 2023!
The winner will ONLY be announced here on the blog on Christmas Eve. So you might want to subscribe to my blog via email, which you can do below….just sayin’.
Last week I’d promised another cute watermelon project and while I’m sure not a lot of people were on pins and needles waiting…*I* was wanting to get to this! I could “see” the cart in my head and was awaiting the full set of Sketchmarker Aqua markers; I’d planned on having a list of suggested colors for both these and the Sketchmarker alcohol pens, but….alas! I’m still using the Animals set instead. And I still had a huge amount of fun here!
Since it’s drawing and doodling month at Art-Classes, you can expect a few drawing projects in the coming weeks! Today’s video starts with the simple components of a cart that you can mix and match to create your own design.
And three quick ideas on ways to combine the pieces:
Tutorial: How to draw cute pushcarts in watercolor markers
The video includes TWO examples in watercolor marker after the drawing basics….one that’s super simple, and another that’s a little more complex. You’ll learn some techniques to use with water-based markers along the way!
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!
Watermelon cart
This simpler cart is created on Canson XL, which is much easier to blend with most brands of water-based markers. There’s not a ton of details or compartments….but isn’t it adorable? Whatever theme you decide to try, think about how you can decorate elements with colors representing that theme. Making a wintry cart? Blue background with snowflakes! Creating a coffee cart? Use lots of yummy browns and golden colors.
Artventure Cart
Drawn on Arches Cold Press, this one had a few challenges – the paper is tougher to blend on, so thinking ahead to divide the art into sections that can be watercolored quickly is a must. But the texture and richness of the color on this paper beats the cheaper paper if you’ve got the desire to learn other ways to get around the paper’s troubles!
Prints and more
I’ve uploaded the Artventure Pushcart to Society6 in case some of you need a little cart for your studio! I wish it came with free art supplies….ha! At the time I’m writing this, I only have one link until they populate the rest of the items but hopefully by the time you look, you can scroll to the bottom of the page to find other items.
This kind of drawing can be created in all sorts of mediums! Traditional watercolor, alcohol markers, pencils, you name it. Just draw out your shapes and start adding the fun!
If you’re making a frameable drawing for someone for a birthday or Christmas, customize it with items THEY love. A gardener would love a cart with plants and tools. A car guy would get a thrill out of a manly cart laden with tools. Think outside the box – let me know if you get stuck!
On social media the rest of the week I’ll have a few more carts to share, so pop over to Instagram and check them out each day!
Earlier this week I compared craft and artist grade watercolor markers, and while swatching does tell you a few things, nothing convinces me whether I like a product or not like using it in “real world” art situations. Seeing how colors blend and move, layer and lift – that is so hard to test on little blops of color! So since I’m in the mode to travel virtually to national parks (because, dang gas prices are keeping me home!)…..let’s go to Yellowstone today!
These markers are pretty sweet; I was glad to see I could draw into the wet paper. The colors are much more nuanced than crafty pens, and can create very realistic trees and rocks.
Patreon
The first 2/3 or so of today’s video is about the sketch….please be kind about the last 1/3. I stink at asking for help and find it so embarrassing. It took me sooooo many tries to see if I could get the wording right and not sound like some kind of grifter or something. If you’re interested in becoming a patron, click here for more info. Bless you for considering it! Those who take classes are also helping a lot too – so if you’re taking those, thank you!
Travel Sketches Class
While today’s video is different than what’s in the Travel Sketches class (it’s taught with crafty markers on cellulose Canson XL so the color moves better), you can use the techniques in today’s Yellowstone sketch in class too!
ICYMI
In case you missed this week’s social media fun…links are in captions to go see the original posts.
Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. If you choose to shop using my EH (Ellen Hutson) links, please accept cookies on that site in order to retain the link to my blog, or that compensation does not happen for me. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art
Faber Castell Albrecht Durer Watercolor Markers: Blick • Amazon
Today I’m joining my friend Taniesa over at Trinity Stamps to celebrate her company’s 4th anniversary! She’s one of my patrons, but honestly I’d have celebrated her milestone anyway because WHO DOESN’T LOVE GNOMES? Heehee!!
I’m additionally sharing a little more info at the end of today’s video about the class I spoke of in yesterday’s comparison of crafty vs artist grade watercolor markers…..and since that class is all about national parks, I gave this cute viking gnome a park to go for a walk in. With any luck he won’t chop down any ancient redwood trees with that axe!?!?
The markers are Sketchmarker Aqua pens, and they’re my new favorite crafty watercolor marker. They have really nice nibs that feel Copic-like. They have some of the same challenges as other crafty brands (like a few have color shifts when they hit water), but if you learn to use their properties rather than fight them, the shifts can be super cool.
When coloring “around” a stamped image, if the colors of the background are lighter than foreground, you could just splishsplash all the lighter background then cover it with the foreground colors. But with this gnome I wanted some light horns and metal, so I had to deal with coloring around him. I never worry about it being perfect – and I hope that frees you to do the same. Art is expression, and totally loses expressiveness when we try to make everything exactly perfect!
Yesterday’s comparison of crafty vs artist grade watercolor markers is here. And on Friday I’ll be using the other set for a travel sketch – I’m thinking Yellowstone maybe, since I used to live near there on the Montana side of the park – and you’ll see a real-life comparison of these two sets. If you prefer blog notifications rather than YT ones, you can subscribe to my blog here.
New water-based marker class
Here’s the fun Travel Sketches class with 5 national parks! I’m just sayin’….you’ll have a blast. And after the folks taking the Wash and Ink class and rocking it (with students saying “I can’t believe it looks like a mountain!” and surprising themselves that they CAN do it!), I’m really looking forward to seeing the student work in this class too!
Bonus!
I was also sent the cute Whale Done set – and of course had to add it to my post! And since I’m busy on National Parks this week, I did find ONE park that’s 95% underwater: Biscayne National Park in Florida! I do realize this whale wouldn’t fit in it since it’s 12 feet of water, but ya know, an artist’s gotta do what an artist’s gotta do! PS I’ve created a short video for this that’s an Artventure App exclusive – once the app stores update (today? tomorrow? who knows….) then it’ll be in the watercolor lesson of the $3 Tiny Tutorials class.
Bloghop
Hop along with Trinity by starting on their blog here!
Supplies
Some product may be provided by manufacturers for review and use. Compensated affiliate links are here at no cost to you. If you choose to shop using my EH (Ellen Hutson) links, please accept cookies on that site in order to retain the link to my blog, or that compensation does not happen for me. I appreciate your support of my work with your purchases! Full affiliate and product disclosure | My trusted partners in art
