Sketchbook blog

In January 2020, I sent off another series of hand painted ornaments to Artomat . Each wooden round is cut from either maple or oak wood. Every ornament has an original watercolor flower,  a vintage stamp (usually international),  and an inspiring word or phrase because these are from my Little Inspirations series:  floral fun + an inspiring word. I hope you enjoy these little delights.

This was my first pair of painted shoes from Old Navy back last fall.  I completed them around December.  This was the pair on which I really learned how to do this.  I used Aztec-inspired patterns. My Posca paint pens were outstanding with one exception:  the gold iridescent marker bled a bit (on this top sun/circle).  That is very unusual for Posca pens.  I did not have the trouble again with any other pens, but I stopped using the metallic pens on canvas shoes. On the back, I used Sharpie pens. I painted my circular "suns" with white pain on the opposite side of the shoe. This was my underlying drawing. I used a light art pencil as the base layer. This was not as complicated a pattern as I completed on the white canvas shoes earlier this summer . Have you painted shoes?  Drop me a line with your tips and tricks. I'm gearing up to paint my first pair of Van's white canvas shoes.  I'll keep ...

Clark Whittington, the founder of Art-o-mat , sent out a call to all Artists in Cellophane for inspirational work.  An Episcopal church in Winston-Salem will host several Art-o-mat machines this Easter.  Those attending the service will be offered the opportunity to gift vend from a machine. The Rector will describe the Resurrection.  He will also reference how Winston-Salem, North Carolina, was originally an industrial tobacco town and now is the City of Arts of Innovation. Below you will find my submissions from my Little Inspirations series for this special event. Springtime Edition of Little Inspirations Early drawing stages for my Little Inspirations starting some sunflowers another layer or so of watercolor "sketchy" succulents more layers of color Prepping the blocks: I will adhere each small painting to a block. For the first time, I tried some watercolor spray effects in the background ...

Feedback to improve my work Feedback makes me so happy.  One way that I get feedback from art connoisseurs is by posting questions on  Instagram .  Lately, I've been polling folks to see if I should add more detail or less detail to my watercolor and ink floral paintings. Here's an example of a recent Instagram poll: Should I add detailed ink "dots" on these sunflowers below? Or, should I keep the lines as clean as possible? Folks are helping me figure these things out.  If you have an opinion to make my work better, please let me know! Letters from Collectors I really appreciate hearing from those who have bought one of my little Art-o-mat works.  Two recent letters have warmed my heart. This email is from Cate in NC who "ker-plunked" an  Endearing Young Charm  keychain: Hi Nicole!  Just wanted to let you know I got your flower bottle top keychain the other day from the Artomat at  Hutch ...

Just trying out a new hand.  This time, I was going to for a modern style.   You can see the difference from my traditional calligraphy Italic hand posted here . With this hand, I did not use my calligraphy pen and ink. Instead, I created the vision of what I wanted the letters to look like. Then I used Tombow brand pens to achieve a more fun and modern approach. With Sharpie fine tips markers , I filled in the address.   Then back to the Tombows for the zip code. I added floral flourishes because that's a trademark of my work. Next, I would really like to figure out if I can add watercolor (or ink) to the floral decorative elements.   This would be an option to color coordinate with a planned event (the bride's favorite color or the color of the bridesmaids' dresses, etc.). Let me know if you are trying any hand lettering tricks and what products you enjoy the most.

I asked for one thing this Christmas, and my family gave it to me.  It's a cedar display for my Art-o-mat collection. I am so happy with this display.  Steve built it.  Alex and Clarice sanded it and applied the polyurethane finish.  I have added to this collection over the years, but the Swap Meet during the  Art-o-mat 20th anniversary at SECCA this year really helped me expand my vast Art-o-mat empire. Here is what started it all:  fellow Art-o-mat artist Dennis Wells put his handiwork on display earlier this month, and so I immediately put my order in to Santa . Photo courtesy of Dennis Wells, who is  an amazing artist. Check out his work here . My cedar display is possibly my favorite Christmas gift of all time.  It will bring so much joy for years to come.  Now that I have met most of these artists in person, each piece of artwork means even more to me. Essential Holiday Run to Delurk Gallery In the final ...