drawing – Page 2 – Karla's Cottage

Coloring page tips for a nice skin tone

By Karla Nathan / February 21, 2016

Beth pointed out to me that the coloring page with the Dowager was a little harder to do than some of my other pages. I had a feeling that the face would give people trouble and I was right. If you are trying to get good skin tones with markers, you really have to know what you are doing. I think it is much easier to use colored pencils for the skin.

Plus, I think the pictures have a lot more interesting look if they are done with a mixture of textures and style. I like to use markers, metallic inks, glitter pens, opaque pens, and colored pencils together.

First step- with a pale, brown pencil, lightly draw around the wrinkles, and in shadowed areas (under the chin, hat, and eye sockets).

Again, use a light touch, and fill in the face with a peachy tone pencil, including the lips.

Using a soft pink, add blush to the cheeks, much like you'd add makeup to your own face. Under the cheek bone and onto the apples of the cheek.

Color in the lips too.

Darker pink, or red, can be used on the inside of the lips, where the two meet.

I did the rest of my page with markers and inks. For the eyes, I used a lighter blue over the full irises, then a darker blue on the top half the irises, over the lighter blue. (Like the blob example) The left one is two colors, the right one is only the lighter blue at this point.

To make the eyes stand out, go over the pupil with black ink, then add dots of white opaque ink to the pupil and to the iris.

I also used the same pink pencil I'd done the blush with to make a single dot in the inside corner of each eye.

Simple, and easy. You don't have to be a portrait painter to make this face look natural.

I used a grey marker on her hair and eyebrow, then the white opaque ink pen over that, and then was ready to move on to her clothing and hat. I like to color the main areas before the background, personally.

In another post, I'll show you a tip on finishing the roses in the drawing.

If you'd like to do your own, these pictures are included in the Farewell to Downton swap. Details here.

Speaking of Downton, I'm off to meet Beth and have yet another Downton adventure! This one is with Deb Hodge, who I have always admired and wanted to meet. We are attending her retreat on Coronado Island. But first, I'm spending some Cali time with Sugarwings and my handsome husband. Please do sign up for the swap, and I'll catch up with the lists and record keeping when I return.

Art Journalling tips on using markers, metallic ink, and opaque white for coloring pages, doodling, and drawing

Books, drawing, how-to projects, paintings

By Karla Nathan / September 3, 2015

I've been working on a coloring page to add to the Book of Mysteries journal that I'm starting to build kits for (will let you know when those book kits are ready).

When I finish a coloring page, I can't wait to start coloring it in! And it is a good idea to do that, because I find some oddities here and there that might need fixed before sharing it. I also like to have some examples of how the pages look when completed with color, to give other artists an idea of what to do with the blank pages.

Of course, who could stop at just one? These are ADDICTING. I spent all day yesterday drawing, cutting and pasting, then tinting the pages. Here is one in more traditional Halloween colors.

And this one is fall toned.

I thought I'd break down the steps to show you how I layer the markers and pens in case you'd like to make one.

First step? Light colors as an undercoat.

The more layers the better. I used a soft blue with pale purple over the letters on 'Spells'.

Around the word, I painted in a silver glitter, with my favorite new tools, the Stella Wink glitter pen.

Over that, I used a metallic ink in orchid to do a border of dots. Then, I redrew all the black lines, and used an opaque white pen to add some highlights to the letters.

Using the white pen to highlight makes a big difference, see how I've used it on the broom too? Over the pale yellow, I drew some brown lines as shadows, then went over the whole straw area with a darker yellow, and added white highlights over that.

The orchid metallic pen dots on the frame for 'Spells' are repeated on the word 'Hex'. I like to repeat colors or patterns throughout the piece.

The Wink pens have a thin, brush point and pack a lot of sparkle. I did a layer of the copper over the previously laid down bright green on the word 'Dreams'.

A darker green went over the leaves, and the soft blue was lightly used in the background.

