"Forget me not" part 3 and 4

Good morning .....
well, if you can call a cold ,windy and rainy day good...
UK seems to be skipping most of spring . It feels like winter again and we're having temperatures under 10C/ 50F degrees. Yeah, I turned the heating back on , which I switched off when we had lovely warm weather last week. Some parts of UK reached 27 C /80 F , but then a sudden drop and no more warm weather. Back to warm padded jackets and boots !
Yesterday was my nightshift recovery day and apart from sleeping I always take it easy and don't do many energetic things . In this case I opened up my design programs and actually managed to make not just one, but two new kits :)

With weather like this I need to think warm summer thoughts :)

Not all papers and elements fit onto the previews , so there is a lot which isn't shown on these previews.

I took part in the "Show me your florals" challenge this year and also purchased the 2 available workbooks after the free workbook and challenge. With each workbook also come video lessons with step by step instructions. So during the week I got busy with paper and paints and started working my way through the first book and video.
This is about loose painting style , which is harder than it looks ;)

After painting single flowers as practice it then ended with a floral bouquet composition. 

There is still a bonus lesson and project before I can start the second workbook. Also Skillshare have many new classes out ...I really need more hours in a day to get everything done :) 

OK, let's talk about paints (continued from last post)

Paints in tubes are great ! You only need small amounts and mixing your own colors is easy with them. 

Don't worry about using them all up , they will dry and just re-activate with water. I use 2 different mixing paint palettes. For paints from tubes I use the big one ...

It closes and let's the paints dry , ready for next use. Or sometimes , when I don't need as many colors I use my smaller palette to mix. It's also more convenient for travelling or taking outside.

The brands, I have two examples.
Windsor and Newton are a good buy and value for money.

And Sennelier are excellent quality.
For mixing you really only need the basic colors. Yellow, red and blue. You create all other colors from the basics.

There are other brands , but as usual I'm staying in the medium price range. All pictures are from Amazon again and you will find these products there.
So, I talked about paper, paints and all that's needed now is the brushes. There are so many that it can get confusing. But that's the subject for my next post. To be continued ....

Time now for the freebies

These are the last two parts below.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/keu27xr8wdnl5li/sr_forgetmenot2.zip

http://www.mediafire.com/file/brkm6a830rxrq7d/sr_forgetmenot4.zip

Next week is the start of another freebie again .

 "Dreamscape"

Nope, it's not meant to be religious themed, despite the angels , but you can make it so if you wish.

Here a qp I made with the kit.
Detailed previews next week with the first links .

Until then ... I better get off my butt now and get some housework done :)
Hugs Snowy

"Forget me not " freebie starts

Hi again,
I just read through the comments, and yes....we are having nice weather as well. Although it's not as warm as further inland. Shaun reported 27 degrees Celsius from his day trip , while it was only 18 degrees here at the coast that day. So there is a bit of a difference with that coastal wind here. Still, loving the sunshine! And that sunshine is also the reason I didn't get much painting done. However ,I finished the miniscule calligraphy alphabet and got quite a bit done in my little garden corner. It still doesn't look like much , but give it a few weeks and it will be blooming :)

 I planted a tiny little Christmas tree. It was one of those cheap table decoration trees you can get at the £/$ store. It survived on my windowsill since December and now it was time for a larger pot and the outdoors. We will see how this little guy will be doing ....

I am behind with my watercolor challenge/course, but the good thing is , once signed up to the free challenge I can access the tutorial videos forever.
Here is one of the class results ....watercolor peonies in a loose painting style.
The funny thing is ,I find the loose painting style much harder than the more detailed painting styles, but the point is to learn more than just one style.

