Spring finally arrived in Western Pennsylvania in May, and I’ve become increasingly inspired to use brighter colors in my sketchbook. There’s just something about the the bright greens of spring that just lifts the spirit!
This little birdy was such a fun way to experiment with the bright and transparent hues of Turner’s Artists’s Watercolor. Because of my partnership with Jerry’s Artarama, I am privileged enough to try brands I would have never tired before. Every brand of paint and every pigment reacts differently, so there’a always a learning curve to using new paint, regardless if it’s the same medium that you’re already used to. Watercolor paints consist of certain ratios of pigment powders and binders, and those binders contain a mixture of various substances from gum arabic, to honey, to clove oil, and more. Each brand and maker have their own recipe, setting them apart from the rest. Learning how to master a new brand takes a decent amount of experimentation, which is fine with me!
Due to their pigment and binder ratio, these Turner’s watercolors mix like a dream and flow beautifully on the paper. I am enjoying them so much that they seem to have taken over a majority of May’s sketchbook spreads.
This fun citrus spread was painted primarily with Turner’s Watercolor, but I played around with using Turner’s Acryl Gouache to the backgrounds. I really love how the flat opacity of the gouache contrasts with the free flowing transparency of the watercolor fruits. Although the gouache background was my own idea, I learned how to paint the fruit through a Skillshare class called Paint Realistic Citrus Fruits in Watercolor. I can’t recommend Skillshare classes enough! They are my go-to when I am in a creative slump.
Speaking of Skillshare, my first class, Painting a Watercolor Forest with Depth and Light, surpassed 400 students in May! It makes me so happy to see the positive reviews and student projects. I never imagined I would have any success with my classes, but I am so encouraged to keep creating them. I am hoping that my second class, How to Paint Mini Tree Line Vignettes in Watercolor, surpasses 200 students by the end of June! That’s been my favorite class to create so far because I just can’t get enough of those cute miniature tree lines! They make great gifts when turned into magnets or bookmarks. I recently listed a few of the magnets on my Etsy shop, so check them out if you are looking for an inexpensive gift.
The Sprout Creative design team is also doing an art swap, so I’ve been busy painting small forests in my spare time to send to my team members! One down, 5 to go! Here are highlights from some that have already made it to their homes.
If you’re interested in learning this style of landscape, follow this link to the class and you’ll also receive 2 free months of Skillshare! It really is an invaluable resource, in my opinion!
My goal for next month is to release a new Skillshare class, so please reach out to me if you have any class suggestions! I have been toying the the idea of making a sketchbook layout themed class, but am not really sure how to execute it yet. As you can see from the first few pictures I shared, I’ve been developing a style for my spreads to include a color swatch area, along with a smaller, complimentary illustration. I don’t do this for every sketchbook page, but it’s becoming more and more frequent so I might as well roll with it!
I’ll leave you with this little guy. That’s it for now, see you in June!
