Allison

  • Inspired by

    Inspired by Jean Haines’ Atmospheric Watercolors book

    • by

    I just purchased this incredibly inspiring watercolor book last week that I am so excited about! I love Jean Haines‘ style. I am always trying to push myself as an artist. This style of expressive watercolors is very different from my normal controlled way of painting, and I think that is why I love it so much.

    I think it is important to continually study different styles and techniques as a painter. The watercolor book I purchased before this one was called “Botanical Sketchbook” by Mary Ann Scott. Scott’s book features the incredibly controlled style of botanical drawings.

    What books are you inspired by?

  • Made my Day

    Made My Day: Red wild flowers

    • by

    Painting by Hand-Painted Weddings.

    Over the weekend, I went to a different farmer’s market than I usually visit on the weekends since I was going to the Renaissance Faire during my usual farmer’s market time. Side note: The Renaissance Faire is so fun! I totally recommend visiting one if you get the chance. We went to the Renaissance Faire in Lancaster, PA, which is connected to a winery….yum! We even dressed up in Renaissance attire this year. You should have seen the looks we got when we stopped at a rest stop along the way for Starbucks!

    Anyways, back to the farmer’s market…there was a lovely vendor selling bouquets of wild flowers mixed with sunflowers and zinnias. The bouquets looked so cheerful, I had to have one. Unfortunately, the bouquet didn’t last long but I was able to get a painting of these small red flowers I had never seen before as the leaves started to wilt. I am loving how this painting resembles botanical watercolors in it composition.

  • In the Studio

    Commissioned Watercolor: Start to Finish

    • by

    Yesterday I showed you one way I work from photos, and today I’m showing you the more literal way I sometimes work from photos for commissioned watercolors. In my commissioned watercolors, I start with a pencil sketch. If a client wants me to crop out sections of the photograph or zoom into an portion, that is even more fun! While I was lucky in the case above in that the photo was gorgeous to begin with, there may be instances where a beloved photo did not turn out as you intended, or has a distracting element in it that you’d rather have removed. Turning not so good photos into watercolors is a great way to showcase the reason you love a photo and turn it into a piece of artwork that will last for generations to come.

    To view the work in progress post for this painting, go here.

    Top photo by Maryanna Scarpato. Painting by Hand-Painted Weddings.