NEWS: Children's Book published on Amazon

A children's book that I worked on last year, The Tale of Josephine Rose: A Horse’s Magical Neigh, by Kristen Halverson was published this week and is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

Josephine Rose is a noble Clydesdale horse that moves from Canada to the rolling hills of Iowa. When she meets the other horses, they realize how different she is. Although she wants to make new friends, some of the other horses push her away and won’t let her play.

Watercolor Coneflowers

I started teaching watercolor again this past weekend at Fine Arts on Fifth in Malvern, IA. It was cold but we had a nice class who were all ready for spring and eager to paint this pretty coneflower.

Painting a butterfly collection

I have a collection of boys truck wall art that is a best seller in my Etsy store and as I have watched the truck collection grow, I've realized how much I enjoy painting children's wall art. I also wanted to work on something for little girls and so began my butterfly collection last month. How can you not be happy painting butterflies?

Butterfly Print on Etsy

1. I drew my butterfly freehand onto watercolor paper. This is art for kids so the less perfect, the better.

2. I used an Ultramarine Derwent watercolor pencil to draw squiggles on the wings, hatch marks on the body, and I outlined the edges of the wings, too. Then I carefully painted clear water over each section. I like a little messiness so I paint water over the outer edges and let them blur. I also spray water on them and spatter more color into it. Then I use a hair dryer to speed things up.

3. The pinkish color is Winsor & Newton cobalt violet which is a pale sedimentary color which means the pigment will separate a little bit and leave a pretty texture. I also spattered more
cobalt violet into the wash to encourage this effect.

4. The quote was added in Photoshop. I love painting traditionally, but I also love what I can do with my art in Photoshop!

The Verdict is in!

Omaha was getting ready to shut down on Monday night but Snowmageddon didn't happen. I think we got about 6 inches total, but we did get 2 snow days = 2 nice long uninterrupted work days for me.