Calendar pages & watercolor palettes~

My little mushroom brush is just as important as my paint brushes!

Keeps the wool dust, lint, strings... 

All that crazy stuff fling around my studio, off my palettes.

I leave my palettes open to air dry~

It may be a few days in between painting.

If I forget to put my palette covers on (always) they get dusty.

I brush out the wells, brush off the little dishes...

I rarely wash my palette...

With a touch of water those messy puddles are perfectly usable!

Calendar time~

As I finish each month, I tack them up. It gives me a little distance

from my paintings. Sometimes they need a little more work.

Sometimes I soften an area...

The wintry months are still to be painted.

I should paint January & February mid-summer, on hot days~

When the winter cold seems like a welcome thought!

Just a few more paintings to go and

Outside My Window for 2020 will be complete.

Each year is a little bit different.

Always filled with my favorite things & feathered friends who visit!

I hope you have a wonderful weekend, Friends!

Thank you for stopping by~

Watercolor palette

When I started teaching myself watercolor (as a teen)

I read every how-to book I could find.

Experimented with papers...

Purchased the best brushes I could afford...

Most of the artists I studied used the same basic palette.

That is what I followed and happily used for years~

It was economical and traditional.

When I began licensing my art I started to expand my palette.

Fabric collections, flag designs, calendar pages...greeting cards---

With so many varied products I wanted a varied palette.

Through the years I have found my personal favorites...

Windsor & Newton

Holbein

Daniel Smith

A trip into the city finds me at the Fine Art Store on

West Main Street~ fineartstore.com

I become lost in the options.

Held tightly by my very limited budget!

That way I am sure to behave ;)

My budget yesterday was for a green. ONE green.

The greens on my palette are running low.

I have been searching for something different for a while.

I can make several greens from all the blues,

ochre, golds & yellows that I have...

Finding a 'nice green' will save me time.

If a client decides to expand a collection, it is nice

to have less mixing to do... more consistency.

MaimeriBlu offered a sample card near their display~

It is a nice way to try out pigments. Do they stain?

How do the colors behave on my favorite paper?

Can I lift out highlights?

Do they glaze nicely?

Autumn colors keep me inspired~

Hope your weekend is off to a great start!

New color!

With soft morning sunshine streaming in the studio...

It's color time!

A new watercolor to share~

'Dark Brown' by Winsor & Newton

It is a muted, matte~ cool brown.

I think I will use it as a warm gray!

Hope your day is filled with 'warm tones!' ;)

Watercolor palette tutorial...

Every now and then I share about a new color that I have added to my palettes.

I enjoy colors...

Some palettes have very few colors & the aritsts create stunning images!

I love to share my colors...

This new palette is for our daughter who will soon leave the nest!

Start by laying the tubes near the wells...

I recorded the paint names for her on the back of the palette information sheet.

Just-in-case there is a PERFECT color for the PERFECT project &

she needs to purchase more!

I was commissioned to paint a large collection of baby-themed pieces.

Instead of trying to mix the perfect 'baby' blue...

or find the right red for a soft, pastel pink----

I purchased tubes so that I could keep the collection consistent.

My first palette was set up for landscapes with a few basic colors:

(Example) Winsor Red, Winsor Yellow, Hooker's Green,

Cobalt Blue, Indigo, Sepia, Burnt Sienna, Raw Umber.

Then I added an Cadmium orange, Sap Green, Leaf Green, French Ultramarine Blue...

Then I added Phthalo Blue, Violet, Quinacridone Gold, Green Gold etc. 

Today, my palette choices are often based on collections I am working on.

'Warm Wishes' (my latest snowman fabric collection through Red Rooster Fabrics)

had aqua backgrounds that would have been impossible for me to make 

with my very first palette colors.

I don't paint with the color directly from the tube...
I always mix something with it~

I wrote little notes on the palette images...

Please click on the photographs for a closer look~

I am often asked...

Winsor & Newton is my favorite watercolor paint.

Holbein is my 2nd favorite.

Good paint is expensive.

Permanence is very important.

Choose lightfast pigments, acid-free papers & archival storage/framing sources.

