Woodland Creatures Birch Forest Watercolor Painting Project

November 12, 2020November 13, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

This watercolor painting project is a new spin on a my original birch forest painting tutorial. The woodland creatures – an owl, a fox and a bunny – make this new beginner project fun for all ages!

It’s easier than it looks! The final painting may look complex but the instructions – with photos – walk you through the entire project step by step. It’s a great project for home schooling, for a group, or even painting on your own.

Watercolor techniques used:

Masking areas with tape
Wet on wet painting
Splattering
Dry on dry painting
Painting layers

Supplies you’ll need:

Watercolor paper. I use 9” x 12” Arches 140 lb. cold pressed paper.
Painter’s tape
Watercolor paint. Colors: orange, yellow, cobalt blue, black
Paint brushes – 3 round (1 thick, 1 medium, 1 thin) and 1 flat.
Container of water
Paper Towel
Palette for mixing paint with water. You can use a plastic lid or the top of a plastic egg carton.

The printable pdf instructions are available in my Etsy shop here.

Let me know if you try it – I’d love to see!

*****

Ready to get started in watercolor? The “Beginner Watercolor Exploration Guide” is for you!

Learn the fundamentals.
Practice with exercises & projects.
Discover a love of watercolor!

Learn more here!

Fun Beginner Winter Art Project Learn Watercolor Kid Art

Paint a Turkey

November 5, 2020November 5, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

As I cleared the Halloween stuff off the mantle and setup up the Thanksgiving decorations I realized my selection was lacking. What to do? Grab a small canvas and paint a turkey of course!

Watch my process in the Youtube video below. Please like and subscribe!

Looking to follow along? You can find a list of my paint colors below.

Watch the video here.

View more fun Fall projects here!

Paint colors I used:

Tan – mixed from yellow and brown
Brown
Dark brown – mixed from brown and black
Black
Deep Red/Maroon – Alizarin Crimson or mix red with a little blue
Pink – mixed from white and deep red
Light blue – mixed from white, blue, and a little pink
White
Green – mixed from Phthalo Green and white

Take Time to Appreciate your Work

November 3, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

If you’ve been creating for a while – whatever the medium – I encourage you to take time to look through your work. I guarantee you’ll be pleasantly surprised by your progress and proud of the work you’ve created.

When I first started painting I realized that while you are working on something you are hypercritical of a piece. It makes sense – you are working at it to achieve the best work you can. After some time passes, when you are “removed” from a piece, you can appreciate it with a less critical eye.

There is so much to learn from simply reviewing our work – what subjects and themes we are interested in, new phases in our style or technique, what areas we may want to work on, pieces we’d like to finish, and ideas for new projects.

I’ve been reviewing my watercolor paintings and recent sketchbook work from the last 7 months. It’s like a time capsule. So much good stuff from such a weird time in the world! I enjoyed the Monet inspired practice work I did. So fun! It was inspired by “The Masters” week from my “Let’s Paint Paris in Watercolor” program.

As I collected and reviewed my paintings, I decided to restock my shop with a selection of original paintings. Keep an eye out for the restock announcement because with originals – once a painting is sold it’s gone!

Blending with Colored Pencil

October 23, 2020October 23, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

When I took my first drawing class as an adult (about 12 years ago), colored pencils quickly became my favorite medium. I was using my kids’ Crayola pencils and they were doing the job quite nicely. This brown bear was one of my first drawings.

Over time I became frustrated with my small selection of colors. You might think the answer is to buy a larger set of pencils. But, you’ll never have enough colors and what about darks within an object? Another student in the class – a skilled woman named Donna – had the answer. She taught me how to blend the colors.

I was thrilled when I was able to create the terra-cotta colored pot for this kitten to sit in.

The key to blending is to color with the side of the tip of the pencil not the point. The color goes on lighter, leaving some of the paper exposed. Notice the difference in the photo below. The brown and green vertical lines are colored with the tip, the brown and green to the right of that is colored with the side of the tip.

After applying a color, add your second color on top of it. Then use a third color – a lighter color like white – to blend the two colors. I used yellows and light tans to blend the colors in my leaf coloring page. I love how it came out!

Download the leaf coloring page from my Etsy shop here.

Watercolor Basics free download!

