Draw A Bird, December 2022

Hi Friends! Recently, my husband and I were at a restaurant that used paper coasters beneath our beverages, but the coasters were plain white rather than printed with the restaurant’s logo and inspired me to create ornaments!

Ornaments, Snowman and Star & Partridge in a Pear Tree, Viv’s December art challenge

Because watercolor doesn’t work well on plain paper, I painted the coasters with watercolor grounds, which coat the paper so that water won’t sink in, and the paint flows easier. My watercolor friend, Viv, hosted a December challenge, which I painted on the coasters rather than in a sketchbook or on the usual watercolor paper (and the challenge included a Partridge in a Pear Tree and Two Turtle Doves). I was really happy with the results and decided to paint on both sides of the coasters since Christmas tree ornaments tend to hang wonky and spin around to the back. A few embellishments on the top hid the ribbon hole, and some Tim Holtz Distress Glaze sealed the paintings. These were delightful subjects to make even though I generally don’t paint so small with so much detail.

Deer and Two Turtle Doves on reverse side

Hope you are enjoying your holiday preparations for Christmas, Hannukah, or whatever holiday you celebrate, and please stay well. ❤

Fawn

This little fawn seemed to pose for us as we hiked through Glacier National Park.

Deer – Glacier National Park

She definitely was not afraid of us and obviously was used to folks walking along that trail, and we enjoyed watching her antics as she playfully sparred with her siblings.

Mammal, #WorldWatercolorGroup

A while ago a friend took a terrific photo of a majestic white-tailed deer, and with her permission I finally got around to painting it.

Deer

This quick sketch is painted looser than my work in general, although it is a goal to work this way more often.  The whites took a lot of self-control on my part, but this might be my best attempt at leaving the whites of the paper ever.  Thanks, Joan, for sharing such a lovely photo of this graceful creature!

National Craft Month

Did you know that March is National Craft Month? One of my favorite crafts is creating with my Cricut machine. Here are four of my favorite Cricut cards created for OWH with the thought that they would be perfect for children to receive.

There is nothing better than bee-ing with you!

Toadally in Love

Miss you Deer-ly

Wishing you . . . A turtley awesome day!

They were cut with the Create-a-Critter cartridge, which has such adorable, endearing characters sure to evoke a smile. I just happened to have some punny stamps to go along with them too.