Category Archives: creativity

Tools: New Watercolor, a Test Palette

I’ve been a little depressed lately, some for “good” reasons but some because I-don’t-know.  The world has gone mad, and I’ve been journaling about it to get to the truth of it.  I think talking about it helps others and … Continue reading

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Crow in the Snow

We feed the birds on the loading dock deck (which we can look down on from our studio) and among the many birds who come to dine daily are the crows.  They are the pigs of the bird world, but … Continue reading

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VSW: Sunflowers South of France

Direct watercolor. No lines, just wet paint. It is really so hard for me not to use lines! It isn’t that I don’t like my linework images — I do. But I also like what happens when I manage not … Continue reading

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VSW: Christmas Tree Montpellier

From the Virtual Sketchwalk group on Facebook, We walked Montpellier, France, and in one of the malls was this Christmas Tree many stories high. So festive and lively, I tried it two different ways. I don’t know what the gold … Continue reading

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USk: Falling Snow

I gave it a shot, painting the snow falling under the light from the window in our studio. Everything was sooo dark, but the falling snow popped. To hear about classes, follow me on Instagram, Facebook or check out my … Continue reading

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VSW: Rosebowl Parade

THIS SHOWS HOW LONG SINCE I’VE HAD TIME TO POST! Okay, too, after working (our biz) I’ve had a cold and was too tuckered out. During the Rose Bowl Parade this one float caught my eye. The bear did nothing … Continue reading

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VSW: French Country House

. Playing on our FaceBook group Virtual Sketchwalk, I loved this image — woudl want to live here in teh South of France! To hear about classes, follow me on Instagram, Facebook or check out my new, improved dkatiepowellart.com “Memory … Continue reading

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Kill Winter With Orange!

“Kill Winter With Orange is an winter tradition that’s been happening for many years! I love it because I love ORANGE! I penned the inks below with a dip pen: Birmingham inks are not usually feathering inks but WOW Relative … Continue reading

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Posies: Cherry Blossoms

“I cannot go out tonight. Tonight everything scares me. Blossoming insanely are cherry treees and I don’t know how to blossom like that.” ~ Imants Ziedonis, Latvian Poet. Watercolor of cherry blossoms in a Handbook Journal. To hear about classes, … Continue reading

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Tools: New Watercolor Palette Arrangements

I’ve been a little depressed lately. Okay, a LOT depressed, some for “good” reasons (family issues) but some because I-don’t-know. I cleaned my palettes, and finally added a couple of new colors.  Left, in my primary palette, and I added … Continue reading

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Tools: Drywall Repair Tape

I was buying product for the business and found this Drywall Repair Tape. (Image from their company, above; hopefully they will be okay with me using it.) I had a thought that it might be a fun tool to lay … Continue reading

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Tools: Fall Watercolors

Gads I love color! I’ve been asked why I buy so many tubes of watercolors… It’s true, I could buy a dozen tubes and mix everything — well almost everything, because the Primatek colors have their own lovely granulating properties. … Continue reading

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Soft Kitty Warm Kitty

I drew the lines using Soft Kitty Warm Kitty ink in a Pilot Metropolitan with a stub nib. A waterbrush moved the lines without erasing them by moving it fairly fast only ONCE over the sketched lines (before below).  I … Continue reading

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Recipes: Ham and Lima Beans

Rancho Gordo’s Big Juicy White Limas are soooo good… I’ve made a ham and beans for years but never had them as tasty as with these beans. If you try them you will never go back to any other Lima … Continue reading

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30 Posies: Sunflowers Field

I may be a bit obsessed with sunflowers. This one is a much more typical Oregon field, with big green trees in the background… Oddly, however, I think I went back to my So Cal days and thought of the … Continue reading

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Thinking, Thinking… Two

Continuing from yesterday’s post… When I am thinking about a larger piece I use my Nostalgie Journal to sketch out ideas… This takes me back to days as an architect when my thinking was done with pen to paper. The … Continue reading

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Tools: Sparkling Paints

I bought these handmade paints by KJ Design by Karen from Etsy. This is not a glowing review of the seller, tho’ the paints are okay. Unboxing, the paints were not wrapped individually; bits of colors had transferred onto other … Continue reading

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Tools: Gouache

I’ve not given gouache a real chance to woo me, so I decided to play with some very old gouache before I purchased better quality tubes.  When I moved into watercolors, I enjoyed them for their transparent washes, so gouache, … Continue reading

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