With a variety of metallic pens, I accented the word 'Dream' , the yellow banner/swirl/thingy, and the stars.

All of these were re-outlined in black afterwards.

It is smarter to redo the black outlining at the end, so you don't smear it, but I have a bad habit of using it on each area as I work on it, then I have to be really careful with the next step. I'd say do the black last!

I have gone over the soft blue with pale yellow. Here and there, not everywhere, I used a blending pen. The blending pen was used much more heavily over the orange, where I added it along the yellow under 'Signs and Omens.'

Notice that there are some skips, where I don't completely cover the background? Some of the paper shows through. This is an old, watercolor trick, and it adds sparkle to the page. If you cover the page 100%, it can look flat. Those little skips give the page some life.

Over the yellow banner, I then drew on some Gelly Roll Stardust in clear, and rubbed it with my fingertip. I adore that look, it is something my Sissy showed me years ago and I've used it a billion times since then. The Stella Wink pens have a similar look, but don't blend as well, they go on more like paint. I love them both, but if you want just a hint of glimmery shimmer in small spots, you can't beat the Stardust in clear.

Also, using a mix of distress markers, opaque markers, and metallic pens, gives the picture a lot of depth.

For the moon face, I first washed soft blue over the shadow areas with a Tim Holtz distress marker, basically following the drawn lines. I colored in the irises with it too. Then used a dark blue over the top half of the irises. Over the entire face,(avoiding the eyeballs, but covering the eyelids) I used the opaque, white marker. I made a dot with that over the bottom right hand corner of each iris (same spot, both eyes). All of the black was re-outlined, and the pupils were blackened, then with the white opaque pen, I added two little dots to them.

Re-outlining with the black marker makes a giant difference in the completed piece. I usually work with an art marker, but found that going over metallic pens kills an expensive fine point marker, and the best tool is a uniball or plain, old, ink pen.

Little details can give you big pay off. I like the way the black and white check really pops of the the page, but one more step…

Of drawing a line through the center of the checks with the opaque white pen on this page, adds dimension. I did the same with the purple letters.

On this one, I drew the banner/swirl/thingy white and accented it with the clear Stardust pen. The same white opaque marker was used over the purple letters in 'Dream' and over the background colors of soft blue and light blue.

For this raven, I used grey marker, and the Wink marker in silver, outlined it again in black. The beak is two layered yellows, with white highlights. The black,beady eye gets a double dot of white too.

(Notice that I'm not all that careful with my edges? Once the piece is done, I cut it out, that cleans the border up)

These are formatted to print out to fit into the journal I'm designing. One blank page, ready to color, will be in each kit.They will also be available as a digital download so that you can print out and color as many as you'd like. You'll be able to find them in my Etsy shop.

They start like this. I used pages from a 1930s fortune telling book to make the collage underneath the drawing.

You can also find this Snow White coloring page in the Etsy shop too.

I colored this one the same way as the Spells page, using lotsa layers, and a mix of markers, metallic inks, opaque markers and pens, as well as a blending marker. I've recently discovered those and really like them.

For this tree, I used gray distress marker, with brown over it, in most spots, then blended it and added white pen.

Notice that the trees behind it are just light gray? When doing a landscape, please keep in mind that the further away something is, the lighter it looks.

The trees along the horizon are done with very soft pastels, and the foreground is done in brighter colors.

I used the blending marker very heavily on the grass. With big areas, it is important to not have lots of scratchy looking marker lines.

Her eyemakeup is done with the Stella Wink marker, but I think I liked her better without it.

For the black hair, I first colored the waves in blue and purple, then layered with gray. That way, it still has depth and isn't a flat color.

And you can still see the hand drawn lines that make up the waves. The lace is light gray near the neck, with opaque white marker over it, then outlined in black again. The little bird is blue on top, pink on the bottom, white opaque marker over the pink and the line where the two colors meet. That opaque marker is a wonderful way to blend.

These tips are great for any coloring pages, or also for your own doodling or drawing project.

