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Stubby, A Real Dog Hero

Real Dog Hero Sgt. Stubby Watercolor

I recently finished the painting of Sgt. Stubby, part of the Real Dog Heroes Series. This is a new series of paintings and drawings based on real dog heroes from search and rescue organizations, every day dogs being heroic and dogs who protected soldiers. The series was inspired while writing one morning about different canines who have done amazing things against what sometimes seemed to be impossible odds. I researched for the series by reading books from different sources and various news sites online.     Stubby was the only dog to be awarded the rank of “sergeant” during World War I. He was smuggled overseas to France by his owner after he was found on the Yale campus. This loyal American Pit Bull Terrier mix saved lives and kept up the morale of soldiers by providing warnings about poison…

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Dog Portraits: Colorful Boston Terrier using Derwent Inktense Blocks and Watercolor on 140 lb Paper

Boston Terrier dog portrait with rainbow colors but mostly green and purple using watercolor and inktense block art sticks

I’m continuing my series of colorful dog portraits with this friendly Boston Terrier. He was inspired by a conversation I had with a fellow designer at a conference. He was talking about how Boston Terriers are the ultimate pet for designers. They are a cute, quirky and visually appealing breed. They pack a lot of personality into a tiny body. This piece was made on high quality 140lb watercolor paper using watercolor washes and ink washes with layers of Derwent inktense block art sticks layered on top. And layered again. And again. There were a few chalk pastels used here and there, but yeah who uses ink medium for textured layers? It’s fun to experiment like this and not use art materials the way the were intended. I get a thrilling zing in my belly. Does this make me an…

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365 Days of Dogs

Molly Sketch 032917

I’m launching a new project where I post a drawing or painting with a dog as the subject on Instagram for 365 days. Why? One reason is it’s a way for me to practice my skills as an artist. Another reason is I want to build a daily habit and find that posting the results on social media help me with accountability. Third, it’s fun! There is something very satisfying about sharing what I create with others. Every day I will post a sketch or painting of a dog. The goal is to experiment with different media and practice my skills as an artist while documenting the journey. I’ve added my first subject, a sketch of my dog Molly here in this post and on Instagram. If you have any questions about the project, please get in touch!  

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Purple May the Blue Heeler

May 2 - blue heeler dog, acrylic on canvas

May 2 is a portrait of a blue heeler rescue named May. She lives in a farm on Florida and is about three years old. I used fluid acrylics and iridescent acrylics on canvas applied with brushes and palette knives. I really enjoyed experimenting with different colors and using different tools to get effects. My goal was to capture May’s sweet and slightly pensive personality. May is happiest when she is next to her favorite people.

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High Energy Jack

Jack is a high energy terrier. This is a watercolor portrait of him.

Jack is a Jack Russell terrier rescue. He was found wandering the road in a rural part of Florida. He is now happy in his forever home, where he amazes his family with his antics. He loves to jump onto counters and spring from couch to couch. He thinks he is a very big dog. He loves to snuggle and is a great companion. I created his portrait on watercolor paper using watercolor and Pearl Mica powder.    

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Blue Molly

Original portrait of Molly the dog in watercolor and blue chalk pastel

Blue Molly is a portrait of my rescue dog Molly. We aren’t sure exactly what breed she is, but it looks like she may be part Carolina Water Dog. She has a “soft mouth” meaning she prefers to play with things that are not hard like rope toys. Most retrievers share this trait. She is a fun loving and energetic dog who is also very affectionate. She loves to snuggle and play. Blue Molly was created on #140 watercolor paper using pencil, charcoal, watercolor and chalk pastel.  My goal was to capture Molly’s beauty and enthusiasm for life. She has that “sad eye” look a lot of times with her big eyes and woeful expression, even when she is perfectly content.    

