Month: July 2016

Watercolor Figure Painting Fun

/ Jodi / 65 Comments

painting people

 

A couple weeks ago on a lazy Sunday afternoon, I found some fun little tutorials by Bob Davies on YouTube and can’t wait to find time to try more.   Bob really has a fun technique that is super easy to watch and learn FOR FREE via YouTube on watercoloring simple figures of people.

This was really my first try of doing any type of people, and I had so much fun!  You pretty much start with an upside down triangle with a circle on the top and go from there.  How cool is that!?!  And the interesting thing is how little you really have to do to create something our mind recognizes as a person without even adding ANY facial features.

I plan to watch more of Bob Davies tutorials and recommend them to anyone starting out in watercolor.  He has short little lessons on boats and trees and landscapes and just about anything you can imagine.

It appears he is one of the co-founders of Art Tutor – an online video art school you can do at your own pace.

If you are out there somewhere reading this Bob Davies – THANK YOU for your generosity in sharing your talent.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#WorldWatercolorMonth

Oh Daisy

/ Jodi / 61 Comments
10 x 14 Watercolor Daisies in a Field - Gesso Base on 300# Arches Cold Press

10 x 14 Watercolor Daisies in a Field – Gesso Base on 300# Arches Cold Press

I’ve always thought of daisies
as smiles from Mother Nature.

Hope these make you smile.

Happy #WorldWatercolorMonth!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Best-Ever Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps & Lettuce Art

/ Jodi / 44 Comments

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

Last week, I made these YUMMMMMMMMMY Chicken Lettuce Wraps.   They are so delicious filled with fresh vegetables and chicken coated in a sauce with a little kick and a peanuty hint.  Wrapping them in crunchy lettuce just makes everything SING together.

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps 2

I am sure this recipe can be adapted with changes to any veggies you like and making the sauce as spicy or sweet as you like.  However you do it, I believe you are going to really enjoy these.   They are nice for a light summer supper and elegant enough to serve to guests.

And since it is July and #WorldWatercolorMonth, I thought I’d try painting some lettuce from my garden to share with this recipe.

lettuce watercolor

Watercolor Lettuce Leaf -140# Arches Hot Press – Lemon Yellow, Green Gold, Sap Green, Burnt Umber

Here’s the recipe.  Enjoy!

Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps*

Ingredients:Asian Chicken Lettuce Wraps

1 head romaine, butter, bib, or iceberg lettuce to get approximately 8 large leaves (whatever kind you like best)

 Filling:

  • 2 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1 1/2 lbs chicken breast, diced
  • 1/2 cup sweet or green onion, diced
  • 1/2 cup diced red bell peppers
  • 1/2 cup matchstick carrots
  • 1/2 cup diced celery
  • 1 cup diced fresh pineapple

Sauce:

  • 4 Tbsp hoisin sauce
  • 2 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 Tbsp rice wine vinegar
  • 1 Tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 Tbsp chili garlic paste
  • 1/4 tsp ground ginger
  • 3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper
  • 1 tsp dry basil
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1/4 cup water
  • Add at end:
    • 1/4 cup smooth peanut butter
    • 1/4 cup peanuts

Directions:

Dice and chop all Filling ingredients.

Whisk together all Sauce ingredients in a medium bowl except peanut butter and peanuts. Set aside.

Heat olive oil in a large wok or skillet over medium high heat. Add chicken and cook just until no longer pink, about 3 mins. Add onions, peppers, carrots and celery and saute for 2 more mins. Stir in pineapple chunks and Sauce and bring to a boil.  Reduce to a simmer until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter until smooth.   Top with peanuts.

To serve, fill lettuce leaves with desired amount of filling and enjoy!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi
*Slightly adapted from another amazing recipe by Jen @ CarlsbadCravings.com! 

A Hummingbird in Watercolor – Draw A Bird Day

/ Jodi / 74 Comments
hummingbird watercolor 8 x 10 300# Arches Cold Press

Hummingbird Watercolor 8 x 10 300# Arches Cold Press

For #DrawABirdDay this month, I decided to paint a Hummingbird – the smallest bird of all.

I adore the sweet little hummers that visit our backyard every summer.

I take special care to assure their feeder is full of fresh nectar each week as I know they count on and need it to support their ultra-fast metabolism.  I have read that their heart rate can reach as high as 1,260 beats per minute, and they have a breathing rate of 250 beats per minute, even at rest.  During flight, oxygen consumption per gram of muscle tissue is about ten times higher than that measured in elite human athletes.

Amazingly, these tiny birds fly all the way from Mars, PA to Mexico, the Caribbean Islands or Central America every winter and return each Spring.

After I painted this, I realized I had painted one about a year ago, shortly after I took up watercolor.  I recall thinking my hummer was one of my best paintings I had done at the time as I had only been painting for a few months.  Looking back, I still like it, and I am also surprised at how different the two look.  I can’t decide which I like better.  I question if my art has even improved over the past year.

One thing is for sure, the splatter is one thing I have always loved!  🙂  I believe my strokes are more confident, my use of white space more defined, and my splatters a bit more refined and controlled.

Another thing I know for sure….  I am having FUN!  Painting to me is relaxing.  It is a way to unwind after a stressful workday or energize an early morning.

If you have ever thought about giving watercolor or any kind of painting a try, DO IT!  Discover that inner artist just bursting to express your individual creativity.  You will never have a dull, boring moment again in your life.  You will always have something fun to do.  You will always have a way to express yourself.  You will always be able to create something beautiful to someone.