Remember, layer, layer, layer, for a more arty look.

Coloring Pages for adults, fairy tales and birds

drawing, Etsy Goodies, Hand painted, paintings

By Karla Nathan / July 19, 2015

I've been hearing a lot about coloring pages for adults lately. And last week, in the Parade magazine was this article about them.

Over the last few years, I've been doing what I call "doodle pages" and including them with journal classes and swaps. Most of mine are done over collaged, vintage text pages, and some are actual pages of tips and how to's on how to make your own. I still have a couple of those kits left here. I also have that info and the pages to download in my online, "Creating an Art Journal" class.

When I was working on these pages for my Birdsong 5 kits, I was enamoured with coloring and had to stop myself from staying at the kitchen table and coloring one page after another, over and over again. I told myself that I was making "examples" for the class…

Yea, right.

I was hooked on the markers and ink. I was an avid color-er as a kid and apparently, that is not something that you outgrow.

I figure I can't be the only one, and have heard friends talking about coloring pages, listened to a story on NPR about it, then when I saw it in Parade, I knew it was as addictive and fun for others as it is for me.

So, I've added a pair of the collage background, bird themed pages to Etsy.

And I reworked the sketch for this painting to make it "coloring friendly". Which involved printing the sketch, and removing all the shading, redrawing the black outlines sharper, and using white ink to cover up some areas, then scanning it again, printing it over, and doing that same process again, until all of my lines were the way I wanted them to be and were easy to follow for anyone to fill in.

I probably should have just started over from scratch instead of spending so much time redoing this page, but this picture of Snow White has a special place in my heart. And honestly, I wanted to color one myself….

So far, I haven't had a chance to do that. Things have been busy around the cottage. Just a typical stuff, like a roof caving in at my son's house, and all of his belongings covered in black mold spores, so that he had to move out and move here temporarily. It has been rough on his family, but I'm glad that we have plenty of space for them here while they are unsettled and have no roof.

And lucky too, that we have an extra garage that we don't need to park in for summertime so they can store their stuff in it, as well as a big yard to spread out a tarp and let all of their belongings bleach in the sunshine. They spritzed it all with vinegar and let the sun cure the mold spores. And are now waiting to see if the landlord will release them from their lease.

Dewdrop is coming back this week, and Sugarwings was very worried that she would be upset when she heard about what happened to her bedroom. It was sweet of her to think of her sister's reaction.

On the other hand, it was a bit selfish of me to be thinking, "Oh goody, we get all the little girls here, living with us again!!"

But back to coloring…if you like coloring too, I have two fairy tale themed coloring sheets available as well as the birdie ones- right here. Each pair is $3, and a digital download that you save to your computer and can print out at 5×7" or 8×10" as many times as you'd like.

If you are anything like me, you'll be printing out multiples and coloring them over and over again, because you never get the same result twice, and it is a relaxing, creative little hobby.

I hope to have more added in the next few weeks. These are fun to make, as well as to color!

Planning? Novel concept, but hopefully a good one!

drawing, flowers, paintings

By Karla Nathan / April 5, 2014

I've had a little more peat pot action going on here in the studio. These are those larger pots, about twice the size as the regular ones.

I'd decorated a few, figuring out how I wanted to do the pots for the Fairy Swings project for Birdsong, then made some extra to sell in the Boutique, just because they are fun to make. Then, I started in painting and glittering these bigger ones and adding ruffled crepe paper and vintage trims to them too.

But I stopped at two and decided I really needed to get the stuff done that HAD to be done, not just what sounded like fun to do.

It has just been too cold to work on my banner for A Downton Affaire!! I have to hang the canvas on my garage wall and before that could happen, I had to clean the garage. Because I didn't want to get any of the grit from built up salt and dirt on the floor on the canvas as I spread it out to hang it. And Spring is simply not cooperating with us.