Hope your days are filled with creative!

A new red!

To paint the sweetest strawberries & cherries~

To find the exact 'red' in Americana and darling little red hearts...

I keep adding to my palette!

This new color is 'Pyrrol Crimson' from Daniel Smith.

It is a little 'cooler' than some of my reds...

The perfect touch that I often look for in the shadows!

Inspired by the season, I'm sure!

Hope your week is off to a great start, Sweet Friends~

Christmas watercolor originals...

They begin as sketches in my journals~

I may have drawn them onto fabric in black ink...

A completely different little character when color is added!

When the light is good & my eyes are 'feeling good' I love to paint.

(Glazing color/texture to my stocking...)

Once the base color is dry I like to layer 'glaze' additional colors for texture...

Here I am softening the texture & edge so my stocking doesn't appear flat.

Adding a few deeper tones will push the edges back & fluff up this mouse nest!

Hope you are staying safe in this winter storm!

Wishing you a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday~

Patriotic vintage post card tutorial

A Facebook friend asked if I would share a post card painting

Step by step... I want to share with you, too!

I do not paint directly on my vintage/antique papers.

I scan them into my computer & print them onto card stock or

80 lb. watercolor paper. I also have color copies made onto these papers.

If you could try both ways... they have unique results.

Leaving the white of the paper for the stars & white stripes...

Once my colors are down I like to add a natural tone to antique it~

My first ink in this piece is Nut Brown from Winsor & Newton~

Allow to dry completely...

Add black ink to finish the fine details of the nest~

While allowing to dry completely... pick out the perfect stamps!

I find bags of used/canceled stamps at antique stores.

Once your artwork is completely dry you can lay it face down

onto a clean, dry towel & press it on low heat.

Red, white & blue stamps... 

Old & worn~ they had brought a note to somebody years ago!

Curious toes!

Tippy boy finds me semi-entertaining...

As much as humans can be to fancy cats~ 

Wishing you a safe 4th of July holiday, Sweet Friends!

Iris original watercolors~

Iris.

Purplish~blue & chartreuse~

Another fine color pair!

How I wish I could add scent to my watercolor paintings.

I love the Disney amusement ride Soarin~

(well, maybe not the tickle your tummy part)

Gliding over the orchards... it smells like an orange grove!

JOY!

I always paint light to dark. Building, "glazing" colors in layers.

Save the fine details as my finishing touches...

Too often I added fussy details as I went along. 

Now I wait, just in case I want to deepen a tone & sometimes less is more.

Just listed these two originals in my 2nd Etsy shop~

I think birds & some seaside will be coming next!

Hope you have a nice evening!

Grape... I mean Purple Iris~

Started two new watercolors...

My mom & dad had Iris planted around their flag pole~

They do not care to grow for me so I visit friends gardens!

When I was a child, my favorite soda was Grape Nehi &

Always thought that purple Iris smelled just like Grape Nehi!

They had yellow Iris with rust & maroon tones~

I called them Rootbeer! Yep, I thought they smelled like it.

I try not to liken the smell of flowers to sugary snacks anymore!

Still have silly songs & rhymes run through my head at times...

I might grow up~ probably not!

Hope your Monday is off to a wonderful start!

Michelle Palmer Watercolor

Finished my Yellow & Blue Collection this morning...

It is ready to take to the printer!

Gardens are filled with beauty...

Everything waiting months & blooming all at the same time~

Grape Hyacinths...

Pale blue in the background, deeper blues up front.

Painting green "behind" the nest grasses & hairs~

Butterfly... paint light to dark.

Eastern Tailed-Blue has robin's egg blue, French Ultramarine & Indigo!

All of my artwork is scanned & digital files are made for licensing.

We are in the process of setting up a second Etsy store...

Our 2nd shop will sell my original watercolors and prints of them!

Hoping to have prints back from the city soon!

My current Etsy will continue to have new pen & ink fabric treasures

along with needle felted friends!

We will share here when the 2nd Etsy shop is open!

Thank you for your kind comments, encouragement & support!

Hope your Monday is off to a wonderful start~