Happy #WorldWatercolorMonth!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Geraniums on the Cranium

/ Jodi / 36 Comments
Watercolor 5x7 potted geraniums

Watercolor 5×7 potted geraniums

Our southern-exposed deck always welcomes potted geraniums in the summer time.  They flourish in the heat and sunshine, and they flower prolifically all summer long until the first nip of Autumn’s frost.

I love the pop of bright color they add to all the beautiful browns and greens in our surrounding woods the deck overlooks.

Here’s a quick little 5×7 splash of watercolor potted geraniums inspired by my view on the deck for today’s #WorldWatercolorMonth painting.

Happy Day!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

A Slice of Pineapple in Watercolor

/ Jodi / 69 Comments
pineapple slice

Watercolor Pineapple Slice 8 x 10 140# Hot Press Arches

I had so much fun painting my pineapple for my Be Like A Pineapple post about a week ago, that I wanted to do pineapple again.

This time I decided to do a juicy slice.

Pineapple is such a wonderful summertime fruit.   It is delicious to eat all by itself, but it also pairs well with so many things – like the Pineapple Blueberry Salsa recipe I shared last month that I made to go with Fish Tacos.  It’s delicious in rice and chicken dishes (like my Crock Pot Hawaiin BBQ Chicken Wraps with Pineapple Slaw), fruit salads, in upside down and Hummingbird Cake (oh do I love that!), and frozen in sorbet and sherbet.

What is your favorite way to eat pineapple?

I painted this pineapple slice on Arches Hot Press like I did the other as I love how fluid it allows the watercolor paint to flow when painting this luscious fruit.  The colors I used were Lemon Yellow, Azo Yellow, Cadmium Yellow, New Gamboge, Raw Sienna, Burnt Umber, Green Gold and Sap Green.

Have a sweet day!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#WorldWatercolorMonth

The Colors of Summer – In Watercolor

/ Jodi / 46 Comments
orange and yellow zinnia 5x7 watercolor 140# Arches Cold Press

orange and yellow zinnia 5×7 watercolor 140# Arches Cold Press

Some of you may remember a photo I shared of the first day of Summer of an Orange Zinnia I have on my back deck that I called The Colors of Summer.

A few of you suggested I should try watercolor painting it, so here it is…

The Colors of Summer in Watercolor.

Hope you are feeling the sunshine and warmth of Summer – if not where you live – at least in this little painting.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#WorldWatercolorMonth

 

Lake Park Bash 2016

/ Jodi / 49 Comments

flags and roses

Happy Fourth of July to the USA!

flags

We are relaxing today after a fun-filled weekend

flag centerpieces

at the Second Annual Lake Park Bash

flag pallet

hosted by the the best ever “hood”

da hood

in Conneaut Lake, PA…

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Look at this crew in their red, white, and blue

lake park gang

from Lake Park Way!

lake park way

Whether by land or by sea…

lake park landing

a fun time was a guarantee!

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A photo booth welcomed guests

fb

and hosts alike.

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Some of us were silly…

pb 1

pb 3

pb12

an others were very pretty.

pb 2

pb 10

pb 7

pb 8

pb 11

pb 6

Friends and family

pb 4

and my most specialiast of all ladies.  ❤

pb 5

There were refreshing drinks

beer

sangria

wine

greenhouse drinks

because the cutest mixologists/most generous hosts/sweetest family ever made sure!

Nik and Mike

There was food galore…

food line 1

food line 2

with lots of meat…

meat

food chicken

food chicken 2

food line 3

and of course there were also

food desserts

plenty of treats!

food desserts cookies

food eating

To work  play it off

hot rod

there where games a plenty…  Like Twister

twister

and life-sized Kerplunk

kids noah kerplunk

and Jenga

jenga

and corn hole

corn hole

and Bocci Ball to name a few.

bocci

bocci 2

bocci 3

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There was also music

music

kids music

and young ones to make life bright.

kids

kids mason

kids running

All were winners

twister winner

on a gorgeous Saturday.

eating

And when the sun set

greenhouse night

the bonfires lit and the sparklers twinkled

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while fireworks glowed and banged and shined.

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And then since one day was just not enough…

there were bloody marys and screwdrivers with the next morning’s coffee

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and a shared breakfast of pancakes with blueberries and chocolate chips

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and scrambled eggs and bacon and sausage.

morning after breakfast

morning after breakfast 3

morning after breakfast 2

The Lake Park Bash was a real holiday treat!  Thanks to all that made it so sweet!

aerial

Hope you are enjoying –
wherever you are –
the special moments to cherish.
Reach for a star!

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

Hope Your Fourth of July is a Splash!

/ Jodi / 32 Comments
watercolor fireworks 5x7 fourth of july

watercolor fireworks 5×7 fourth of july

Happy Independence Day!

Not much time for painting this weekend since we are busy celebrating, but had to at least splash a little red, white and blue (with a touch of quinacridone gold too) for #WorldWatercolorMonth!

watercolor abstract fourth of july flag 5x7

watercolor abstract fourth of july flag 5×7

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

The Answer is Blowing in the Wind

/ Jodi / 51 Comments
Flower seed pods blowing in the wind watercolor in violet and raw sienna

Flower seed pods blowing in the wind watercolor in violet and raw sienna

In case you forgot…
In case you were looking…
In case you are wondering…

Just remember

the answer, my friend,
is blowing
in the wind.

Just look for it.
Just feel it.
Don’t complicate it.

Cheers & Hugs,
Jodi

#WorldWatercolorMonth