Friday, January 31, 2014

Watercolor Art Journal & Website Button

I'm working in my large Strathmore Watercolor journal.  I drew this last year and forgot about it.  Click the photo below to see the original post and drawings.  I'm slowing down an taking my time in this journal because I really want to work on some canvases this year.  I always say it and never gets it done.  I'm working on three pages at a time and they are coming along well.



I'm using cheap watercolors from Michael's.  They seem to be doing fine.  
I plan to break out my gouache as well.  I love when my desk is messy.  It's a sign of progress.


I finally have a GRAB BUTTON!  I took me forever to figure out how to make it but I was determined.  I have posted it below and on the side bar as well.  I plan on making a new one every month or so.  If you want to make one please watch this video as it was very helpful for me.  Let me know if you have success making one for your blog.

If you would like to display my button on your blog just copy the code below the photo, open add a gadget under your layout, paste into HTML/Java Script and you are done! 


Miss Danielle Renee

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Monday, January 27, 2014

Photos in Houston

I was in Houston over the weekend to visit my sister and her family.  She is lucky enough to live right by the water and a few minutes away from really nice shops.  I used to take photos all the time that were actually good.  I hope by taking more photos I can get better at it.  I bought a DSLR and get very frustrated when it's time for me to take a photo.  One step at a time I guess.



Art Journal Page - Different

It's 3am and I can't sleep.  I worked on this page a couple weeks ago.  There have been a few changes since but I wanted to share anyway.  I recently added a Tim Holtz word sticker "different" to the top left butterfly.  Lately, I've been trying my best to make sure my work is different.  I love looking at other artists work and I spend way too much time on Pinterest.  Sometimes I have to force myself to shut everyone else out and focus on what I like.


I like to write in between the layers of paint.  It's interesting visually but 
I can't go back and read what I've written.  It works for this page so 
I'm content but I think in the future I will leave some areas legible. 


I did a lot of mark making with color pens, pencils, and watercolor crayons.


I have decided to re-open my ETSY shop.  I don't have much at the moment but if you follow me there you will be the first to be notified of new items added to the shop!

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Monday, January 20, 2014

Moleskine Monday - Fly Away

On Sunday of last week we had to put my little Coco down.  He was 11 years old and was having a hard time walking and would not eat.  He was in the vet with an IV for two and a half days and did not get any better.  It was hard to say goodbye and I had no idea what an impact he had on my life.




He made me more patient and loving.  Our family loved him so much.  
This page makes me think about him.



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Wednesday, January 15, 2014

Painted Burlap Pencil Case Tutorial


I purchased this burlap pencil case a while back from the craft store.  I needed a pouch to take with me when I'm out and about.


                       I used color pencils, watercolor crayons, and acrylic paint for the background.


As I started to paint I noticed that the fabric absorbs quite a bit of paint so please keep this in mind when painting on burlap.  The vibrancy of the paint will also be dulled a bit once dry so I pulled out my neon colors and stenciled away.


I wanted my focus to be abstract silhouette's so I used my charcoal pencil to loosely draw four figures.


The background was too busy so I added purple to make the silhouettes stand out.  I also added blue highlights to the figures to make them more cohesive.

The other side was treated the same way although I didn't know how it was going to turn out.


I really liked the stencil letters but it was too plain.


So I drew in one silhouette and filled the background with color and more stenciling.



I added two additional figures and blue to the background.


All done!!!


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Monday, January 6, 2014

Moleskine Monday - A Birds Eye View

This is the first MM post for 2014!  I'm about halfway through my Moleskine and I can't wait to share more in the upcoming year.  I feel like I'm definitely going in a new direction.  Last year I was doing a lot more card making.  And since I started this journal I have painted and sketched more than I have in years.

Moleskine Art Journal page

This is one my favorite pages so far.  
My journal is a narrow rectangle so it's not that
 easy to work with but the challenge is well worth it.  

Moleskine bird art journal page




What new things are you working on this week?

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