Watercolor Painting “Must Haves”

January 13, 2018April 26, 2018 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Painting “Must Haves” #watercolor #supplies #beginner

I’ve joined in on the fun with Mollie Makes magazine, a lifestyle and craft magazine for those who live creatively, and followed the prompts for #molliemakersweek. Today’s prompt was “must haves.” I recommend these products to anyone starting out in watercolor.

My “must haves”

Fluid watercolor paper
Canson multimedia sketchbook
Painters tape
Windsor Newton paints – ultramarine, cadmium red, and cadmium yellow
Holbein Primary White Gouache
Uniball Signo Black Gel Pen 207
Coffee
Flat Paintbrushes – 1/8″, 1/2″, 3/4″
Mixing tray

My “making spot”
“Making Spot” #painting

Want a dose of creative inspiration? Sign up for my newsletter “My Creative Collection” by clicking here. Learn more here.

Have you visited my online shop? Prints of my seascapes are available on watercolor paper or canvas, in many sizes including the new “mini” canvas 11″ x 14″ at shop.eileenmckenna.com. Take a peek!

This post contains affiliate links to products/brands I use and recommend. I earn a small commission whenever you buy using these links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

Filming Your Art Process

January 5, 2018January 10, 2018 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Filming Your Art Process #phone #stand
I’m really excited about the gift I recently received. It’s a stand to hold my phone above my work area so I can make a video of my painting process. The stand is called an Akron Kitchen Desk Table Stand.

Previously I would try to hold my phone or iPad in front of me so I could record a short snippet of my process. People seemed to like these videos and also like the posts where I showed the stages of a painting. Recording an entire painting from start to finish seemed like it would be interesting and helpful to share. And in timelapse you could see the entire process of a painting in a few minutes!

Click here to see one of my first videos with the new stand on Instagram. It’s where I add the foam of the ocean. What a difference from the starting point to the end!

Want a dose of creative inspiration? Sign up for my newsletter “My Creative Collection” by clicking here. Learn more here.

Pick a picture, pick a subject…

September 2, 2017 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Sketchbook painting
…and start drawing and painting. Sitting with my coffee this morning, I was beating myself up for not painting this week. But when I looked back on the week and all I did – work, back to school stuff including orientations, meetings, haircuts, doctors’ appointments, and birthday preparations – it makes sense. Okay I forgive myself. Now what? Pick a picture.

So I did. I didn’t overthink it, I picked one and started painting in my sketchbook. I didn’t select good watercolor paper and tape it to a board – to prepare for a “frame-able” piece. I selected a page with writing on the back. No pressure, just pick a picture and get back to work.

Want a dose of creative inspiration? Sign up for my newsletter “My Creative Collection” by clicking here. Learn more about the newsletter here.

Prints of my watercolor beach paintings are now for sale at shop.eileenmckenna.com. Take a peek!

Capturing the Ocean in Watercolor

July 22, 2017 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Painting the beach nd ocean in watercolor

I’ve aspired to capture the ocean in watercolor for years. In December I made “painting the beach” my New Year’s project. The snow was falling outside, but I was inside painting waves. With each painting I learned and improved.

Some of my firsts in early January.
Painting waves in watercolor

I watched a few YouTube videos and learned from others (and wrote about it here.)

I tried new tools and supplies and incorporated them into my process.

I’ve kept with it and over six months later I still often paint the ocean. In some ways I feel like I’ve found my thing.

Yesterday I was standing in the ocean, watching the waves break, watching the foam churned up by the waves wash in and out. It was surreal, like standing in a painting and all I could think about was white gouache.

Original beach watercolor landscape by Eileen McKenna

Have you read:

I Used to be a Quitter

January 29, 2017 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Painting waves. Sticking with it. I would start a creative project and if it didn’t immediately “work out” I would quit, thinking, “I can’t do this.” When I made my creative resolution 3 years ago, I suddenly felt more accountable. If I didn’t finish a project what would I write about? I began finishing the drawings and paintings I started. I even pulled out canvases long ago abandoned and finished them. Suddenly I had momentum and a building confidence.

Yesterday I began a painting of the ocean from a photo I took. I’m always excited and hopeful at the start. I tried to capture the different colors of the waves and it looked…awful. I almost took the painting and tossed it aside. It reminded me of those frustrating times when my vision and the painting in front of me didn’t match up and I would quit when I’d barely started. This time I persevered and continue to work on the painting. This is what I love about watercolor, that you build the layers up and work at the painting to transform it. As I worked I wondered what has changed from those days when I had piles of unfinished paintings?

What do I have now that I didn’t have then?

