They say experience is the best teacher, but I think mistakes are a top contender for the best teacher spot, and maybe, when you get down to it, they're the same thing. Still, it can help to know, to be warned, ahead of time about some of the things you're going to come up against when you start on this artistic journey known...
Baby Blue HeronWatercolor and lots and lots of inkStillman and Birn Zeta Sketchbook5.5 x 8.5 inches My brother went down to the Venice Rookery over the weekend and came home with some fabulous shots. This one of the baby Blue Heron just captured my heart. I decided on the spur of the moment—did you know moment's had spurs?—to create a sketch out of...
I do! Big time. You may have also heard it referred to as Shiny New Object Syndrome—you're distracted from whatever you're doing every time something new, shiny, different, fun, challenging, fill in the blank, comes along...and you're gone in pursuit. Yeah. That. Attention splatter is when your attention is splatter over EVERYTHING in your life with little or no focus on any one...
Nearly Live Practiceof Sketching PuffinsWatercolor and InkStillman and Birn Zeta Bound Sketchbook5.5 x 8.5 inches I am planning a trip to Acadia National Park towards the end of this summer and I have always, always, Always, ALWAYS wanted to see puffins in the wild. When I stumbled across a couple of puffin cams here and here, it seemed like a good idea to...
Jacaranda Tree across the Hillsborough RiverStraz Performing Arts CenterWatercolor and InkStillman & Birn Zeta Bound Sketchbook I have the opportunity to go and see We Will Rock You, a musical featuring Queen's music. Somehow, we managed to arrive too early, so will my friend Celeste took a call I decided to pull out my sketchbook. I wasn't sure how long I'd have to...
Farm-Fresh OnionWatercolor and Gouache11 x 8.5 inchesStillman & Birn Zeta Bound Journal Every once in a great while, I'll revisit a subject I've already painted if I can find a new "take." While I may work in a series upon occasion, it usually is more of a theme-driven series rather than the same exact material over and over. Here in Florida we get...
Florida Stone Crab ClawWatercolor and Gouache3.5 x 2 inches Chris and I recently went over to a friend's house to pick a roll-top desk she had left for him when she passed away. While we were there, her son asked if we'd be interested in going through her art supplies as she had been a lifelong art teacher. We stepped out into her...
