As part of my effort to light a fire under my butt to paint more often, I decided to participate in a 4-day galaxy skies painting challenge that I saw on SkillShare with artist Swathi Ganesha. Click here if you’d like to try a month of SkillShare for free.
I’m doing a trial run of selling watercolor prints. I ordered a few and I’ll list them for sale. If there is enough interest and I can get them shipped with little-to-no hiccups, then I will order more and in some larger sizes.
Right now I have these available to order as giclée prints. Giclée is a printing method that ensures vibrant color and fantastic detail using archival inks. These are printed on acid-free, archival paper that has a matte finish and a subtle watercolor texture. I’m really happy with the print quality.
There are only a few available for each of the 5x7 and 8x8 prints. You can order them here or click on any photo and it’ll take you to the link to purchase.
Sundial Peak and Lake Blanche - Brighton, UT
Lower Calf Creek Falls - Boulder, UT
Babylon Arch - Hurricane, UT
Coyote Gulch - Glen Canyon National Recreation Area
Corona Arch - Moab, UT
I have decided that Corona Arch here won’t be available in any print larger than 8x8. The original painting is about 5x5 inches and when enlarged, the stars will start to look weird as they are enlarged too. Someday, I’ll repaint this on larger paper so it can make for a prettier print in bigger sizes.
What should I paint next?? I have a few pretty places on my list from the Uinta Mountains in Utah AND also a few spots in California. Stay tuned.
I had a scrap piece of watercolor paper staring at me yesterday and my fingers were itching to paint a starry sky. I have been to Arches National park twice and neither time was I able to explore Corona Arch, which is just outside the park. Maybe next spring??
Time lapse video of a watercolor of Corona Arch near Moab, UT. Materials: Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints Pocket Palette: https://art-toolkit.com/products/pal...
I was really happy with how it turned out and I realized I was totally channeling another artist I follow; Nikki Frumkin. She paints beautiful landscapes in the PNW. Go check her out: Drawn to High Places. Nikki, you really need to come and explore southern Utah. The contrast of the red and orange rocks is so amazing against a starry sky with blues and purples.
I’m hoping to have a handful of stickers available of my paintings of beautiful spots in Utah’s public lands, so say tuned!!
For anyone interested, here are the materials I used (most of these are affiliate links):
Daniel Smith Watercolor Paints
Pocket Palette from Expeditionary Art
Trekell Watercolor Brushes
daVinci Travel Watercolor Brushes
Grumbacher Masking Fluid
Fluid Cold Press Watercolor Paper
Faber-Castell Pitt Brush Pens
A short while ago Mandy and I worked together on a logo and branding for her clothing boutique and I love how it turned out. A lotus is such a fun motif to work with and it can be so versatile. The four stars represent the members of Mandy’s family too. Such vibrant colors, I love how it turned out!!
The back of Mandy’s business cards serve multiple functions for her customers where she can write in their clothing measurements and sizing. Handy!
Mandy also had a banner made for when she attends fairs and shows.
As a thank you gift to her clients, we created little circle stickers to adhere on little measuring tapes. I love how they turned out!!
Lastly (for now), she had the same sticker artwork printed onto a Popsocket for her phone. So cool!!
It was such a pleasure working with you to help this vision come to reality, best of luck Mandy!
My oldest son finished third grade this past spring and that year was the first time I had been able to volunteer in his class with any regularity. I volunteered once a week when they attended art class and I was able to get to know a few of the students and learn a little about third grade dynamics. This is the gist of what I learned:
Third graders are still emotionally sensitive. They want to be cool, but they still suffer from the emotional instability that plagued them at the magical age of seven.
Third graders aren’t quite old enough to believe that everything is stupid… yet. But they’re getting close.
Third graders can be really mean!
It was so fun to be able to help out when I could and I hope I’m able to join his fourth grade class as often as I can in the fall.
A while back, my son had it in his head that he needed more expensive shoes. Supposedly, a kid in his class declared that his Keen shoes were “dollar store shoes,” and that cool kids only wear expensive shoes. Ugh.
First, I reminded him that we actually can’t buy him super cheap shoes anymore because he’ll rip through them faster than you can even say the words “Dollar Store.” Second, I explained to him that how much a pair of shoes costs means absolutely squat. What matters is if they fit comfortably, look good to you, and keep your feet dry. And it’s nice if they last a while, or at least until they’re outgrown.
Their teacher reprimanded the kid who tried to make others feel bad if they didn’t have $100+ shoes, but I did my own little passive-aggressive comeback (with my son’s blessing, of course). I made him some custom-dyed Vans.
Vans are ALL the rage among kids from elementary school all through high school. I have to admit that it makes me chuckle to see teenagers wearing the exact same pair of checkerboard Vans I’m wearing. I wear them because I like how they look and they’re slip-on, and I LOVED them when I was a kid.
We bought some plain white Vans from Journeys earlier this month and I galaxy-dyed them in green and blue, my son’s favorite colors. I used fiber-reactive dye from Dharma Trading and a similar technique that I use for galaxy-dyed clothes and baby carrier. They ended up being quite a pain to rinse, the dye inside the soles was tough to get out. I also did my best to mask off the white rubber to prevent them from being stained by the dye. Lastly, I masked off the rubber and labels when I painted stars with fabric paint.
I really love how they turned out and so does my son. Apparently a few of his friends want a pair now. #momwin
Amanda and Danny are expecting their first baby! To celebrate they had a co-ed baby shower that included elements from Star Wars, Harry Potter and Dr. Who. I was thrilled to create some printed elements for the party.
Custom invitation:
*Address and phone numbers have been changed to protect privacy.
Can you spot all of the references from the three different fandoms? Elder Wand, owl & baby drawing, Marauder’s Map footprints, and chapter stars from Harry Potter. Doctor Who quote and Tardis, fonts, light sabre, and Chewbaca’s bandolier from Star Wars. The background also features Gryffindor and Ravenclaw house scarves and a scarf from Dr. Who. Amanda had the invitations printed with Snapfish.
I created a pennant banner with a fun, space background.
Some of the pennants had elements from the themes. This one had the Ford Anglia from Harry Potter. One also had Dr. Who’s Tardis, and others had a Millennium Falcon and an Tie fighter from Star Wars.
I created these favor tags too.
For the front door I created this fun welcome sign. It includes lots of elements from the invitation.
Congrats to you both and I can’t wait to meet your little boy!
When Jamie was planning her daughter’s 7th birthday party, she wanted a Wonder Woman theme, but Jamie wasn’t in love with the designs she was seeing at her local party store. She and I chatted about custom options, but I don’t have a license to use logos and artwork from Wonder Woman, so we created this Wonder Woman-inspired birthday invitation with a comic book vibe and I really love how it turned out!
Happy happy birthday Aubrey!
