A Map of Us

February is the month that we celebrate love. Everything in the store is hearts, red and pink. When my husband and I were married, we decided that we weren't going to get pulled into the commercialism of Valentine's Day. What kind of a relationship does one have if they only show each other love on February 14th, once a year? Not to mention the overpriced candy and flowers. But when it comes down to it, I am a female and I want to be romanced. I love it when my husband comes home with flowers or a special gift. I love it when he does the unexpected to surprise me. Over the last few years, we have done a little something for the other not because we mutually agreed to start celebrating Valentine's Day, but because we have found it to be just one more opportunity to tell the other what we love about them.

This year, I decided to map out "Our Story," We have gone through some hard things in the past year and it seemed like the perfect time to commemorate all the battles fought and won in our marriage.

To start this project, I created a sketch.

Using stencils and other reference material, I came up with a final sketch.

One of my favorite reference materials was How To Make Hand-Drawn Maps by Helen Cann.

My sketch was transferred to watercolor paper using a pencil and graphite transfer paper.

I found a color palette that went with my theme and mixed up the colors before beginning.

I applied my first layer of color. 

I kept building up layers and here is the result. As you can see there are some wrinkles in the paper, so I pressed it for several days under heavy books.

Once flat, I used fine liner pens to add the text.

The last detail was adding the title in the bottom corner. I used this stencil to help me create a box.

S274

L978

L332

Thank you for joining me. I hope that you have found inspiration for creating a unique and personal way to show your love to someone.

Kate

 

Faces, Quotes and a Colored Pencil Study

Hello, it's Kate Yetter here with you today. Do you play when you create? Most people would say yes, and I used to be one of them, but recently I have found that creating doesn't always equal play. There are certain processes that make me happy when I do them, and others that are so boring that I usually abandon them midway through and move onto the next project. I struggle with playing because I always feel the need to have a finished product that looks perfect. 

After so much frustration in my creative work, I am slowly learning to have fun, play around and to not expect everything to turn out like a masterpiece. This is easier said than done of course but I am finding when I do let myself play, I am more likely to experiment and at the end, I feel inspired to come back and try it again.

Today's project is one of those play sessions. I love working with wet media, but I am trying to expand my toolbox and skills to include more dry mediums. I have a lot of colored pencils that are rarely used so I thought I would challenge myself and give them a whirl. And add in a little play while I am at it!

Here is a quick sketch I did in the planning phase.

Sweet Face Small Girl

To begin, I traced my stencil onto a piece of smooth kraft paper.

 A base layer of yellow was added to the entire face and hair. I lightly built up the layers of colored pencils. I watched several tutorials online while preparing for this project and using a lot of colors seemed to be key.

Dogwood Blossoms

I thought these dogwood blossoms would be a cute addition to her hair. I really love how her white collar "popped" on the kraft paper background.

When planning this project, I knew that I wanted to include a quote somewhere on the piece. I decided to put it in her collar. It reads, "Explore daily the will of God." I wanted to use stenciled letters but using this method required hand-lettering since they all turned out to be different sizes.

Blending the layers is something I would assume comes with practice. I wasn't sure what the professionals use but I read I could use rubbing alcohol, so I used a combination of a paper blending stump with the alcohol. You can still see strokes from the pencil that I was unable to smooth out.

 

Art Deco Alphabet

Love Face

This last piece I consider a failure, but I am sharing it anyway because I am trying to break the perfectionistic mode. The blending in the face is a bit streaky but I like the various colors in her hair. Next time, I probably just need to be more patient in building up my layers. 

i

Thank you for joining me today. Go play!

Until Next Time.

Kate

Add the Beauty of Nature to your Art with these New Designs from Margaret Peot

Margaret has created 3 step by step tutorials for you using her new designs.  Be sure to scroll to the end and bookmark this page so you can reference it later. 

Backyard Birds - L975

Everyone has a favorite bird that comes to their backyard feeder. What’s yours? Here are nine of my favorites: Cardinal, Carolina Wren, Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow, Goldfinch, Junco, Eastern Bluebird, Tufted Titmouse, and the Ruby-Crested Kinglet. These can be used as a printed pattern, but I think they are most fun cut into nine individual bird stencils. Use them for ATCs or to add a bird to a landscape, to a journal, or to make cards or prints for family and friends.

