This Blog is Changing

I began this blog because I wanted a way to share my thoughts about what I was painting in my  studio and what I was  teaching in my watercolor and drawing classes.  When my teenage daughter was kind enough to devote 5 minutes of her time to help me set up this blog. I quickly  named it Information from A Watercolor Nerd since that is what I sometimes thought of myself as.
Now that I have been blogging for a few years and blog reading has become a legitimate form of entertainment and education, I decided to think seriously about what this blog is all about. I think this blog should impart information on watercolor, travel painting and related topics of help and interest. Yes, shoe shopping is of interest to watercolorists, more about that later.
I designed this logo for little travel painting kits I make and give to friends and students. Anywhere Art Studio reflects my belief that if you have your art supplies portable and handy to grab you will get a lot more painting done and that may lead to being a happier person or at least it does it my case. So I encourage you to go anywhere in 2012 and do a little imperfect drawing and painting. Let me know how that works for you.

New Years Resolutions for Watercolor Artists, Creative Urgers, and Those Who Like to Make Art

I really had a hard time with the title for this post because I didn't want to scare anyone off by calling them an artist, if they are not comfortable thinking of themselves as an artist. What should I call people who have the urge to paint and draw and be creative? Creative Urgers? Art Makers, Composers? Art Nerds? What are you comfortable calling yourself?
Anyway, this post is not about what to call yourself. Its about making resolutions so we can make more art that is to our liking. Hey, maybe we can call ourselves, Those who like to make art?
Here is a list of resolutions I have come up with that might enable you to happily make more art in 2012. Pick and choose from my list and add your own. Let me know what works for you. We all benefit from beautifying our world by making art, so lets put our heads together and find more ways to make art in 2012
1. I will find time to make some imperfect art several times a week. 20 minutes may be enough time.
2. I will find a class that helps me develop my skills.
3. I will try to tolerate my imperfect work and have faith it will improve if I practice.
4. I will make one new artist friend.
5. I will discover what inspires me to make art. (Like finding a website with artwork that inspires me.
6. I will gauge my progress in art making by only comparing myself with myself.
7. I will spend more time painting and less time Facebooking.
8. I will lose 12 lbs. (where did that come from?)
9. I will put away my art materials when I have finished working.
10. I will learn more about contemporary trends in art.
11. I will learn to ride a unicycle. Just wanted to see if you were still reading.
12. I will paint and draw bigger works.
13. I will remember to back away from my painting and see how it looks from a distance often.
14. I will push myself to show my work to nice people who might want to purchase it.

How to Draw and Paint Santa

After deciding I wanted to draw Santa, but never actually having met him, I chose a photo of him I found on google images. When I measured Santa in order to get my drawing in correct proportion I discovered him to be shorter then the average male height of 7 1/2 to 8 head lengths. I believe Santa measured about 6 head lengths, an interesting fact for an art nerd like myself.

Anyway I decided to reduce my drawing on my copier to fit a 2 1/2" x 3 1/2" Artist Trading Card or ATC. I printed out this reduced size Santa on watercolor paper and then I painted Santa with my Twinkling H20 paints. I give details about the colors I used on the Luminarte blog http://creativeimaginations.typepad.com/luminarte_paints/. They should be posted in a short while. You could paint Santa with any bright red, yellow and green watercolors you have and use your imagination to choose other colors if you want.

I was in a very crafty mood after I finished painting Santa, so I got out my deckle edge craft scissors and cut around Santa and glued him onto some red card stock. I also put some glitter around the edges of his card. If you were feeling really daring you could punch a hole in the top of this card and make it into some sort of hanging decoration to amaze your family and friends or you could flip it over and write to: and from: and turn it into a gift tag. Whatever you do, have fun and have a happy holiday.

The Not So Perfect Studio is Finished

Remember when I posted about trying to organize my workspace/studio?
Finally, I feel like I have a space to work in that is welcoming to myself and any muse who might want to stop by.
I learned a lot of interesting things as I struggled to organize my office, among them the fact that artists should be educated about filing systems and supplies along with painting techniques in art schools.
Who would have guessed that you can only fit a finite amount of papers in a hanging file folder? I wondered why those hanging folders kept sinking...
The best things I learned were to sort and label my supplies and to put them back where they belong more quickly then 3 months after you use them.
The most important organizing tip I discovered is that my workspace doesn't have to be perfect, just workable and welcoming. To make my office welcoming I hung up artwork of my two talented dear friends, Nancy Holtz and Gwen Gibson + one of my paintings.

Finished Bookmark

How to Create a Watercolor Holiday Gifts

Around this time of year I get the itch to make some gifts with watercolor, recycled materials and whatever else I find that inspires me. I thought maybe some of you out there might want to have some step by step instructions and ready made drawings and possibly a template to make some of these simple things.

First I am including in this post some bookmark drawings that you can print out. You can print on either Strathmore 140 lb paper, with the yellow cover or any 90 lb. watercolor paper.

Once you've got the drawing printed on your watercolor paper, paint them with watercolor paint and try perhaps writing on a greeting with words on the jars and cups and pots so it reads as a sentence from left to right. I tried writing things like seasonal wishes like peace, joy and love. On my favorite bookmark I wrote, "Always have a dog, rabbit, bird or cat and you will always have love." You can see a copy of this completed bookmark in the next post. Stay tuned for more holiday do it yourself projects, I am on a roll..