Watercolor cat painting

Watercolor painting of a Cornish Rex. They look a lot like a sphinx with very short fur. They have the most beautiful eyes!

Etsy For Animals

Recently I have become a member of the Etsy For Animals team on etsy. EFA is a group of people that give to animals by donating a portion of their sales to an animal charity of their choice and or the EFA charity of the month. All of my original painting will have a percentage donated to some of my favorite charities as well as the charity of the month. I am so proud to be a part of this wonderful group! Keep helping animals EFA and thank you for letting me be a part of your team!http://efaartistshelpinganimals.org/  

Gotta love cats!

This video made me laugh when I saw it. I thought I should share it with you!

Christmas is on it's way!

Tomarrow is Thanksgiving! Being an animal lover I will not be eating any turkey, but I'm looking foward to all the other little goodies, like apple pie yummmmm. Since Christmas season will officially be starting in a few days I decided to paint this cute little kitten. My cats love to play with the ornaments they knock off the tree and so they're the inspiration for this painting. The original is up for sale on my etsy shop at www.thimblesparrow.etsy.com 20% of the proceeds will go to one of my favorite animal charities the Ten Lives Club. They are a no-kill cat rescue located just outside of Buffalo,NY. Thier website is www.tenlivesclub.com I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

Flapper cat speed painting

This is a video of me speed painting a flapper cat. I love the 1920s and couldn't get the idea out of my head of paintng a cat with a flapper feather on her head. I named this painting "The Cat's Meow".

Painting of a gold finch

This is a pen and watercolor paintng of a gold finch. I snapped a photo of a little gold finch mama sitting on her nest in an evergreen tree in my front yard. She was so sweet to let me photograph her! I really love to paint birds so this little cutie was a real joy.

How to stretch watercolor paper

For a long time I stayed away from watercolors because I had no idea how to stretch watercolor paper. I always had problems with buckling and would end up back using acrylics. But I decided to do some research online and after studying many other people’s techniques and combining what I liked I finally settled on the method that worked best for me.

What you’ll need: regular masking tape (wide width), a flat surface to tape the paper down to, a large bath towel, and a tub of water to dip the paper in.

Most artists use brown gummed tape to tape down the paper, but when I went searching for it locally no one sold it, meaning I would have to buy it online. I wanted to start painting right away and because I am impatient I just used masking tape I found in my drawer and have never had a problem. Just be sure that you are using an oversized piece of paper, this way the tape never touches what you intend to put paint on. So should the tape rip the paper during removal, it will not matter. I usually do an 8X10 on an 11X14 so I have no worries. If you don’t want to use a larger sheet of paper you can buy gummed tape on most art supplies websites and some art specialty stores in your area.

Step 1: Dip the paper in the tub of water and let it set until it is soaked through. Move it gently in the water in a back and forth motion being sure to push the entire paper under the surface of the water. Once it has totally soaked through (usually no more then 2-3 minutes, thicker paper may take longer) remove the paper and let all the excess water drip off into the tub.

Step 2: Lay a towel out on the floor and set the paper on the top half of the towel allowing the bottom half to fold over the paper covering it completely. Your paper should be sandwiched between the towel halves. Starting at the middle top of the towel press firmly down and begin pressing from side to side all the way down the entire paper to absorb access moisture. Do this multiple times. Then pulling back the towel, flip the paper over, replace the towel over the top and repeat.

Step 3: Now the paper should be damp but not “wet”. Lay your paper on the flat surface. Measuring with your eye rip off a piece of masking tape to fit one side. BEFORE YOU PUT THE TAPE ON PLACE THE ENTIRE STICKY SIDE ONTO A PIECE OF CLOTHING TO TAKE OFF SOME OF THE TACK. IF YOU SKIP THIS STEP THE TAPE WILL BE TO DIFFICULT TO REMOVE AND WILL RIP YOUR PAPER! After pulling the tape off your clothing place it on the paper edge so that half of the tape's width is on the paper and the other half is on the flat surface. Running your figure along the tape press the seam of the tape and surface firmly down. Repeat this step on all sides of the paper.

Step 4: Allow the paper to stretch for about 24 hours. Very carefully remove the tape and start painting!

How to paint a watercolor bird

Here is a video of me painting a chickadee in watercolors. I would say it took me about 3 hours in total to paint. I have so many chickadees in my yard and was compelled to paint one of them. This original painting is available on my etsy store www.thimblesparrow.etsy.com

Painting of a bear

One of my absolute favorite animals is the bear. Any species of bear that is:) They are the cutest and funniest little things (well, perhaps big things) on earth. So i decided to paint this big guy last night. It took me about an hour to draw him and then about 3 hours to paint him. I loved how he turned out! A print of him is available on my website here :http://www.etsy.com/listing/85283200/bear-art-watercolor-bear-art-grizzly

Fall is soon coming to a close

I know it is only November 2nd but I can already feel the fall season coming to a close and hear Christmas bells ringing in the distance. So here is a watercolor painting of a beautiful maple leaf to say farewell to autumn. I found this leaf under the maple tree in my yard and couldn't help but preserve it's beauty in a painting. I titled it "Beautiful Ending". I hope everyone had a great Halloween!

Finally Starting My Art Blog!

Ok, so I am officially starting my art blog! I have been wanting to get started on a blog for a long time but have been working on other things and now I can finally buckle down. So I will be posting my art and videos on how I make some of my pieces. I will also post progression photos of my art because I am just lazy and don’t always want to be videotaping, teeheeJ I’ll also put up interesting art tips and fun things I find regarding art. Thank you for visiting my blog!