Finally, we had a day warm enough to hook up the new power washer (Oh My Gosh, how did I ever live without one of these in my life?????? It's addicting, I cleaned EVERYTHING with it)

Now, the canvas is hung and ready to paint. But it got cold and rainy again! I'll need the garage door open while painting for good light, so I still have to wait for some sunshine to get the work done.

But at least I have a plan. I started a small painting to get some ideas on what I'd do for the large one. Here is the background of it. After looking through hundreds of pictures of Highclere Castle and its gardens, as well as even more pictures of English country gardens, I think I have a good plan.

Here is a corner of it.

I'm thinking about using the small painting to make my tags for vendor night. Or even cards to sell? What do you think?

Now, I'm itching to get started on the big banner. It's smaller this year than the one I did last year, only 10'

The one for last year's Enchanted Affaire was about 6' longer. And it was one that I did to keep for myself, but it was sooooo big, I didn't have a wall large enough for it.

So, it is now cut up and hanging in the girls' room. They love it, and so do I. I spent weeks on that piece, and a lot of love went into making it.

The one for Downton will be much smaller, not as tall, not as long. It should go quicker because I took the time to do a sketch, which isn't typical of me. But last year's painting got carried away. I painted and painted and painted, covering up the background with the foreground, changing colors and adding things, it was crazy. I felt like I was lost in that forest at times. It had become my second home, imagining myself out in those trees.

Hopefully, my planning ahead will stop my meandering through the woods in this scene. I worked a lot of it out on paper instead. Now, I just have to keep my fingers crossed for good weather, because I do not have weeks and weeks to get it done.

Please wish me luck!

Kansas vs Maui

drawing, paintings, photography, Travel, vintage paper/collage art

By Karla Nathan / February 3, 2014

Happy February! Man, what a cooooooold, brrrr-ey winter. I was so lucky to get away to Hawaii and escape the worst of it, but I still feel like I've been a human popsicle most of the season. Some of it is because of the propane shortage, the price of heating our house more than doubled, and I've been keeping careful track of thermostat settings.

Geez, I thought Hawaii was expensive. At least a vacation is a memorable, relaxing, and worthwhile way to spend too much money.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love a cozy, warm house and know it's important. But I'd sure rather pay half as much to do it.

Normally, we prepay for our gas for the entire year way back in August, to get a set price. If I'd had the foresight to do that last summer, we wouldn't be paying double now. But I'd still be cutting back and turning down the thermostat, since there is a shortage. It's scary to think of running out! Our firewood supply is low too.

Maybe we should turn the heat to a minimum, pack up and fly back to paradise, spend the money there instead of on propane!

I wish.

For now, I'll enjoy my album from Maui. I printed the finger painting water color sketches I'd done on my iPad, and used those in the book along with a few mementos and some pictures.

The ap doesn't allow a lot of detail, so printing them, and adding hand drawn elements and words with ink really gave them the punch they needed.

Here is one directly from the ap. I don't think it needs any further detail, Dorothy Rosebud's furry mess of a hairdo is bad enough without more clarification. But the shaggy layer is helping her keep warm, so it will have to stay til either spring comes or the price of propane comes down!

Doodling a day away

dogs, drawing, paintings

By Karla Nathan / January 29, 2014

Since I've been back from my vacation, I haven't had much time to play with my finger painting watercolor ap on my old iPad (still can't get it to work on iPad Air).

But one day, when there was no one home but me, I took a sloth day. A complete and total day of doing nothing. Jammies all day long, heck, I barely left my bedroom. I doodled on the ap, watched tv (3 episodes of Downton, plus a few hours more of other things I was behind on), and took naps.

I even dug around in my purse to find a battered protein bar so I didn't have to walk to the kitchen for food.

Everyone needs one of those days sometimes, don't they? A day that just kind of drifts away as you relax.

Later, when Sugarwings saw the fairy costume on the dress form picture, she asked me to do a drawing of a fairy in it so she could color it in. I've printed it for her so she can take it to the studio to paint on. Please don't look too closely at the fingers… it's a quickie pic for a kiddo.