October 21, 2020October 21, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Watercolor Basics free pdf download
I have been painting in watercolor for over twelve years. When I first started out I didn’t know anything about paper or paint or even brushes. For months I used the wrong paper and it showed! Over the years I’ve tried different paints, papers and brushes. I created the “Watercolor Basics” pdf to give you the information I was missing when I started. I want you to start your watercolor journey with the right tools and tips, so that you’ll have success and develop a love of watercolor like I did!

To receive the free pdf, just sign up for my weekly newsletter – a collection of all the things inspiring me, in hopes of inspiring you!

Sign up for the Watercolor Basics free download here!

*****

Ready to get started in watercolor? The “Beginner Watercolor Exploration Guide” is for you!

Learn the fundamentals.
Practice with exercises & projects.
Discover a love of watercolor!

Learn more here!

Halloween Paper Quilt Making Fun!

October 8, 2020October 8, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Printable Halloween Quilt Activity Kit

Download the Printable Halloween Quilt Making Kit

The best part about creating a paper quilt is there is no sewing! Just print the patterned papers and the template. Cut squares out of the patterned paper. Assign the different papers a letter in the key. Then follow the template. You can create several different quilt designs with one printable kit. Just assign the papers to different letters in the key.

Printable Halloween Paper Quilt Making Kit

Download the Printable Halloween Quilt Making Kit

How to Paint a Fall Leaf in Watercolor

October 4, 2020October 9, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

This week, find a leaf that inspires you and paint it. I’ve uploaded a video of my process for painting a leaf:

With pencil I outline the basic shape.
I use just three colors – cadmium yellow, cadmium red, and ultramarine blue and mix colors as I go. From those three colors I create all the fall colors I need – purples, maroons, browns.
I work wet encouraging the colors to bleed into one another.

It’s fun and relaxing. Check out the video below and watch my painting process. Then find your leaf and start painting. I’d love to see – tag me on Instagram @eileenmckenna.

Please like the video and subscribe!

Want a comprehensive guide to getting started in watercolor? Check out “Beginner Watercolor Exploration.” Learn the fundamentals. Practice with exercises and projects. Discover a love of watercolor!

Start your watercolor journey today! Learn more here.

Beginner Watercolor Exploration Guide pdf download | how to guide beginner watercolor

Painting Leaves in Watercolor

October 3, 2020October 9, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Fall Leaves in Watercolor by Eileen McKenna

Recently I painted a pile of leaves in watercolor. It was an easy relaxing process:

Collect a few leaves
Trace the leaves
Mix fall colors from yellow, red and blue
Work wet and encourage the colors to bleed and blend.

Believe it or not, I’m often more interested in how it feels to sit and paint than what the final results are. Sure, there is satisfaction in how a painting comes out and sometimes frustration when I can’t achieve my vision. But the process of sitting and painting is…the best.

I shared a video on how I created the watercolor pile of leaves painting. Grab your paints and give it a try!

Please like the video and subscribe!

Start your watercolor journey today! Learn more here.

14 Creative Fall Project Ideas

September 18, 2020 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

The air feels cooler, I’ve made my first batch of pumpkin bread, and I’m collecting and brainstorming ideas for fun fall projects!

14 Creative Fall Project Ideas:

Nature – I love projects that involve found elements and paint. Check these out: painting acorns, drawing on leaves (I love the ones with the white pen), decorating a white pumpkin. Now, I’m in competition with the squirrels to collect acorns!

Potpourri – I want to make this homemade fall scented potpourri recipe.

Paper – I’ve just launched a new paper quilt printable kit for fall! It’s a fun and easy project for all ages.

Fiber – This fall leaves fiber art by Franswazz is so cool.

Embroidery – These fall embroidery kits look fun.

Recycle – This paper bag tree is so interesting. I’d like to use it in a fall terrarium.

Wood burning – I love this wood burned acorn by Italian Artist Liliia of SorrisoDesign. “The design is hand drawn, then carefully and lovingly burned into the solid wood bead with pyrography technique.”

Polymer Clay – Finally! I had a chance to play with my stash of polymer clay, blending colors, creating fall leaves and other fun projects while watching clay videos on YouTube. This is the starter kit I purchased:

Dough Ornaments – I’d like to make a fall version of these cornstarch ornaments.

Watercolor – Paint a realistic looking fall leaf or paint a pumpkin farm. Creating the changing leaves is the best part! Or maybe it’s painting the pumpkin patch?

We all need time to explore – to try a new medium, play around with it, just for the fun of it.

**Try one of my new fall projects by visiting my Etsy shop here.**

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14 Creative Fall Project Ideas