Dandelions and Lilies - L976

A friend showed me a dandelion blossom gone to seed and asked, “Do you see  the end of a flower or a potential wish?” This stencil is inspired, like my Tall Flowers stencil and Marsh Flowers, by the flowers I grew up picking along the fence row in Ohio: mallow, flax, painted daisies, and dandelions. This makes a good border in a journal, a cheerful edge along a tablecloth, and is varied enough to make a tangled meadow painting.

Learn the steps Margaret took to make this below.

Dogwood Blossoms - L977

These Dogwood Blossoms are in full bloom on delicate branches with small spring leaves just starting. This stencil is inspired by the dogwood trees that have bloomed lavishly this spring in New York after being frozen out last year. I love the way the petals are shaped, and that the flowers face up towards the sky.

Learn the steps Margaret took to make this below.

Bees - L978

Bees as pollinators are so important in our lives. This stencil was inspired by seeing an open glass hive at the NY Botanical Garden’s Bee Festival. The stencil is a combination of different bees, as well as tiny flowers and graphic honeycomb-like designs. The bees can be used individually, or the stencil can be used to print an allover pattern on a tea towel or perhaps a gardener’s apron.

Learn the steps Margaret took to make this below.

Margaret's stencils are available now at stencilgirlproducts.com

The Tutorials

Dandelions and Lilies Tutorial 

I want to use the 9 x 12 Dandelions and Lilies stencil to create a painting that would look like the tangled meadow where I might have picked flowers as a kid. You can use these same techniques to create a moody journal page. I started by using ink, Ranger sprays and some spattered rubbing alcohol to make a textured background on a half-sheet of Rives BFK paper.

I added a paper horizon mask and sprayed a dark teal ink through the Dandelions and Lilies stencil, and let this dry.

Then I used semi-opaque Kuretake watercolors and a brush to add some colored flowers and foliage to the foreground.

I removed the horizon mask and added a couple more flowers to the foreground, and some more bright cream dandelion fluff here and there.

I drew into the painting with a Kuretake fine line pen and added iridescent green to finish the scene.

Dogwood Tutorial

I want to use the 9 x 12 Dogwood Blossom stencil to create a painting that would look like dogwood blossoms by streetlight—the way the flowers seem to glow in the night. I started by using ink and Ranger sprays to make a textured background on a half-sheet of Rives BFK paper.

Then I sprayed Ranger Distress Resist Spray through the Dogwood Blossom stencil, and let that dry.

After the Resist Spray dried, I sprayed it with a deep blue-black water based ink, and wiped the resist areas clean with a paper towel.

Using that same dark blue ink, I added some branches with a brush and the Dogwood Blossom stencil.

Then, I added some shadow branches and flowers with the dark blue ink spray.

Now for the fun part—adding the glowing white flowers! Using white and gold gouache, I added white and cream-colored flowers with gold centers to my nighttime scene

And some more flowers as well as a delicate branch.

Bees Tutorial

I wanted to use the 9x12 Bee stencil to create a stand-alone artwork. I started by using ink and Ranger sprays to make a textured background on a half-sheet of Rives BFK paper.

I cut a sunflower stencil with scissors and used it with Ranger Distress Resist Spray as well as a Ranger Spray Ink to lay in some sunflower blossom shapes. I unscrewed the top of the Resist spray and sprinkled some resist stuff across the surface of the paper, and let this dry before proceeding.

Using Kuretake watercolors, I added black, raw umber and gold through the Bee stencil.

And then with a small brush, painted some additional yellow and gold into the bee body stripes.

I decided to draw into the painting, using a Kuretake fine line pen to add detail to the sunflowers, as well as some vertical stems and leaves.

And then using a cerulean blue Prismacolor pencil, pushed and pulled the warm background of the bee painting.

I cut a little texture stencil to add some iridescent blue texture to the background, and also some gold texture to the sunflowers.