During my nothing day, I was lazily looking through facebook and saw a photo of a beautiful little Bichon who lives with my friend, Holly, and decided to draw her from the picture.

Soon, my doodles turned to poodles. This is Guncle Randy's pup.

And his Bichon, Bella. Funny how different two dogs of the same breed can look. Not only the hairdo that the groomer gave them but eye and nose color too. Of course, I think my 3 dorkies look nothing alike, but when visitors come over, they can't always tell them apart.

While I was still in a canine mood, I drew Karen's elegant Satine from another FB page.

Sometimes, it can be frustrating to try to get detail on this ap. I've learned that bigger, more simple things are easier to do. Tiny details are impossible. (as proved by the fairy finger scribbles)

And also, I should just consider it cartooning, not a real painting. I keep it quick, light hearted and fun.

Hmmm, I wonder when I get another sloth day? Those are few and far between, but well worth waiting for. Although I paid for my day of doing nothing. Somehow, the old barn cat got into the office and made a horrid mess while I was busy doing nothing and not leaving my bedroom. Ugh. Double ugh.

Hawaiin decadence

drawing, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 25, 2014

Everything is pretty in Kaanapuli Beach. The builders have done a good job of complimenting the natural beauty of their surroundings.

Our balcony over looked this koi pond, and between the waterfalls and the sound of the ocean, I slept with a smile on my face all week.

Well, it felt like it to me, but in reality, I probably slept like I always do, with my mouth wide open and drooling while snoors boomed out of me. My poor husband had to sleep with ear plugs and missed the sounds of the ocean.

This is a closeup of the side walk at Mama's Fish House.

I wish I'd taken more photos there, but I was just too overwhelmed. It was our first stop after the airport and I was doing a Dorothy, leaving gray, dull, boring, COLD Kansas and stepping into a world of technicolor explosions of tropical scents, sounds of the waves, and bright flowers. I was googly eyed and gawking at everything, just like Dorothy when she stepped into Oz.

Our flight was much better than hers, though. We came in on a nice, big, new jet, with a tv at every seat, and unlimited movies. Lots of leg room, comfy seats, and pretty good food too. Much better than a spinning house and squashed witch.

(And much better than our flight home on an old, crowded plane with no tvs to enchant me. It's bad enough to have to leave paradise, seems like United could provide a better way to get home, I felt doubly bad about leaving when I stepped into our transportation)

While Mama's Fish House was some of the best food I have ever had in my life, and such a perfect welcome to Maui, this little roadside stand that we visited later in the week was a stand out too.

We sat in folding chairs, shared $5 worth of tacos, and talked with a local guy who had a fat little chihuahua with him. Very entertaining and interesting.

I was pretty happy with walks on the beach, crafty things to do, Kona coffee on the balcony, and sunsets to watch. The whale watching trips and decadent dining were luxury bonuses that were so nice, they kind of threw me and my midwestern miserliness careful ways for a loop. Oh, but I revelled in them and over looked that little voice that spoke up when I saw price tags.

I hear that we missed the worst cold snap in decades while we were away. Staying warm while pipes froze at home was worth any cost.

And getting away from the gray bleary skies and icy sidewalks in January recharged my soul and will help me get through the rest of the season of gloom here in Kansas. I'm not much of a winter person, and a getaway was just what I needed to deal with some awful family issues that greeted us on our return.

We had some amazing meals while we were there, the restaurant we went to on Terry's birthday, served all fresh veggies raised on its own organic farm, and fish from the nearby shore. (What a place to have a birthday, huh?)

While dining, we watched the performers warming up for the luau next door.

Here is a birthday card I made for her on my finger painting ap.

We did some hiking too, not as much this time as I had thought we might, but enough to see some lovely sites.

Lovely, indeed.

I sure miss it!

