My Creative Side
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Drawing Prompt - River and Mountain Landscape
My goal today is to take this river and mountain photo and turn in into something a little more abstract using my mixed-media tools. You might want to try the same thing or paint this photo how you see it.
Art Project - Tree Sprouting
The sprouting tree is lush, playful, and open to new ideas. I started very light and built up the colours from there. If you want to se my video, I am posting for all to see. Give it a try!
Drawing Prompt - Lanterns
What beautiful shapes and colours to play with. The trick might be in making the paper lanterns glow. It will take a bit of planning ahead. If you’re using watercolours, I would start very light and then build the colour from there, allowing the lightest areas to stay light.
How To Use Watercolours - Start A Messy Landscape
When I start a messy, abstract landscape painting, this is how I usually begin. Watch how I started My Assurance, a messy landscape painting created from a few brush strokes.
Art Project - Gnome Home
The gnome home art project idea came to me after a birthday party art session and the girls were wanting to paint a gnome or a gnome home. We did the gnome (they rocked it) and then I thought I should do a gnome home still because the possibilities are endless. It’s so fun!
Creative Warm Up - Watercolour Bubbles
I tried to combine the watercolour bubbles with a koi fish painting but, truly, all the kids really wanted to do was create a full page of bubbles in different colours and sizes. It’s a really fun and rewarding thing to do!
Creative Warm Up - Imaginative Play
Creative warm ups to keep your imaginations sharp - ripped pieces of paper turned into a picture and a doodle play practice.
Drawing Prompt - Palm Trees
We don’t get a lot of palm trees in Fernie, BC, Canada, so when I see a picture of palm trees, I consider it a challenge. Let’s see how we recreate this row of palm trees! Everyone will work so differently, which is so fascinating to me, and what makes me love art so much. Enjoy!
Art Project - Polar Bear with Salty Sky
The polar bears are the easy part. This piece is more about exploring the sky and trying to find the colour and textures you want to use. In our art classes we used salt and tissue paper to create texture in the sky.
Drawing Prompt - Winter Lodge
This photo reminds me of Island Lake Lodge, a really cool resort just west of Fernie, BC. Since I want to practice evening landscapes, I thought this would be just the right place to start. The contrast of warm light and cool colours will make the cabin really stand out.
Art Project - Gift Labels
Create your own Christmas gift labels or make them for Birthdays, too. These gift labels can be made a couple different ways. I used shipping label paper from Staples and then drew on them with marker and coloured pencils. You can also create these using regular white printer paper and glue or tape them to your presents.
Drawing Challenge - Weekly December Prompts
It’s my first weekly drawing challenge where you get a prompt and try, the best that you can, to draw, paint, etch, sketch the word of the week multiple times. The challenge is to create from the same prompt in different ways each day.
Art Project - Raahat Kaduji’s The Sea Turtle
Recreating and teaching with another artist’s artwork for my art classes is challenge in itself, as I am trying to figure out how they made it…AND I have to simplify it for my kids who can be as young as 7.
Art Project - Pumpkin Stack
This art project will have 2 parts. We’re going to start with the Pumpkin Stack and then get to the Jack-O-Lantern Stack in a couple weeks…for obvious reasons.
Drawing Prompt - Get Loose Birch Tree
During a walk along the Annex Park path, I snapped a photo of this tree and immediately knew I was going to paint it…or something based on it. I take a lot of pictures with the idea of painting it later.
Drawing Prompt - Bike
Bikes are one of those things I have a hard time drawing if I’m not looking right at one. When I find things difficult, I practice them. So let’s paint a bike together!
Art Project - Mushroom House
Most kids LOVE to draw or paint mushrooms. The shapes are simple and they can be done in any colour. They’re actually fun to paint at any age. So, when I was planning my art camp, I thought it would be cool to turn a mushroom into a home.
Art Project - Coffee (or Tea) Mug Still Life
This idea, of painting the negative space, is a technique I use often. This allows me to create more interesting shapes because I’m not very interested in perfection. This coffee cup is a great exercise in painting the negative space. It’s a fairly simple shape AND you get to create your own mug design.
Drawing Prompt - Story - Shooting Star
A drawing prompt short story to inspire your next drawing, painting, or, perhaps, a longer comic book story. It’s up to you.
Drawing Prompt - Cat
I love how defined the whiskers are on this cat. They kind of steal the show. Try drawing or painting this cat using any tool you have or multiple art tools in your art cart.