Sewing Machine from Let’s Make Art

February 21, 2021February 16, 2021 ~ sproatmeyer ~ Leave a comment

I spent the day with my Mom and we got our watercolors out. This is the Sewing Machine kit from Let’s Make Art and it was a good project to get back into creating.

This first one is my Mom’s sewing machine. She did an awesome job and the best part was she actually had one of these antique Singer sewing machines at her house that we could reference. I needed that because I wasn’t sure what all the items were on the back so seeing the hand crank in real life was very useful.

Peacock

April 7, 2020April 7, 2020 ~ sproatmeyer ~ Leave a comment

Here’s our second watercolor project that I did with my kids using the Let’s Make Art Peacock kit. I loved the colors and feathers and really wanted to be able to accomplish this. However, I think it might have been too much to tackle as a team but at least we got it done.

Amelia decided a more abstract version of the feathers would be needed and got out her watercolor markers to finish her masterpiece.

Lydia took her time to follow the instructions and had it almost perfect up to the last step then it got a little more watery than she wanted. Still looks cool though.

I think Cassandra was just interested in getting this one out of way but she did a great job following all the steps to complete hers.

Here’s my peacock – let’s just say it was good first attempt and I still have a lot to learn to master watercolors…. especially patience! LOL

Floral Truck

March 28, 2020March 28, 2020 ~ sproatmeyer ~ Leave a comment

Here are a few projects that I’ve been working on with my daughters as we learn how to watercolor together. These are kits from Let’s Make Art and we selected the Floral Truck to start with and shared the ink between us. There was still plenty left if we wanted to do it again.

This one was by Amelia and her interpretation of the project.

Painted by Lydia – she went with a more conservative truck load of flowers and made her truck more colorful.

This was done by Cassandra who wanted a a non-sentimental tag number and one type of flower.

Lastly this one is mine. Light blue and aqua colored old pick-up trucks remind me of my grandfather so this was a must have project for me. I added lost of rust to match the one he had. His had so much rust that there were holes in the wheel wells. Oh I loved that ruck.

Inspired by Danielle Donaldson

February 26, 2020March 8, 2020 ~ sproatmeyer ~ 3 Comments

The Art of Creative Watercolor by Danielle Donaldson is a book I’ve been working through and have enjoyed her whimsical style. Here are some more of her “Littles” and also followed up by one that I created on my own.

These were some of my favorite characters in the book. I did all the pencil work up front because I had a hard #2 pencil only at the time and it didn’t work to go back in after the watercolor was applied.

Here they are colored in rainbow order. I used Karin watercolor markers on Strathmore Hot Press Premium 140# paper. With these markers and the details, I’m finding I am enjoying the hot press paper more than cold press.

This last one was done from my imagination using the inspiration I had picked up from the book. It was colored on Arteza cold press 140# paper. The background was done with Winsor & Newton half pan travel watercolors and the characters and foliage was colored with Korin brush markers. I wasn’t able to control the color and water as easily on this paper but was able to play with some cold press techniques of mixing colors. The cat and mermaid tails were done in the metallic Korin brush markers.

Watercolor Pokemon

February 22, 2020March 6, 2020 ~ sproatmeyer ~ 3 Comments

Here’s the latest in my water coloring journey and clueless mentor to small pliable minds… this time the subject was Pokémon. But to be honest, I have no clue which ones unless it was one of the traditional classic starters. So in this case unknown with Bulbasaur sitting enjoy the night sky.

Mine is on the left and hers is on the right. I think she did an amazing job! We used Grumbacher Academy watercolor tubes on Strathmore cold press 140# paper.

Here’s another one we did together using Grumbacher Academy watercolor tubes. Mine is above and I used Strathmore cold press 140# paper and she used Strathmore hot press paper. The umbrella girl was inspired from another artist in color choices. The last part of the panel I gave up on because I was having a hard time with the white part of the waves. I’ll have to practice that another time.

Watercolor Practice

February 16, 2020February 4, 2020 ~ sproatmeyer ~ 1 Comment

I really have no clue on how to watercolor property but I’m studying and watching lots and lots of videos. It seems easy when I watch someone else do it but I haven’t found the right combination for me to make it work the way I want. Especially the wet on wet techniques where I see the colors spread it amazing details. Ah, but alas, at least someone in my house thinks I’m a pro and has asked me to teach her.