I love that I inspire some of you ...thank you :) In a world where computer games and TV rule , i's nice to see that some of us still can be creative with our hands and mind. Don't get me wrong...I love doing some digital design on the laptop from time to time. But years back it was nearly all of my free time I spent designing in PSP ,PS or Poser. Now? I spend a lot less time at the computer and do a lot more different art and crafts. More variety. There is so much to learn, experiment and try out. :)

OK, favorite things time !
Let's talk about paints. Watercolor paints part 1 ...because there is so much to write about those , it won't all fit into one post.
So today I just tell you about my current favorite paints.
There are cheap watercolor paints. they are fine ...really.... but they have very little color pigment in them and more binder. So when they dry they can sometimes appear a little chalky.
The more expensive paints contain a lot more pigment , hence they are more vibrant and richer in color. You need less of them , so they last longer. So cheap isn't really cheap when you consider how much more paint you need to achieve the same color richness and vibrancy on your paper.
My favorites :Prima Marketing Watercolor Confections

Each tin contains 12 colors (but fits a further 6 in the middle if you want to add more) and is about the size of my hand. That means easy to travel with, take out etc.
They come in different themes like "TROPICALS" " "WOODLANDS" "PASTEL DREAMS" or "ODISSEY" .
When a color runs out just buy a replacement half pan , no need to buy a whole new tin. The empty little containers (half pans) are great to put you own color mixes in , so don't throw them away. (I will get to the mixing part in another post)
These paints are medium price range. There are more expensive paints , but these are perfect for someone painting as a hobby or learning.
What about watercolor tubes? I will get to that subject next time....
For now it's time to post the first of the freebie kit.
http://www.mediafire.com/file/tb7gbqf3sjs7uej/sr_forgetmenot1.zip

http://www.mediafire.com/file/jn451qt21s775e7/sr_forgetmenot3.zip

Stay creative and until next post 

Hugs Snowy

The last of Spring blossoms

Hello again :)
It's late.... just before midnight, in fact. I only finished work at 11 , but I still want to get this post done before I crawl into bed for my beauty sleep.
I got post from the USA yesterday. My Prima Watercolors finally arrived. I ordered the Woodlands and Tropicals palettes. These colors are so rich in pigment, they are fantastic to paint with  !
Obviously I had to try them out.

I had great fun creating a little landscape painting.

And with help of another Skillshare class I created this Cacti painting.

 Oh yeah...and this one :)

And this.... I could show more but then it will take a lot longer for me to get to bed.

Let's talk about paper again. This time watercolor paper. There are two different kinds. Hot pressed and cold pressed.
Hot pressed is smooth, cold pressed has a rough texture. I use both, but I love the texture the cold pressed paper gives the panting.
God quality paper is not cheap ! Yes, you can get cheap watercolor paper, but it won't be the good quality , thick paper. It's ok for  practice , but if you want to produce a good painting you need good paper. I have fallen in love with the Pink Pig sketchbooks.
https://www.the-pink-pig.co.uk/
They get hand made here in UK , come in lots of different sizes, cover colors and are ring bound. Plus they are good quality and affordable. They are also available via Amazon, and you can customise the cover. Plus I like that it's a book and I don't have loose pages . Keeps your creations all neatly together.

Now to the last part of Spring blossoms.

http://www.mediafire.com/file/r881hcha981ozj2/sr_springblossoms3.zip

And for now we are staying with the floral theme....because ...Spring !!
You know these tiny little blue flowers called Forget me nots? Well ,I made a kit with these.

So this is what you can get next.

But enough for today....my bed is calling me :)

Until next post
Hugs Snowy

More freebie parts :)

Hello,
I'm back on time ...feeling very relaxed after a nice hot bath with essential oils and Himalayan salt.
It's part of my nightshift recovery routine to get back to normal.
Thanks for your comments. They are very appreciated !
I will start with my "Favorite things" and go into paper this week. It's a very important medium if you want good quality drawings/paintings.
Rough paper will bleed and it will also fray the tips of your markers. Good quality paper will not only avoid that , but will enable you to layer different colors without bleeding through or ending up with a soggy messy hole in your page when coloring in.
For doodles , bullet journals or simple drawing there are 3 brands I prefer.
One is Moleskine. A very good brand with quality paper ,which is not too thin.

The second one is Leuchtturm 1917, which the one that I use mostly for my drawings with fine liners and markers. These books come in a range of colors and I want one of each :) 

And the third is the Rhodia Sketch book , which has the smoothest paper. I use this for my calligraphy because it doesn't even bleed with dip pen and ink. It also has very faint dots which help with keeping lines straight if you don't want to draw lines with a ruler.

All these are available at Amazon. 

I will tell more about art supplies next week. 

