Category Archives: Watercolor

The Power and Purpose of Silence

Silence can be the ultimate act of decluttering. Silence is scarce. We attain momentary darkness every time we blink our eyes or close them for several minutes / hours when we sleep each night. Our eyes let us rest. But … Continue reading

Posted in Beauty, sketching, Watercolor, Writing | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Curiosity + Looking = Unexpected Aha Moments

Here’s your mid-week dessert, a bit of combined brain and eye candy. Watch and listen to my mentor Oliver Pyle (whom I mentioned in my previous post) as he guides you into a world you may have never seen, the … Continue reading

Posted in Beauty, Design Basics, Seeing and looking, sketching, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Power and Purpose of Story

What is a story anyway? Just because you’re talking doesn’t mean you’re telling a story, right? Here is Dictionary.com’s definition: Story: a narrative, either true or fictitious, in prose or verse, designed to interest, amuse, or instruct the hearer or … Continue reading

Posted in Beauty, Musings on Life, My Story, Watercolor, Writing | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Prepare to March On

Face it, we are all going through some interesting times right now. 2025 arrived with a crash of cymbals. Many of us have struggled through (and barely survived) wildfires, blizzards, floods, civil unrest and more – all during the past … Continue reading

Posted in Beauty, Musings on Life, My Story, Watercolor | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

Emulating the Masters Again

As I mentioned last week, I am navigating a couple of medical challenges that leave me with very little energy to do extra things, even those things that normally rejuvenate me. Then I glimpse my sketchbook on the table…. next … Continue reading

Posted in Beauty, Musings on Life, Sketching tools, Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Travel is my favorite path to Enlightenment

Mark Twain once said, “Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” I agree, and I love experiencing this truth firsthand as often as possible. Five years ago, I traveled to England to visit a friend I’d never met. Well, that’s … Continue reading

Posted in Beauty, Book #2: Double Take, Seeing and looking, sketching, Trips to the UK, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

If you stop, I’ll stop.

Those of you who sketch outdoors regularly may recall times when you entered a trance-like state while sketching. Without planning it, you traveled from effortful thinking to effortless rapture, and before you knew it, you had the shallow breathing of … Continue reading

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

Why not me? Why not you?

August 11th has been a powerful day for me… several times. In 1973, it was the day of a horrific car accident where my brother and I were both badly injured. Fast forward 41 years to 2014, August 11th was … Continue reading

Posted in Book #2: Double Take, Look at That! book, Pen & Ink, sketching, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , | 5 Comments

How to Double the Fun when Travel Sketching

(This is the next in the series of excerpts from my illustrated memoir, “Double Take.”) Planning a vacation? If you’re like me, the minute you buy your plane ticket or book your B&B, it feels like you’re almost on your … Continue reading

Posted in Book #2: Double Take, Pen & Ink, Seeing and looking, Sketchbooks, sketching, Travel Adventures, Trips to the UK, Urban Sketching (On-Site Creativity), Watercolor | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

When a pen is more than a pen

(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