Maui Whale, Rainbow, Dolphin, and Cloud Watching

drawing, family, paintings, Travel

By Karla Nathan / January 15, 2014

Yes, my eyes are closed, but I still love this photo of us. It was such a special evening. I swear, Hawaii is special, no matter what, but wow. This sail boating dinner cruise was perfection.

My husband's sis, Terry, treated us to a trip on the Allii Nui

I expected a nice evening, but wasn't prepared for the total luxury and deliciousness of the boat. Great food, beautiful and spacious surroundings, whales leaping up a few feet from the boat to surprise us while we ate, frosty foo foo drinks, and of course, the best company. Terry, Dale and Rich are a fine set of companions.

We took another whale watching trip earlier in the week, and saw quite a few blows, fins, waves, and splashes.

But my very favorite part were the Hawaiian Spinner Dolphins. They have pink tummies, and leap into the air while doing pirouettes. We were followed by a few of them on our way back from spying on whales. Then, on my last day at the beach, a huge flock (school, pod, bunch?) of the pink bellied cuties, swam along the shore to tell me goodbye, while showing off their jumping skills and twirls.

Both of our trips out to whale peek, were on smaller trips, with few passengers. This boat was only half full, so was the sunset cruise on the catamaran.

Seriously, though, even if we hadn't seen any whales, the scenery is so lush, it's worth the trip out on the water.

Heck, you don't have to take a boat to be surrounded by beauty. This is the land of never ending rainbows.

Here is the view off our balcony one morning. It was a partial rainbow and a gold glow across the mountains. The rainbow seemed to be so colorful that it just couldn't contain itself and had to escape from the confines of its arc.

This is looking the other way from the balcony.

Every day, I did a sketch with my Ipad ap, Hello Watercolor. I was definitely hooked on that plaything. It's such a quick and easy, no muss way to paint. My plan is to print all the images, embellish them and make a travel journal with them.

It was a lucky choice to take two iPads with me. The one I got for Christmas, that was new, fast, and held a good charge, but didn't support the watercolor ap, and the older one with the painting toy on it. My husband left his iPad in the seat pocket of the airplane, and he was able to read books and play Words with Friends on my extra one during the trip.

He also lost his prescription sunglasses in the ocean. Seems like Hawaii is expensive enough without these additional costs. And today we realized that we are missing his brand new workout pants too. Unless they are lurking in one of the suitcases that were put away, they sure aren't in the piles of laundry I finished up after getting home.

My guess is that they are hanging on the back of the bathroom door of the hotel. Oh well, at least they didn't cost as much as sunglasses.

And he is such a hunk, I couldn't be mad at him.

By the way, Lenscrafters shops seem to be anywhere you happen to be when glasses get lost, and they can replace them in an hour. Unless your prescription is more than a year old. Like his was, even though it was only by a few days…. But there are doctors there too. Still a quick fix, just another-gulp- $100 to shell out.

I'd hate for him to have missed any of the beauty around us. I'm glad we were able to replace the glasses.

I'll have more pics from the trip coming up. For now, I'd better start tackling all of those holiday decorations that are still dangling forlornly in my studio. They are ready to go back to their box till next year, they are looking a bit tired.

Hello Watercolor

drawing, paintings

By Karla Nathan / January 13, 2014

For Christmas, I got a new Ipad Air! I was afraid to use it till I got a cover to keep it safe, and my husband kept teasing me and calling it "My Precious" in a very Gollum sort of way.

Before I got it up and running, I was still using my old one. On that, I downloaded an app called Hello Watercolor where you can paint with your fingertips. And it reacts like REAL paint.

When I finally got brave enough to use the new Ipad, even before the case arrived from Amazon (what bravery!), I opened this app on it, excited to think about painting with it from the balcony in Hawaii.

But it didn't work. The timing was lagging and I couldn't get the sketch right.

I tried restarting, reloading, redoing, all that. I wonder if it just isn't compatible to the newer version? I'm writing this before I leave on my trip, so I am not sure yet what I'll do.