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Color Secrets: Vibrancy

Color secrets: Vibrancy

Vibrancy is about how intense a color is, how strong the color appears to be. It is not just how bright or colorful it is, instead it is more about how pure and vivid the color is. Artists who use physical paints often use this term to describe how well a color matches the original paint out of a tube or to compare two colors next to each other. Digital artists and creatives also use vibrancy, usually as a way to compare an object’s color to a background or another element. Vibrancy can be good but also bad. Two strong colors like orange and blue hues tend to look like they are visually vibrating when they are next to each other. This is why people usually try to use a vivid color paired with a duller or desaturated color. Navy…

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Color Secrets: Brightness

Color Secrets: Brightness

There has been a trend lately in app design where white or very light backgrounds are paired with minimal use of color and flat, simplified shapes. Why this shift when sites had been trending darker and darker? Is it the Star Wars reboot? A renewed interest in futurism? Or are we just all tired of looking at gray or black displays? As more and more sites provide lighter sites or options to choose what backgrounds we want, designers and user experience professionals will need to take another look at how people are using devices as part of their daily lives. People don’t use devices in well lit, climate controlled areas. Being able to observe and take into account the key environments where users are will then have an impact on choices about color including brightness, contrast and saturation. My personal ideas about why…

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Five Quick Color Tips For Your Next Project

five quick color tips

Many developers and designers I talk to are very frustrated when it comes time to pick colors for a project. It can be hard to choose the right color or set of colors for a project. I want to share with your five quick tips for using color in your next project so you can make the best user experience possible. (more…)

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How to Find Your Artistic Style

How to find your artistic style

Your world view and how you express it is your style. We edit out so many things subconsciously and make choices on what to and what not to create. What do you choose to create when you can choose? What moves you?   All artists secretly long for an artistic style so different and unique from others they will be unmistakable. When I was in college, having an artistic style was a big source of anxiety. What if my work just looked like everyone else? How would I be different when we were all learning to do the same things?    When you push yourself to experiment and grow every day, you will build your artistic style organically over time. Parents know this anticipation as babies grow. What will their personalities be like? They are revealed slowly, day by day.…

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Draw Better Faster with Pencil Warmups

get better at drawing faster with warmups

Are you frustrated by your skill level? Feel like you’ve hit a wall? Do you feel dissatisfied with what you draw?  Do you want to learn how to do better gradients or other techniques? Warming up with pencil drills can help you! Warm ups with pencils can help you: Become more skilled at drawing (people things whatever) Learn your tools inside and out Build muscle and hand/eye coordination Relax Focus your mind   Check out this video on pencil warm ups (5 min 36 seconds) Practice doesn’t have to take a long time or be boring. Just a couple of minutes before you start drawing “for real” can help you mentally and physically prepare and grow your abilities. I like to start with circular marks to warm up my hand and fingers and reconnect my hand/eye coordination. Make the connection with…

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Create Anywhere You Are

create anywhere you are. How to put together a portable kit to take anywhere

Have you ever gone somewhere and then realized you had nothing with you to draw or paint? Never be without creative supplies again with today’s tips. I’m going to share with you how to be ready to create wherever you are by putting together an artist go bag. I was on vacation at the beach a couple of weeks ago (Yay!). This was a great chance to sketch and create. Luckily I had packed a “go bag” of art supplies. This is a pared down kit of what I have in my studio at home. I like to carry materials that are easy to take with me and don’t make a big mess or require a lot of time to set up. TLDR: For sketching on the go, experiment and find what you like. Start with a pencil, pen, sharpener…

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100 Days In Review

I spent 100 days this spring drawing every day and posting it to instagram. Some were awful, most of them were OK, and a few were awesome. A lot of people I talked to during the project kept telling me they thought the hard part was doing something every day. It wasn’t easy and sometimes I did not do very good work.  The really tough part was posting at all. I was exposing myself as a creative every day. There are amazing creatives posting on instagram every day, sometimes multiple times a day. And there was me. I was surprised to find a lot of support for me even when I thought a post was crappy. Here is a list of good things that happened from the 100 Days project Committing to  posting every day Documenting different problems I ran…

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