The weather has been getting a little better here. For a couple of days we had sunshine and it was as nature as waiting for this and exploded with various blossoms. 
I took a walk and was able to get some nice shots of spring flowers. 

It's not much yet , but it's a start ! Hopefully this means that winter weather will finally be over now. One can hope ;) 

I didn't get much done painting due to work and the "Show me your letters" course I'm doing to learn calligraphy with an oblique pen and ink. I don't wanna bore you with pictures of each letter, so here is just one. 
Monday will be the start of "Show me your florals" though. A free watercolor course and challenge.

 https://becca-courtice-2vda.squarespace.com/showmeyourflorals

Plus there is the "Bring Spring " art challenge. 
I won't get bored ;) 

So now to the  freebie links . 

http://www.mediafire.com/file/5x09qk71yuuy9ea/sr_springblossoms2.zip

http://www.mediafire.com/file/jd7w3fn9ce2911j/sr_springblossoms5.zip

The last part will be next week and then it's time for another new freebie kit. 

So stay creative and have a great week :) 
Hugs Snowy

Spring Blossoms first parts

Hello...ughh....I could do with a few Spring blossoms here.
We have flood warnings everywhere and the rain is not stopping any time soon , it seems.
It really doesn't feel like April or Spring so far.
Luckily I have my art and crafts to keep me busy when I'm not at work , because gardening is still not happening ....
I had a couple of comments regarding the Doodle Journal , so I thought I post a little advice regarding that.
First , go for a journal with paper that is not too thin or rough. A lot of rough , cheap paper will cause bleeding of the ink. And that just doesn't look nice and is disappointing when you put in all that effort.
Pens : My favorite is the Sharpie fine point https://www.amazon.com/Sharpie-Stylo-Point-Count-1742659/dp/B00Q0RSQSK/ref=sr_1_1_sspa?ie=UTF8&qid=1522688072&sr=8-1-spons&keywords=sharpie+fine+point&psc=1&smid=ASEVS99O6FS73

Why? I can use it with normal felt tips /brushpens without the black ink smearing into the colors....it's 100 % waterproof and smear proof once dry. And the tip is just right -not too thin and not too thick. I can even use it with really wet watercolor painting and it won't bleed or smear.

If you want to take drawing and doodling a step further with fine and broader lines I can recommend Sakura pigma micron pens. https://www.amazon.com/Sakura-Pigma-30062-Micron-Blister/dp/B0008G8G8Y/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1522688425&sr=8-3&keywords=micron+pens

These come with a variety of tips , so you can do really fine lines or texture as well as broader thick strokes.
These are filled with Indian ink and will be waterproof once they have dried as well , so they won't bleed with felt-tips or watercolor once dried either.

Yes, I know.... these pens all cost a little more than your normal pens from the $/£ Store, but they will a) last longer and b) will save you being frustrated , sad or angry when colors bleed or smear into each other.
Trust me, I've been there ! The cheap set of fine liners I picked up for a bargain price and smeared when I wanted to color my doodles in is only good enough to write my shopping list now.
I do not get anything for advertising these 2 brands , by the way . I post about them because they are really that good !
I suppose I could label this part of the post "my favorite tools " :)
(ps: I posted links for Amazon .com, but you can also get these on the other Amazon sites. I got mine from Amazon UK  )

I made a Zodiac galaxy painting and was thrilled how it turned out . Love it !
I used watercolor for the galaxy, India ink for the mountain and Capricorn and white Gelly roll pen for white shading and stars /constellation.

The Succulent painting was done with watercolor, Fine tec watercolor for the gold , outlines with black Sakura pigma micron and the crystal lines with white Gelly roll pen.

Well, apart from the first 2 freebie parts I also have a quickpage for you today. Happy Easter :)

http://www.mediafire.com/file/z7b7l6it5q3yetb/sr_easterqp.zip

But now to the main freebie parts

http://www.mediafire.com/file/ay51s32yy88djdj/sr_springblossoms1.zip

http://www.mediafire.com/file/32677w1q6mxy3in/sr_springblossoms4.zip

This is a relatively small kit compared to most of my others and was lost during a computer crash. I only recently found an old disc where I had this burned. It's old but still one of  my favorite floral kits :) Enjoy !
I'll be back with more next week
Hugs Snowy