sketchbook

11 art supplies I can’t paint without!

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

11artsupplies

Painting Essentials:

  1. Canson Multimedia sketchbook. Love the thicker paper in this sketchbook. I can add watercolor without the pages buckling.
  2. Fluid Cold Press watercolor paper. I especially love the square shape of this high quality thick watercolor paper!
  3. Uniball signo 207 bold gel pen. I love how smooth these pens are when I want to add ink details to my paintings.
  4. Palette with cover.
  5. Painters tape – to tape down my paper
  6. Grumbacher watercolor brush. Favorite sizes: 8, 6, 4, and 2
  7. Van Gogh watercolor paints
  8. Holbein Gouache mixing set of 5. I love adding the opaque look of gouache to my paintings!
  9. Derwent drawing pencils. Especially with figures, I like to sketch in pencil before starting a painting.
  10. Kneaded eraser. For erasing and leaving only faint lines when I begin to paint.
  11. 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:

  1. Reeves watercolor pencils for adding details
  2. Tombow markers for handletter

Recycled stuff:

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

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Mrs. Claus

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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Day 21 in the Christmas countdown. She’s the woman behind the man in the red suit. I suspect she deserves a lot more credit than she gets. 😂

My childhood favorite Christmas movie is “The Year without a Santa Claus.” Mrs. Claus has a big role in this movie, as well as Mother Nature. Mother Nature’s sons Heat Miser and Mr. Snow were, in my opinion, the best part of the movie. What’s your favorite Christmas movie? My current favorite is “Elf.”

Christmas Lights

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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Day 16 in the Christmas countdown. These big lights remind me of when I was little. I remember my dad would have the strings of lights strewn across the living room, trying to find the one bad bulb that was affecting the whole string. Nowadays I think I’d chuck them and buy a new set. 😂

Join me in the Christmas countdown. Draw/paint – any medium is welcome! Tag adventmcr when posting.

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Christmas Pajamas and Cookies for Santa

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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Day 15 of the Christmas countdown. It’s freezing today. I wish I had a pair of footie pajamas to keep me warm! I made a last minute change to today’s prompt because I had cookies on the list twice. Hope I didn’t mess anyone up. So I included cookies in my painting too. I was simply going to have the girl in her Christmas pjs but then decided to add cookies for Santa, which led to a tree, which led to a snowy window. These things sometimes have a mind of their own. 😄

This prompt turned out to be a fun one. You have got to see what Marion and Teri each created. Just click their names to see.

Hope everyone is staying warm tonight!

Draw/paint along! Tag adventmcr when posting.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

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I don’t think I’ve ever painting so much food, as this month. Following along with the World Watercolor Group’s prompts, I’ve painting a 3 course meal, plus dessert!

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Except for fruit and some sweets, food is not something I normally draw and paint. It wouldn’t occur to me to paint a turkey! I’m only painting one this year. I’m not the one responsible for cooking the turkey. I’m making the sweet potatoes and baking pumpkin bread and a dessert.

I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving!

InkTober recap

| Eileen McKenna {my creative resolution}

Participating in InkTober was a great motivator. I got into the habit of working daily which was great. I didn’t follow the prompts but worked on what inspired me. I held off on adding Watercolor to my ink sketches, but towards the end I gave in. And purely by chance I got to meet the creator of InkTober Jake Parker!

I felt so good about doing all 31 days that this month I’m following the World Watercolor Group’s prompts. I’m glad to be back using Watercolor. Of course I’m still adding in some ink too!

Here are my favorites:

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