Watercolor instruction

Several artists who have YouTube channels have been helpful to me in learning further how to watercolor. Pen and Ink has been my medium of choice through my artist life but the pull of color has been coming along for a few years now. I recently found Louise De Masi a watercolor artist from Australia whose tutorials are a lot of fun and very helpful. This is one of my recent paintings combining watercolor and pen & ink.

The artists' way of seeing-

“Many artists have spoken of seeing things differently while drawing and have often mentioned that drawing puts them into a somewhat altered state of awareness. In that different subjective state, artists speak of feeling transported, “at one with the work” , able to grasp relationships that they ordinarily cannot grasp. Awareness of the passage of time fades away, and words recede from consciousness. Artist say that they feel alert and aware yet are relaxed and free of anxiety, experiencing a pleasurable, almost mystical activation of the mind.”

Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain by Betty Edwards

Hedgehog ACEO artist trading card

Making some new ACEO artist cards

Passing time during these dark days making some miniature original watercolor pieces. ACEO artist cards 2.5” x 3.5” available in my eBay shop.

Creating ACEO art cards

Practicing watercolor and pen & ink combination technique with little ACEO art cards lately.

What is an ACEO? ACEO means “Art Cards Editions and Originals”. These are miniature original works of art measuring 2.5” x 3.5”. Many artist are creating and selling them online and collectors are happy to have an affordable way to obtain original art.

I sell these on eBay. Here’s a look at a few from June and July:

Field Studies and Scientific Illustrations

There are a number of names out there for the illustration of the natural world around us such as, field studies, scientific illustrations, field sketchbook, botanical bird illustrations, natural studies and field notes. Each of these have different goals and specifics from capturing the beauty of the animal and plant kingdoms to including the many phases of the life cycle. One important aspect of all of these is being a keen observer of detail and making sure your work is correct. With the internet we have so much information at our fingertips to check and increase our knowledge of just about anything we observe in nature. I have recently started a series of field studies where I will use my pen & ink with watercolor and pencil sketching. Here is the first of this series, the Ruby Throated Hummingbird. Notice the hummingbird nest in the upper left corner of this photo. I watched a hummingbird build this nest right outside my window in an Arizona bougainvillea bush. As we lived beside a cotton field you can see the nest is made of cotton. Sadly, a heavy rainstorm ruined the bird’s plans to lay eggs and raise young but it was still a magical experience watching the nest building process.

Giclee prints available in my shop-

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MonicaMinto

Humming bird study

I can illustrate your book.

A family member asked me to illustrate a book he was self publishing. It featured a lab mouse named Piebald, who became the first character I brought to life on the written page. The publishing company liked my drawings and began giving my name to other clients. Over the next 14 years I selectively worked on a number of book projects. Each client helped me to learn a little more about how to work with an author to get their book ready to print. I joined the SCBWI, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators and attended a number of their state and national conventions. This was a great venue to begin to understand how the children’s book industry works. I have received many emails from aspiring authors who are looking for an illustrator. In future blog posts I will write about some of the things I’ve learned that may help you in your quest to obtain a published book with illustrations.

piebald the mouse in his woodland coat

this little mouse started the whole thing. . .