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At Home Creative Adventures: Shoe Stories
If only our shoes could talk, what would they say? They’ve been places with you and have stories to tell. This fun creative prompts looks at your life adventures through your shoes! Inspired by Andy Warhol’s shoe illustration series, head to your closet and pull out those random pair of shoes and tell their story! Here’s a process video of drawing my shoes. I used a fine point Micron pen (.005) for very light, loose lines. Definitely Google Andy Warhol’s shoe illustration series. They are very inspiring to say the least. Below is a screen shot from Google of just a few of his illustrations. Be sure to read the…
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At Home Creative Adventures: Floral Bouquet
To brighten up your environment, create a floral bouquet just for you! This creative prompt will get you outside looking for blooms, and inside creating a masterpiece. An impressionistic style is the best approach to making a colorful bouquet worthy to prop by your desk! Here are the blooms I found in my yard, inspiration for my bouquet. If you don’t have flowers in your yard, feel free to use mine as inspiration or head to the internet for more! Below is the time-lapse of me creating my bouquet. Notice the looseness of the lines, and watercolor. Also, the varied size interpretation of each bloom. The pansy bloom is actually…
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At Home Creative Adventure: 4 Objects, 1 Color
We can become easily immune to the colorful objects and items that fill our homes. Brighten your day with this creative color exercise and celebrate those items you may not see anymore! For this project, I picked my favorite turquoise blue shade and found: a small globe, a mini-house souvenir from Denmark, a candle and a santon figurine from Provence. They are an odd pairing of objects, yet still make for an interesting illustration. Below is the still life on my desk. Be sure to read the “More Creative Prompts” on the printable exercise to learn of ways to vary this exercise. And, as always, I’d love to see what…
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Creative Inspiration: Forget the Fish – Sketch the Signs at Pike Place Market in Seattle
There is a reason Pike Place Market is one of the top destinations when visiting Seattle. From discovering the food delicacies and handmade goods to listening to buskers and people watching, a local market is the best place to capture the feel of a locale. Pike Place Market has all that Seattle and the Pacific Northwest is known for – fresh fish (flying overhead!), ripe Rainier cherries, blooming flowers, and even Rachel the Pig. You can spend the better part of a morning just soaking it all in. But one aspect of the market that is frequently overlooked is all the incredible signage. Capture the Signs of Pike Place Market…
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Creative Inspiration: Go on a Rainbow Hunt in the Castro, San Francisco
The Castro is definitely one of the most colorful neighborhoods in all of San Francisco! The extra large rainbow flag, the defining landmark of the area, flies proudly over the intersection of Market and Castro Streets welcoming all to the inclusive neighborhood. A Rainbow Hunt Beyond the main flag, there is no shortage of more rainbows to spot in the Castro. Rainbow banners hang from light posts and there is a cross walk lined with rainbow colors. For an easy entertaining game while exploring, play “I Spy” with your friends and try to be the first to spot the rainbows you see. If you are looking for an even more…
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Summer Creative Adventure No.1 – It’s Picnic Time
This summer I’m determined to take the time to have some summer creative adventures. I plan to send out a weekly email with a free printable on a variety of creative ways to slow down, and enjoy the season. During the week I’ll be sure to post my adventures on social media. Join me and be sure to tag #summercreativeadventures so I can see what you are up to! Our first summer creative adventure is to head outdoors and enjoy a meal. Click on the image below, print it out and enjoy your picnics this summer!
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Travel Story – Road Trip Along the Eastern Sierras
The stark landscape along state route 395 in California and Nevada is so incredible inspirational. Here are highlights from my road trip along this route.
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Travel Journal – Charles Bridge, Prague
The Charles Bridge in Prague, Czech Republic is one of the top sites to visit. This historic bridge spans the Vltava river and connects Old Town Prague with Prague Castle. In the summer it is bustling with tourists exploring the city and soaking up the views. It’s the perfect spot to stop and capture in your travel journal. I used a simple layout for each image to help convey the beauty of the landmark. Here are a few of my journal pages. We came to this spot twice to soak up the view of the bridge an Prague Castle, once during the day and once at night to see the…
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Art School: How to Draw a Taco
Who doesn’t love a good taco? I make them every week on Tuesday (yes, my weekly meal plan is pretty repetitive) and still never tire of them! There are just so many taco options- beef, chicken, pork, fish, vegetarian– they are all so good. In celebration of this tasty food, I’ve created a simple taco tutorial! Enjoy.
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Digital Travel Journal: Visiting a Llama Farm in Peru
After we left Cusco, Peru. we headed down into the Sacred Valley and stopped along the way at a the Awana Kancha weaving center to get a glimpse at how the beautiful Peruvian wools are produced. This small spot provides a self guided tour of the different steps it takes to make wool for weaving. In the first area are penned up animals (llamas, alpacas, vicunas and guanacos) where you discover the differences between these camelids and can see how their wool varies. (Vicunas have the most coveted wool, as it is very soft.) All the animals are domesticated and quite friendly, and of course love to be fed. The…
