Nature's Heart

Keep close to Nature's heart, yourself; and break clear away, once in a while, 

and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods...  -John Muir

2023 list of favorite art supplies!

A new art app, a fancy watercolor brush or a big canvas. 

App store, Michaels or Blick... when it comes to art stuff, I am a giddy fool. And yes, I am THAT person who gets excited about the smell of crayons in the fall. 

Below is my list of favorite supplies that get a good workout in my studio. Enjoy! 

Here is the link the listed supplies on Amazon.

The watercolor paper from Blick can be found here. 

General Craft Supplies

Digital Supplies/Apps

Watercolor Supplies

small & mighty moments

Hi friends! 

Super excited! My first collection “small & mighty moments” launches March 11th! This collection evolved from a February painting challenge, where the goal has been to paint something floral everyday. I usually paint before work. Not having a ton of time and wanting to not waste paper, I did a few smaller pieces on little scraps, that got a huge response. I was floored. Then the name and “why” of this percolating collection hit me like a ton of bricks. 

I’ve been camping out in my cousin’s Instagram feed lately. Now she has the cutest kiddos on earth… but it’s been the little moments that she has captured that have gifted a chuckle & inspired me. Waking up early to wait for the garbage truck, baking a cake, going on walks, stopping to look at bugs, writing notes to each other… it’s those small but profound moments in life that make a mighty impact. 

One of my favorite small & mighty moments, was being the first person in our family to give my sister a bottle. I think I skipped dinner. 😂 Watching clouds laying on the lawn after playing catch with my dad, stopping to watch a funny cat videos with my teenagers, a cuddle on the couch, sharing a weekday boat ride with my hubby, playing darts with my sister & Nikki, walking with mom through her garden. All these “small” moments make up the most treasured memories I have. 

What are your favorite “small & mighty” moments? 

Have a great rest of your week!

Devyn

giveaway alert... fresh ideas for snow people needed!

 So many snow people, so little time. Feel free to comment a type of snow person you would like to see me illustrate... I've been at it for 10 years and have tackled everything from a mermaid snow person to snowmen on motorcycles... I would love to hear your unique ideas! 

If your design is picked, I will send you a FREE pack of 10 cards with your idea. They make FABULOUS gifts for those on your list who are hard to shop for. Happy brainstorming!

Lean in & grow!

 

For a while now I have been apart of an amazing creative community called the Insiders Studio headed buy the amazing artist Amanda Evanston. Every week we get new classes to build our creative muscles. As life would have it, I’m not able to get at my paints as much as I would like... so I challenged myself to try Amanda’s technique digitally using my iPad, Apple Pencil and the Procreate app. 

Boy have I fallen in love! Flinging paint in real life will always be my favorite... but this is pretty dang awesome! (Insert cheesy ear to ear grin.)

The piece above was created following Amanda’s Winter Scene class. I can’t stop drawing snow people now. My brain loves tackling and problem solving challenges like this. 

Lean in to places where you are stuck.. think creatively and be ready to grow! I grew a whole different style when I wasn’t looking. 😂 Not sad about it!

PS check out @amanda_evanston you will experience art and creativity like you never have before!

mixed media star collage love

 I have been totally obsessed with mixed media collage this summer. Swooning over the textures that acrylic matte medium creates. It's easy to bring them out by using a small bit of dark acrylic paint on a paper towel. You just buff it in, wait a minute, then buff off with a clean paper towel. Total game changer. I've done hearts and stars.. trying to think of more fun shapes!

a piece of my heart

One of my favorite things is hand painting cards. 

Why spend so much time on one card? 

From a businesses perspective it makes zero logical sense. 

To me...

It's a hug in an envelope. 

It's time. 

It's something unique, just for you that no one else has. 

It's a piece of my heart expressed on paper.

Character design is a lot like speed dating...

OK... so we are a few months into in this pandemic thing. My day job is ed tech so I've been pretty busy helping flip our school to online learning. Work has been crazy busy. 

To find calm in the chaos, I picked illustrating back up and have been digging into character design. My goal is to one day get one of these little darlings in a book. 

My daughter and I love inventing goofy characters together. A hippo with watermelon feet is one I am currently puzzling through. 

This evening's epiphany....character design is a lot like speed dating. 
I have a few ideas for books. My brain is all over the place and I'm finding it hard to narrow down an idea for a character to polish up. It is going to be hard to pick just one. 

Jolting & humbling revelation that I can forget how to draw stuff if I don't keep up practicing. I used to bang out characters like crazy... realizing now I need to relearn how to draw hands, bodies, etc. So rusty! It's like trying to do a cartwheel when you haven't had a gym class in 30 years.  

So jumped into taking a class on character design and am enjoying it. A good push to get back into the daily drawing habit. 

Focus this week is picking a character to polish up and really hammering out a lot of hands and body sketches this week. 

I kinda miss painting flowers... they don't have hands. 

New Season!