Determination – I want to make the painting work.
Dedication – I make time for painting almost every day, because it is important to me.
Confidence – I no longer accept that I do or don’t have the talent. Instead I know that if I continue to work I will be better than I was.
Experience – The more I paint the more I learn. I have a process and techniques that I use, and as I learn and try new things I add to this.
History – I have had paintings that I’ve deemed a success. This helps quiet the “I can’t do it.”
Knowledge that there usually is an ugly stage. It has to look bad before it looks good.
Lack of pressure – I don’t stress about the final result.
Enjoyment – I enjoy the process, of working at it, of learning with each painting.

Starting Can be the Hardest Part

January 20, 2017 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

I can write all about the benefits of creating every day, but there are some days where I’m busy, or sick, or just don’t feel like it.

So what to do then? If I really don’t have a second, or I am sick like last week, I put in extra time the next day. Usually I’ll squeeze in some time in the morning to “count” for the day before. When I just don’t feel like it, I try to push through and tell myself…

…just do a little. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece. I don’t have to follow the same process like the previous days. Maybe instead of painting, I’ll just do a pencil sketch, or an ink sketch, or just add details to a painting I haven’t finish.

Anything is progress. Starting can be the hardest part and once I tackle that – my mindset often changes and I make a lot more progress than I thought I would.

Today was one of those days. When I finally had spare time to paint, I didn’t want to, but the last two days were busy and I hadn’t done much, so I forced myself to get to work. I looked through my reference photos and decided to sketch the lifeguard chair. I figured sketching it would be progress. I liked my sketch and decided to add watercolor. My attitude totally changed and I was so glad I pushed myself to start.

A visit to the beach

January 3, 2017 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

We visited the beach on New Year’s Day. It was the perfect way to kick off my January “painting the beach” project. This is the beach I grew up just a few blocks from. Having the beach as our “backyard” was a special thing that instilled in me a love for the beach and the ocean. It’s no wonder it’s often the subject of my paintings.

It was a sunny but chilly day.

11 art supplies I can’t paint without!

December 30, 2016January 14, 2019 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

11artsupplies

Painting Essentials:

Canson Multimedia sketchbook. Love the thicker paper in this sketchbook. I can add watercolor without the pages buckling.
Fluid Cold Press watercolor paper. I especially love the square shape of this high quality thick watercolor paper!
Uniball signo 207 bold gel pen. I love how smooth these pens are when I want to add ink details to my paintings.
Palette with cover.
Painters tape – to tape down my paper
Grumbacher watercolor brush. Favorite sizes: 8, 6, 4, and 2
Van Gogh watercolor paints
Holbein Gouache mixing set of 5. I love adding the opaque look of gouache to my paintings!
Derwent drawing pencils. Especially with figures, I like to sketch in pencil before starting a painting.
Kneaded eraser. For erasing and leaving only faint lines when I begin to paint.
Paper towel – I have to have a piece of paper towel to suck water off the brush when I need a drier brush. Or to blot the brush after dipping in the water. It’s a good way to check the brush is clean.

Other Essentials:

iPad – I do everything on my iPad – google reference photos, take photos, write posts, create digital art, look through and post on Instagram, read WordPress blogs, and more. I made the investment when my Kindle cracked and it was the best thing I did. I couldn’t live without it!
ZXU Stylus pen – for drawing on the ipad. I use the apps Adobe Draw and Adobe Sketch because they link up with Photoshop and Illustrator on my desktop.

Other stuff in my supply tray:

Reeves watercolor pencils for adding details
Tombow markers for handletter

Recycled stuff:

Tray from a holiday gift “basket” to hold everything
Plastic egg container for mixing colors to keep the paints in my palette “pure”
Back of the watercolor paper pads – to tape down my paper so it doesn’t buckle when it gets wet
Recycled container (Ricotta or sour cream) for water
Cracked mug for my brushes. It was too pretty to throw away!

This post contains affiliate links to products I use and recommend. I earn a small commission whenever you buy using these links, at no additional cost to you. Thank you for supporting my blog!

2016 – My creative year in review

December 27, 2016December 27, 2016 | Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

As this year wraps up, what I’m most proud of is not a particular painting or illustration but that after some ups and downs, I’m finishing the year strong. I completed daily challenges in October (InkTober), November (World Watercolor Group’s food prompts), and December (my own Christmas countdown).

Oh and I’m also proud of my Nutcracker pin!

My plans for 2017

Beach book – more details on this later this week 😉
Another enamel pin – a leprechaun is in the works
A pattern a month. I designed a pattern a month in 2015 and it was a great motivator. I learned so much and want to continue to grow in the area of surface design. First up is to turn some of my Christmas countdown illustrations into new patterns.

What are your creative plans for 2017?