"You Can Do It! ART" Blog » Painting Ideas

Paint your Dreams! Explore the Possibilities!

Marilee — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:48:35 +0000

I’ve certainly had a great time painting illustrations for my children’s book!

Kandu and Toucans Mix Colors in the Magic Meadow illustration link

Little did I know how absorbed I would become in this project! I hadn’t recently pictured myself doing this instead of “grown-up” painting, but I’m finding it is an invigorating challenge and great joy. I’ve always loved and collected children’s books for their imaginative art and colorful pictures. A few times I’ve created cartoon-like, childlike cards and even some small paper books for special events, but just for one-person viewing. Now my grand wish is to have a book that many will enjoy and will use for family time. So I’m pursuing a new possibility, and it’s FUN!

Do you have a dream of doing something that you’ve not yet made time to venture into? Take that first step, and see where it leads you. You may be surprised and delighted at the sense of fulfillment and joy you feel, even just beginning. A first step, after all, is affirmation to yourself that your dream is worthy of pursuing. It may energize you for the second step and you will realize there IS time in your day to explore the possibilities!

A Book on Color Mixing for Children

Marilee — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:33:04 +0000

Where have I been? I’ve been absorbed in writing a children’s book about color mixing. Illustrating it has been a blast! I’ve used my watercolor painting in new ways. How exhilarating! Here is the cover of the book, with one of the illustrations from the story of Kandu (a toucan) and the Magic Meadow.

Now, off I go to create just a couple more.

Autumn Colors Provide Inspiration for Abstract Watercolor

Marilee — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:33:15 +0000

I love the colors of autumn! They linger so briefly, which only makes them more valuable to the admiring eye. Time to stop, look, and listen to the happy crackling and rustling underfoot, or behind the rake. The dynamic reds, pinks, tangerines, golds, and oranges against the older tans, browns and grays provide great contrast to one another.

Try this for fun: Gather up an assortment of leaves, berries, and grasses, and group them together against a dark background. Photograph them and save in your picture file to refer to for those up-close-and-personal foreground areas in your paintings. You’ll be able to enjoy the colors again when you’re ready to paint an Autumn scene during the cold, wet, rainy, snowy days of winter.

These colors and shapes make wonderful reference pictures for abstract paintings, too, when you just want to paint beautiful autumn colors with abandon!