Category Archives: 1- Nuts: Graphic Styles

When a pen is more than a pen

Posted on October 20, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

(The next in the Autumn 2024 series of excerpts from my illustrated memoir, “Double Take”) April 25, 2015 – journal entry about pens and my pen history Back before the invention of markers, gel pens, roller-ball pens, and ballpoint pens, … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Book #2: Double Take, Musings on Life, My Story, Pen & Ink, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Do your pauses refresh or agitate?

Posted on October 13, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

A brief note first: This latest series of posts has given me an unexpected gift:  the feeling of reading “Double Take” for the first time. When writing, editing, proofing, final proofing, final-final proofing any piece of writing, it’s natural to … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Book #2: Double Take, Musings on Life, Pen & Ink, Seeing and looking, sketching, Watercolor | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

No need to be in a city to be an “Urban” Sketcher!

Posted on October 6, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

For centuries painting outdoors has been referred to as “en plein air” painting. It is a French term that literally translates as “in full air,” and is used to describe artwork created outdoors, through observation of the scene in front … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Book #2: Double Take, Pen & Ink, Seeing and looking, sketching, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

Is Community the only art tool you’re missing?

Posted on September 29, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

For the next ten weeks I’ll be sharing excerpts from my illustrated memoir, “Double Take,” published in 2022. Enjoy! June 17, 2014 – sketchbook journal entry I only pretend to like Art Instruction. What I really crave is Art Community. … Continue reading →

Posted in Book #2: Double Take, Pencil sketching, Sketchbooks, Sketching tools, Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , | 4 Comments

Mining “Double Take” until New Year’s Day

Posted on September 22, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

At the bottom of every blog post, for the last 8 years, there has been a tag line that reads: About Bobbie Herron: I live surrounded by watercolor brushes and paints, fountain pens, sketchbooks, and journals- often wanting more than … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Book #2, Book #2: Double Take, Pen & Ink, Pencil sketching, Seeing and looking, sketching, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity) | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Watercolor is a gentle medium. No way around it.

Posted on September 15, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

Look at this Winslow Homer boat on a stormy sea. Observe closely, this is watercolor… … and then imagine it in oils. There’s no comparison.  If you want to calm yourself and create something of beauty or even release bittersweet … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Your 8-Week Water Detective Certificate is almost ready!

Posted on September 8, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

What do you think of the seven secrets presented so far? Has anything surprised you? Isn’t it great to know that you were never missing an exotic watercolor tool, and that instead all you needed was a little more information … Continue reading →

Posted in Look at That- Second Edition, Second Edition of Look at That!, Sketchbooks, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Secret 7:  How to Become a Water Detective

Posted on September 1, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

For a moment, let’s step back from thinking about watercolor painting and instead ponder how water behaves under all circumstances. There are three ways that water moves all on its own, in every circumstance, unless a physical barrier stands in … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Look at That- Second Edition, Second Edition of Look at That!, Sketchbooks, sketching, Watercolor | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

Secret #6 – “Don’t push me!”Guide the Bead Instead

Posted on August 26, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

Create a Bead, then guide it for juicy, brush-mark-free painting success. So many beginners will try to paint with watercolors the same way they would with other paints, like acrylics or oils. Their watercolor paintings end up looking dry and … Continue reading →

Posted in Beauty, Look at That- Second Edition, Second Edition of Look at That!, Sketchbooks, Sketching tools, Watercolor | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Welcome to Week 5 of “The 8 Secrets of Watercolor Success”

Posted on August 19, 2024 by Bobbie Herron

Have any of you noticed a pattern to these watercolor secrets so far? In these first five tips, the water and the watercolor have not yet touched the paper! There’s a reason for that. Once you learn these secrets, this … Continue reading →

Posted in Look at That- Second Edition, Second Edition of Look at That!, Uncategorized, Watercolor | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment