New Super-simple, Quick & Easy Bookbinding CD

NEW--for ARTISTS, JOURNAL KEEPERS, SCRAPBOOKERS and other CRAFTERS!

Have you ever been frustrated with the paper in commercially-bound journals? Wished you could have paper that would take the mediums YOU like? Wanted a different size or format than you could find in the stores?




I'm delighted with the reception of my easy bookbinding CD--I did it in conjunction with the online class I taught in November and December, and the students really seemed to love it!

This one makes it easy and fast, if you're not ready to jump into full-scale bookbinding.  You can STILL have exactly the paper, size, and color you want.

You can find it HERE  in my website catalog, or in my CafePress store, along with all my other CDs for artists--slide shows, how-to demos, plein air, and copyright-free photos for artists.

This one includes accordion fold books, folders that use a single sheet of paper, ring-bound journals and much more--including making cover papers and your own bookcloth! 



Lots of hints and tips for those who want paper they love to work on without having to learn about stitching signatures and all that--though that IS fun, and I love it!



The cost is $15.99 (plus shipping) and it will save you many times that over buying sketchbooks, while offering the satisfaction of having JUST what you want--and of course having made it yourself.

Give it a try!

My new book is out!

It got into the stores, onto Amazon, and into buyers' hands about a month earlier than expected, and the reviews have been really good! 

Above is one of my favorite step-by-step demos from the book, from a visit to  in the Blue Ridge Mountains, back before we were married..  Gorgeous area...we drove through clouds and watched that subtle, beautiful sunset over the mountains...
 You can order from my website and get a signed copy (click on the title of this post, above) and of course Amazon has it as well--click here for details, including the Search Inside option...Watercolor Tricks & Techniques: 75 New and Classic Painting Secrets

(Just remember to hit "surprise me," you can see a lot more of a book that way...)

I did animals and people, too, of course, and also some whimsical pieces like childhood toys and a goofy doll I designed years ago!

There are step-by-steps on both of these, too...my little friend Fiona and my beloved Merlin...

Cooley Lake Sunset, plein air

"Cooley Lake Sunset"
a plein air landscape
9" x 12"
Watercolor on cold press paper

Sunset at the lake is pure magic, even in winter. I worked from my car in the rapidly chilling air as I watched the resident Canada geese come in for the night, chatting companionably to one another. Cooley Lake is an old oxbow of the Missouri River, slowly succumbing to the inevitable eutrophication process of filling in with mud and decaying plant matter, becoming ever shallower. It is a Missouri Department of Conservation natural area, now, and open to the public, a lovely place to watch birds, butterflies, and other wildlife, and spend time with your sketchbook or paints.

I chose prismatic colors the capture the chilly winter light, and worked very fast--darkness comes so early in midwinter!

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Mini-Demo

Sometimes you don't want to take time for resists to protect the lightest areas in a painting; when the light is changing so rapidly it just was not an option, so I painted around the sun's path on the water, using a bit of drybrush work to enhance the illusion of the sparkle of light on water. A few "ripples" added with a darker gray-blue and a small round brush reinforced the feeling of the still water.



You can see the prismatic color, above--I used mostly yellow ochre, cobalt blue, permanent rose, and a touch of granulating manganese blue hue. I was careful to preserve believable lights in the distant pools, as well, painting in the shape of the land once the first washes were completely dry.

A small round brush used barely wet with color and just skimmed over the surface of the paper suggested the bare trees in the distance, while wet-in-wet worked to capture the warmer distant shore.

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This sketch will come to you unmatted and unframed for ease of shipping; I wrap with care and send via Priority Mail for most dependable shipping.

$155

And the winner is...

We did the drawing for the free CD in this posts just now, and #2 is the winner--that's Leslie Reid Brasher, congratulations, Leslie!

Thank you all for all the wonderful comments and visits...

I'll probably do a different one next time, so if you're TOO disappointed, you can click on the CD in the column at right. If you were one of the people who commented, I'll give you a 10% discount--the offer's good for the next week!

(And of course it's always available in my Cafe Press store, along with all the other CDs for artists...)

This was fun! And again, Leslie, congratulations! I've written you privately for your mailing address...

Autumn ACEOs

Three Autumn ACEOS
2 1/2" x 3 1/2"
watercolor on cold pressed archival paper

Take one or choose them all--they work together as a set, but each one will stand alone, as well. Of course I will be happy to combine shipping if you want the set!

Note: Silhouettes is SOLD...

"The Watcher" peers out from between the grass stems--wary, or simply curious?

"The Watcher"

$20

"Silhouettes" explores the grace and variety of grasses in late fall and winter.

"Silhouettes" (this one SOLD, and thank you!)

"Brother Crow" appears aloof, but come a step closer and he's OFF!

"Brother Crow"

$20

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I've been fascinated by the tiny paintings called ACEOs for several years, and because of their small size and affordability, have been able to own original paintings from several artists whose work I admire a great deal.

ATCs are artist trading cards, and that's how the phenomenon started out--but many people who were not artists wanted to collect these little jewels, too. So ACEOs were born--still the size of a playing card, but "artist cards, editions and originals" to meet this need. Some ACEOs are prints and some are still original, as are these.

People are collecting and displaying these tiny paintings in ingenious ways--framed and grouped together, piled in baskets, in scrapbooks--however they want!

I hope the idea allows you to own an original work of art--get your feet wet...