Watercolor Painting: Worth Avenue in Palm Beach

Want an original way to remember your vacation? Make a Waterlogue "watercolor painting" of your best vacation picture, save it, print it and then hang it on the wall. 

Waterlogue is an iPhone and iPad app that quickly (and I mean in one minute or less) converts your photo into a watercolor painting that you can save and print.

And when I say an original way to remember your vacation, I really mean original.  No other painting will look quite like yours because the artwork is a computer rendering based on your original photograph. Plus there are stylized settings like "Mechanical" or "Vibrant" to make your watercolor images fit your aesthetic. I am in love with this app and could auto-magically turn my photographs into artwork all-day-long.  I know that this must have real watercolor artists reeling, but I can't help it. I love how my photos look as paintings and I will never have the skills to convert them myself with paint and a brush.

The location? Beautiful Worth Avenue with its palm trees and gorgeous shops in Palm Beach, Florida. We came here for lunch and an afternoon of window shopping and bougainvillea admiring. What a day.

Frame Beautiful Christmas Cards as Art

Now that the holiday decorations are all tucked away, do you still have a stack of Christmas cards on your kitchen desk?  I know lots of cards have family photos on them (so cute!) Did you receive any that have an imageI want to show you how a pretty card can become a permanent piece of art. 

I know it isn't ground breaking to imagine framing a pretty card, nor is it hard to do. But sometimes you need concrete evidence of how worthwhile the effort is.

My pen pal Renate lives in England (remember when she collected souvenirs from the Royal Wedding for me?) and is a lovely friend who takes great care in choosing a Christmas card for me that is distinctly British. This year she sent me a card with a beautiful painting depicting the changing of the guard on a snowy day at Buckingham Palace.  I just love it and wanted to be able to enjoy for years to come.

I took the card with me to Joann Fabric to find a frame with the right scale and coloring.  I went over to the paper department and held the card up against a million different styles of scrapbook paper - a really fun way to make a mat for a picture - but nope. I didn't like any of them.  

When I got home, I looked through my stash of fabrics and found a piece with just the right mood: a rich red plaid to highlight the guards' red uniforms. I ironed the fabric, wrapped it around the mat board that came with the frame and secured it to the back with duct tape.  Then I placed pieces of scotch tape rolled into a small tube on the back of the card, at each corner, and carefully placed it on the fabric. It left a border of red plaid fabric all the way around the card. The bits of tape on the back of the card helps to keep the card from slipping when I placed it in the frame, against the glass. Then all I had to do was close up the back of the frame. I wrote Renate's name and 2014 on the back of the frame. Voila! I have a sentimental piece of art to put on display for years to come.

Have I inspired you? I think this is a wonderful way to decorate a tabletop for the holidays.

Waterlogue: A Dreamy Christmas Card Can Be Personal Too

I am in love with this image. And why not? It is my very own living room all decorated for Christmas. Can I paint? Not this well! I used the iPad app called Waterlogue to transform one of my photographs into a convincing watercolor. It is very likely that I will make my Christmas cards this year or next from a custom watercolor image. The app allows you to choose brush stroke width, color depth etc. You make a few choices and then roll the dice to see how it translates into an image before your eyes. Don't love it? Just change a few settings and try again. I get lost in this app exploring the possibilities.

Because Waterlogue images can be saved as a JPEG (photo), I was able to save the image to my iPad and then print this image as an 8x10 and it hang on my refrigerator for inspiration. Every time I see it I think of other projects I want to try. Other images I want to convert into a watercolor. This technology is incredible and its a wonderful time to be creative. I highly recommend it.

Waterlogue: An Artist's Dream App

Would you believe that this is a computer-generated watercolor of one of my photographs? I am giddy as I think of all the possibilities.  I just purchased the $5 iPad app called "Waterlogue," because I have never seen any computer-effect that looks as fluid and convincing. My original photo is below.

The app is so easy to use - I simply uploaded/opened a photo from my iPad in Waterlogue and selected the "natural" effect. A minute later I had this original watercolor to share with you! Since the image can be saved "to your camera roll," it is a JPEG and therefore able to be sent to an online photo printer to make enlargements.  I want to make a few watercolors from my trip to England and then have them printed in 8x10.  I can frame them and hang these original pieces of art as if I water colored them myself - it is nothing short of revolutionary.  

Yes, real watercolors are incredible and I will still "paint for fun" in the garden, but my skills are far from stellar. I love being able to enjoy an "image" as I captured it with my camera...but in the whisper soft medium of watercolor paint.  Waterlogue, you are my hero!

Paint When You Can

There is nothing quiet as relaxing as painting.  My mom and I always make time to paint when we are at the cottage, we sit on the patio or in the garden and try to make something beautiful (and recognizable) with our new palette of paint. Did you notice what I'm mixing paint in?  An empty egg carton tray!  Often organic eggs come in these wonderful clear trays at the grocery store (even The Merc!) and I always save them to upcycle into art trays or bead holders.