I went and did it. I fell in love with studio art. I'm starting to sell a few pieces watercolors, collage and acrylics...really rewarding after spending the last two years focusing on just simply doing art. For my latest work, swing by and visit me on Instagram @devynlarson
Can't wait to share more! ")

Paint big with no fear.....Making friends with Adobe Photoshop photomerge!

I like to paint big... and I can not lie... ") 

I also don't have the room for a complex photo set up to snap pics of my over sized work. 

So... with much thanks to fellow artists who share, I discovered the photomerge ability of Adobe Photoshop. This is kind of a "sloppy copy," but I am SO EXCITED I had to post it before I "glammed" it up. I give credit to a very unselfish artist who helped me overcome a BIG stumbling block. Here is her post about the process . . . marshariti.com. Thank you Marsha Riti! You have a fan for life. 

Purple on the brain today

Celebrating Mom with a new batch of hand painted cards!

Hand painted pillows . . .

Watercolor flower wreath

Watercolor Doodles - Love first . . .

My creative happy place . . .

Practicing watercolor blooms . . .

We had blue skies for a minute!

For I know . . .

Can't wait to see my roses!

Rescued watercolors . . . India ink for the win!

It sat still, it was white, it got painted

You are loved

First Video!

Watercolor flowers . . . practice, lots of practice

Weekend work!

The weekend started with decorating cookies with friends and ended with lots of watercolor practice. 

Bliss . . . ") 

The great koala challenge . . .

I wanted to do something special for a friend's baby shower. She has a koala theme going on for her nursery. Small problem, I have NEVER drawn a koala. Akkk . . . panic time.

After looking at WAY too many pics on Pinterest/Google images . . . I decided to keep the "artistic voice" challenge going and attempt to come up with my own interpretation of a koala. Attacking it with watercolor was another stretch . . but practice has paid off and I love how he turned out. My favorite part is his freckles. Next go, will add a pet worm on the handle end of his fishing pole . . . he needs a worm buddy. 

It's what YOU see . . .

“It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.” – Henry David Thoreau

Chewing a lot on the meaning of "artistic voice." There are so many artists I am inspired by/want to emulate. Yet, I want to put my own perspective and creative voice out there to be heard. Still figuring that part out. My style has changed a lot in the last few years. Time to do a lot of exploring. Today was a "find my voice play day" with mixed media . . . colored pencils, watercolor, acrylics . . . it was fun experimenting! 

Courage . . .

“Trust the still, small voice that says, “this might work & I’ll try it.”

- Diane Mariechild

Back at it!

No excuses . . . Family, life & work have been the focus the last few years. 

BUT, I'm excited to be at a place in life now, where I can devote focused time to creating. 

Totally friggin' giddy!!! 

Having a new space to create is a major bonus. (New studio pics coming!) 

I've been working hard on new designs & techniques which I am looking forward to sharing. Hand & brush lettering with watercolors have been my latest obsession. I've also been pushing myself away from GIMP & MS Publisher to learn Illustrator & Photoshop. 

Always something new to learn! 

You've been missed! 

New Painting - Amate Style!

Yep...Still crushing on Mexican folk art. I love this style and how easy it is to create a uniquely personal piece of colorful & whimsical art. This piece was created for my fabulous Aunt on her 60th birthday.
I was able to depict her love of horses and riding, her 4 Aussies and an agility course, my cousin's wedding, our recent trip together to La Quinta (fountain/Marichi band) , CA, her love of the outdoors fishing, entertaining ...It was a blast to create.

We are just a week out from having floors in the new part of the house! After much dreaming (and WAY too much Pinterest pinning) I am close to having my own space to create and paint! A year without a desk is too long. I am so excited to begin creating on a more regular basis again. Pictures of the new studio space to come! Most likely will be sharing with both daughters . . . they love to steal my paint brushes. ") We did the painting below for Great Grandma!

New Halloween & Thanksgiving Designs!

A Great Read!

Inhaled this fascinating book in 24 hours. Thank you Grandma Jean for the recommendation!

Book summary from Amazon . . .

The life Kamila Sidiqi had known changed overnight when the Taliban seized control of the city of Kabul. After receiving a teaching degree during the civil war—a rare achievement for any Afghan woman—Kamila was subsequently banned from school and confined to her home. When her father and brother were forced to flee the city, Kamila became the sole breadwinner for her five siblings. Armed only with grit and determination, she picked up a needle and thread and created a thriving business of her own.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana tells the incredible true story of this unlikely entrepreneur who mobilized her community under the Taliban. Former ABC News reporter Gayle Tzemach Lemmon spent years on the ground reporting Kamila's story, and the result is an unusually intimate and unsanitized look at the daily lives of women in Afghanistan. These women are not victims; they are the glue that holds families together; they are the backbone and the heart of their nation. Afghanistan's future remains uncertain as debates over withdrawal timelines dominate the news.

The Dressmaker of Khair Khana moves beyond the headlines to transport you to an Afghanistan you have never seen before. This is a story of war, but it is also a story of sisterhood and resilience in the face of despair. Kamila Sidiqi's journey will inspire you, but it will also change the way you think about one of the most important political and humanitarian issues of our time.