Either I need to pack art supplies, or two Ipads…. One to play with this app on and one to use for everything else. Seems decadent to me. I can't take only the older one because it is really slow to recharge. With a 6 hour flight, I hate to be left bookless, and its battery goes fast.

We are calling that older one the "Family Ipad" so the girls can use it for games. I dont' want to just give it to them, I still like to be able to call the shots and teach them rules on how to handle it so it isn't mistreated or cracked. But it will be mostly them using it, and NOT using my new one.

I like the idea of having my very own Ipad that I won't need to share, one with no smeary fingerprints on it!

But if my new case doesn't arrive for the shiny, bright, all mine Ipad Air, I'm not chancing taking it on the trip with me. It's too Precious.

Hopefully, all works out and I can paint away on my new one while watching the sunset on the ocean. I'll let you know when I get back. I'd love to have watercolor finger paint sketches to bring home and make a book out of.

Unless of course, a shark gets me….

Mixed media with watercolor tips and tricks

dogs, Dorkies (Yorkshire Terrriers), drawing, free images, holiday decor, how to's

By Karla Nathan / January 3, 2013

Well, the holiday season is winding down, time for getting on with the New Year. If you aren't all Santa-ed out, I've got some how tos for the painting I used as our Christmas card this year.

First step is the drawing, in pencil on watercolor paper.

Second, I draw with ink over my sketch, then erase the pencil marks.

Since I want the background to have a soft, faraway look, I don't draw it in ink, only pencil.

Next, I wash in the sky and shadows of the snow, carefully keeping the drawing in the foreground clean and dry. Keep in mind that the color is deeper at the top, and gets lighter toward the horizon line, along with a touch of blush tone above the ground and trees.

Before the sky dries, I add color to the tree line and a bit to the shadows of the pines.

When the sky is starting to dry, and the paper shows a slight sheen of dampness, I sprinkle salt lightly over it.

As the paint finishes drying, the salt absorbs moisture, along with that, color. It makes a pretty snow speckled look.

I let dry completely and brush off salt before proceeding any further.

Here is where the watercolor cheating comes in, by adding white paint. (so I just call the painting, "mixed media") First, I paint in the bare branch trees, with faded browns and purples. Never deep or harsh or bright colors for a background, they have to look faded and distant.

I do save the white of the bare paper, as you should in watercolor, but I really like a touch of pure white over it for even more depth. I use white acrylic paint for snow and highlights.

Next, the foreground gets painted. When working with watercolors, the trick is in knowing that the color flows wherever the paper is wet. You have to be careful to paint small areas at a time, with drawings like this, and not do adjacent areas until the first section dries. So, I wet a segment, such as this part of the jacket, and drop in bright red. While still wet, I add darker red along the shadowed areas.

I would do the other side of the jacket, waiting for that to dry before painting the sleeve or belt, since they are right next to what I just painted. If I were to paint the belt right away, the red paint would run right into it, as well as some of the black flowing into the red, where that was still wet. Water pulls the color.

Black is always more interesting if you mix it yourself, using a dark brown and dark blue, never use black watercolor paint.

When the painting is done, I dip a wet brush into white acrylic paint and flick it over the picture for more snow.

I take my finished paintings to a copy shop and have them shrunk down and printed four per page to make into Christmas cards.

The trick then is to get them signed and mailed…. I am afraid I didn't send a single Christmas card this year!! After all this work.

My husband did send some out to his co-workers and we used a few on bags of home made candy that we gave away along with a bottle of wine to some friends.

My husband works in the golf industry, so likes the club swinging Santa. I was more into puppies for this season. After Twinkle's nine babies in August, I thought a pup was a good theme for family cards. But once again, I didn't get these mailed either.

At least the cards got made. Maybe I can add hearts and call it a Valentine? No, I think I just missed the boat this season and am out of the time window to mail anything this Christmassy.

Let's call this a belated Christmas card from me to you. You can click on the image to open in a larger window, save to your computer and print it.