I found this set of acrylic paint tubes at Homegoods for $3.99, including 2 paint brushes!  I also bought a 3-pack of canvas panels (4 x 6) that were on sale for 40% off at Michaels, so I think each panel cost about a dollar.  With supplies this reasonable, why wouldn't you try and experiment with painting?  

You see, I have a weakness for art supplies and usually can't resist the beautiful and reasonable watercolor sets that you can buy at Michaels. Have you seen them? I buy a new one every year and get the same feeling as you get from a new box of crayons.  Love it!

Let me be clear.  I really don't know how to paint.  I copy what I can with dabs of color and blurs of water.  I think it is fun and give myself a lot of poetic license.  I also throw away the ones that don't work out.  It makes me feel better to never see it again.    

This painting was inspired by an impressionist piece I saw in a photo.  The farther away you are from my version, the better it looks. Ha!  

I am planning on taking it to Michaels Craft store to find scrapbook paper to make into a pretty mat. Then I'll frame it, hang it on the wall in my office.  It will always remind me of a beautiful summer afternoon I spent with my mom.

2013 Leland Plein Air Painting Event

Painting by Brenda J. Clark

I was "up north" in Leland, Michigan when the Leelanau Community Cultural Center (at The Old Art Building) hosted their first Plein Air Painting Event.  

Artists were to register online and then on the day of the event, they were to bring their canvas to the Old Art Building between 9-10 am to be stamped (on the back) by the Plein Air committee to complete the registration process.  Then the artists were free to chose a spot somewhere in and around Leland to paint or draw.  The art was to be completed by 4 pm and submitted with a frame to the committee.  At 6:30 that night, the artists and public were invited to a reception at the Old Art Building.  The paintings and drawings were on display for the guests to admire and purchase.  A portion of each sale went to support the Leelanau Community Cultural Center.

What a success!  I was jealous of the talent and amazed at the landscapes that these artists were able to create in just one day.  I was fascinated by the entire process.

While Dan and I were out and about that day, I noticed several painters next to streams or on bluffs throughout the bright and chilly day, painting from their chosen perspective.  We noticed so many, that I felt that I was pointing out rare birds. "Look! There's another one!"

When we walked down toward Fishtown, I ran into Brenda J Clark.  I had stopped to admire her work - her painting of Fishtown is shown on the easel above - and as we chatted, I realized that I had met her before.  She taught my best friend, Kim in an art class at Michigan State University and they have remained friends.  A few years ago, Kim had taken me into Brenda's art gallery, which is now located in Suttons Bay, Michigan.  

I absolutely love Brenda's bold use of color.  Her work table reminds me of so many of my projects mid-stream - you can instantly tell that big things are going on.      

Viva la Plein Air!  Bravo, Leelanau Community Cultural Center for bringing such a wonderful event to Leland!  

Painting Party

I am a member of the local alumnae chapter of my sorority, Kappa Alpha Theta. The group strives to connect members socially, raise money for our philanthropies and keep a strong post-college connection to the group that had such an important part of our college years.

Every once in a while, the group's schedule of fun, member-connecting activities coincide with a quiet night on my calender and I am able to attend.  I was so happy to see that one of our members (a trained art teacher) was donating her time to host an acrylics painting class last Friday night.

I had forgotten how relaxing it is to paint.  I really felt my blood pressure wind down as we layered color upon color to create a realistic country field.  

Although I must admit, I did feel a big grip of fear/hesitation when she told us to load our brush with paint and create the sky - right across the clean, empty canvas.  I felt it again when we launched into building the field with purple paint.  And again when we started to build the trunk of the tree. My instinct was that it wouldn't be right somehow - too big, too bulky, too off center.  Our patient teacher assured us that it was normal to feel hesitant, but to push on and give it a whirl.  It was art, after all and in art, it is hard to do something "wrong."  She was right, of course, and we all managed to make a tree that looked like a tree.

We brushed on clouds, dabbed on flowers, worked in grasses and "found the light" shining on the leaves.  It was really fun.  My mind let go of the lists and commitments that keep me running at a clip and I sat at the table with friends new and old and we all "lived in the moment" for a while.  We were creating something some scratch and it felt great.

We learned about color being lighter in the distance.  That by having a variety of colors among the branches of the tree it created depth, as if the wind was tussling the leaves.  We implied blue bonnets blooming naturally in the field by making small dry brush dashes with a lovely dusty blue shade of paint that we had mixed up ourselves.  

The whole evening was good for our brains and our hearts.  What could be better than that?  Thank you, Melissa, for a lovely and informative evening.

Candlelight on New Year's Eve

I am so happy with these beautiful gold-painted votives!  I bought a pack of glass (wax filled) votive candles at Michaels and painted the bottom half of the glass with Liquid Leaf paint in "Classic Gold."  

