HOW TO USE CLEAR TAR GEL AS A RESIST MEDIUM

1. Paint, stamp, or drizzle tar gel on absorbent, DRY paper. Here I'm using good, heavy watercolor paper. I could have painted it with light colors first if I had wanted to. You definitely should, for added interest!

2. When the tar gel is dry,
wash over it with
watercolors or any waterbased, diluted paint or ink. Here I also used non-permanent markers and added black accents with a pen.

Capture a Spider Web in Your Art!

There are several ways to attempt this delicate technique. First, however, if there is a spider at home in the web, gently blow on it to encourage it to leave!



Spray the web with a dark color of spray paint if you are using white paper or canvas as a background. Spray the substrate with fixative, and bring it up at an angle behind the web. If using paper, curve the edges so the center touches the web first. Then carefully straighten the paper to acquire the silken creation, pull toward you, and let the paint dry. You can also try a white spray-painted web on a dark background.


Incorporate your successful web captures into superb spidery artworks!



This is the Cutest Watercolor Set Ever!

Just got this travel kit made by Sakura. It has a reusable waterbrush, lots of great colors, a palette, and sponges. Love it!

20 Fast and Fun Drawing Projects!

In a rut, sketching the same old thing all the time? Break out of the box!

Maybe some of these ideas will excite your muse.

1. Use a small mirror and draw your own eyes. Fill the page.  
2. Draw a clothespin and add shading. Work large.
3. Draw an underwater scene. Add sunken, man-made items.
4. Design your own piece of jewelry.
5. Sketch a scene on another planet. Use every value from white to black.
6. Crumple a sheet of paper and draw it, wrinkles and all.
7. Make up your own futuristic vehicle and draw it, adding lots of details.
8. Draw a composite animal made up of the parts of several real animals.
9. Combine a man-made object with something from nature. Add texture.
10. Sketch a dragon. Add a castle or a knight in the background.
11. Combine a human face with that of an animal.
12. Draw the view outside the window.
13. Sketch the inside of your locker or closet. From memory.
14. Draw a shoe or a pair of shoes.
15. Sketch a glove or a hat.
16. Draw a composite machine made of parts of lots of different machines.
17. Draw your own hand. No tracing!
18. Sketch the back of the head of a person sitting in front of you.
19. Draw an empty candy wrapper.
20. Make a black and white design based on a small section of a map.

Practice, Practice, Practice! Watercolor Painting.

I don't know about you, but I find watercolors challenging. The orbs with highlights created by the white of the paper, and the bars with two colors blending--both ideas are great for any beginner in watercolor painting to try.

These studies appear courtesy CPi, the publisher of the

Complete Photo Guide to Creative Painting, available now! 

Who Doesn't Love to Draw Cartoons?

    Here's a very basic lesson, for all those students or art teachers out there, on creating expression.