There are hardly any instructions to give: wear plastic gloves, use a 1" brush to paint each glass with gold leaf paint up to the wax line, allow to dry.  When painting, keep the paint away from bottom lip (base) of the votive; just in case the heat of the candle causes the paint to stick to the surface it is sitting on.  Better safe than sorry.

In the end it became one of my favorite additions to the house.  It gave a lovely glow to the kitchen and made doing the evening dishes much more glamorous. 

Happy New Year!     

Northern Michigan Flower Petal Art

This is one of those "scenic views" that means a lot to me.  It is the view from my parent's cottage and I never tire of watching the sun set over Lake Michigan. 

The sloping land on the left is called "Pyramid Point," because the edge is steep and dramatic like the slope of a pyramid.  The land mass to the right is an island called South Manitou (there is also a North Manitou Island out of the frame and farther to the right).

It was this view that prompted me to try my first painting enhanced by real flower petals!

I did a watercolor first and then I glued dried lavender along the shore and folded a piece of geranium petal to represent the sun going down.  Do you like it?  I framed it with a narrow lavender mat and then put my little masterpiece in an antiqued-gold frame. 

It is the perfect touch on my piano and reminds me that I've had a wonderful summer full of sunsets.

Painting Lake Lucerne

One of my favorite memories from a trip I took with my parents to Switzerland a few years ago, was painting with my mom on the edge of Lake Luzerne.  We brought my travel paint set and some watercolor postcards along on our trip and found a quiet afternoon to sit at a table drinking tea and painting.  It was relaxing and so much fun.  A view like this needs to be savoured and painting is the perfect activity to slow you down and help you to really "see."

We were staying at the Hotel Central Am See and since it was a cool day, we had the patio all to ourselves.  I painted this view above, and my mom painted the scenery from her perspective. 

Not only do I recommend painting a "postcard" while you are on a trip, but be sure to photograph your painting alongside your inspiration.  It will help cement the memory and can "put you right back there" any time you want.

My task for this week?  Track down my little painting and frame it.  Art is meant to be displayed!

Upcycle Frappaccino Bottles as Vases

Want to up cycle your Frappaccino bottles?  Turn them into vases that let you "show the love" to your friends and family.

My definition of up cycling is "to improve an item (that would otherwise be thrown away) into something that is better that the original."

I wanted to have lots of inexpensive (but cute!) vases that I could give my flowers away in.  A vase that my friends, in turn, could keep and reuse.  By up cycling a stash of empty Frappaccino bottles, I have created the perfect sturdy vase.  An added bonus to this project is that this "vase" fits perfectly in a car cup holder, so driving your bouquet to a party is a piece of cake!  

I used pink gloss enamel paint (make sure the paint bottle says it is for glass) from the craft store and painted hearts on with a Q-tip!  You can make simple and consistent hearts by following the same motion you do to make the letter "V" - it's easy.  Just keep your cotton swab loaded with paint and make your movements slow and steady.  Allow the vases to dry according to the instructions on the bottle and then you are ready to give them away.

The next time you are invited to a friend's house (for Bunko, book club or more), fill one of your heart-covered vases with a small bouquet from your garden.  Your hostess will feel the love. 

The Joy of Painting

"Look at the color of the water!  Anne, take a picture of this."  The remnants of our art lesson looked as pretty as the actual paintings! 

My mom's sister is an artist and when she came to the cottage for a few days, the three of us spent an afternoon painting.  Our plan was to paint Lake Michigan (and get a quick lesson in watercolor clouds), but the weather changed and the intermittent rain showers kept us from setting up outdoors.  We worked from memory and had the most relaxing time encouraging the blue paint to soak in and swirl with the water on the paper.

I had no illusions that my painting would ever amount to anything.  But spending time with my mom and my aunt on a rainy afternoon felt wonderful.  I knew right away that what we were making was memories.     

Cezanne by the Quart

I gasped, "It's a painting!"

A genius at the farmer's market decided to display their fruit like this. He is luring the next Cezanne.

Look at this link to the famous still life by Paul Cezanne called "Still Life with Fruit Dish" and then come back.

I had never thought about the life of a painter in such real terms before. The man needed fresh fruit for his masterpiece and probably trolled the fruit stand on market day to see what was fresh and worthy.

• Did the vendors know him?
• Did they realize that their fruit would be eaten and painted?
• Did they coax him to their stand by showing how beautiful their fruit was in the light?

I have always loved the art of using an object beyond its original purpose (like this great book that became great art).

I realize now that Cezanne must have eaten a lot of fruit!

Grand Traverse Lighthouse

The Grand Traverse Lighthouse was built in 1858 and is situated at the tip of the Leelanau Peninsula near Northport (Holding your left hand palm down, the lighthouse would be at the tip of your pinkie finger).

This was a beautiful and extremely quiet day in late July. When I arrived, all I could think of was painting. 

Where was my travel paint set when I needed it? The only sound I could hear was the water washing over the rocks. Who needs wireless when you have soundless? Ahhh...peace and quiet.