Simply Draw & Paint it
Hi !
Here I share my thoughts about living a creative life, about how I found more and more fun and joy in making art and looking for creativity by getting rid of my demons like fear, perfectionism, what-might-other-people-think, ugliness (what’s that anyway?), Art with a big A, dogma’s …. Everybody is an artist and everybody is creative!
Please feel free to share your story in the comments in my posts! I read all the comments and I would love to hear from you!
Tell me your story here: info @ barbaraluel.com
Create More Depth in your Watercolor
What I find most tricky to do when I'm out sketching is to create depth in a watercolor sketch! Creating depth in a watercolor painting involves understanding the principles of perspective, value, color, and composition. Here are some tips to help you achieve a sense...
5 tips to create a drawing ritual
Creating a drawing ritual to make a small drawing a day is magic to boost your drawing skills and to your mental and emotional health. The most difficult part for me is to get started. Everybody has his own tips & tricks. The best place to keep a drawing ritual is...
Things I tell myself when I’m in fear of the blank page
Life sometimes gets in the way of what gives you energy so I need to remind myself regularly of what makes me happy, to force myself to make time for it, to get rid also of my imposter syndrome, to get past difficult thoughts... Tell myself I don't need to make a...
Happy 2023 😃
Happy new year 2023 !… This changing of year, is always a great time to reflect on how things are going, and planning for the year ahead. How was your year 2022? Mine was great, compared to others, like in Ukraine, who are living in war time since February 2022.... I...
Watercolor Sketchbook Journaling : Different Ways of Sketching and Collecting Souvenirs
My favorite season, Autumn, is a great moment to try some new ways of Sketchbook Journaling ! Usually I simply make a painting per page, but lately I started making variations in lay outs, with smaller drawings mixed with bigger sketches and it gives a much...
About brushes
What I love about trying new brushes it is that those new brushes, with special hair I don’t know, oblige me to find new movements! With those Japanese brushes you don’t paint in the same way as with a Western sable hair or synthetic brush, for example: with those soft calligraphy brushes you have to hold the brush perpendicular to the paper if you want to go to a fine point or paint fine details. You can also obtain large variations in thickness.
By trying out “new” movements to get the most out of the new brush still unfamiliar to me, I also get a different perspective on what I am doing.
Autumn Joy
I received this beautiful message about Autumn, which I want to share with you, because it's my favorite season! I find it soothing and giving me energy! As we enter Autumn, may we find harmony with the rhythm of the changing season and the lessons it brings: As...
Experiment & Play (with Watersoluble Graphite)
I started exploring again different types of watersoluble graphite, to play with watercolor. Here’s a video I made with watersoluble graphite paste by Viarco. Have you already tried drawing and painting with watersoluble graphite? I put the graphite paste in a small...
Put your Ass Where Your Heart Wants To Be !
Are you also afraid to show your art to the world? When you paint, write, create….. you know it won’t be loved by everybody, but when you get a negative comment it still hurts like hell, doesn’t it?
Color Party
Why stress about colors? Why is it so overwhelming? A palette is like a self-portrait of an artist. Isn't that overwhelming? These colors reflect my emotional condition? Each layout and collection of pans is personal and unique! If you spend any time with...
Thank you so much !
Thank you thank you thank you ! I felt overwhelmed by your love and support to my previous blogpost where I was screaming out my overwhelm and despair because of my moving of houses. That really meant so much to me! Thank you ! I'm slowly getting used to the new house...
Ouch, that hurts!
Practice what you preach…. I thought I’d always find time to sketch and paint, but that’s not true…. I didn’t touch my art supplies for more about 2 weeks… Those boxes were the last thing I made… And then I also had to pack my studio. We moved to a house..
I need more playing!
Do you find time to play in your sketchbook? I don't find enough time.... So I made a Skillshare class about it.... (teach what you most need to learn to make sure you remember it ) My new class is all about taking time to play in my sketchbook 🙂 My sketchbook is...
Art in troubled times
When the world is literally falling apart in wars, human and natural disasters “This is precisely the time when artists go to work,” Toni Morrison wrote in her electrifying case for the artist’s task in troubled times. “There is no time for despair, no place for...
Boost your sketching skills with a creative challenge!
Hello my dearest ! How are you? I hope this first month of the year is going smoothly for you! When the new year starts I always have plenty of good resolution to boost my art skills, and doing creative challenges is always one of them! So I made an online class...
4 ideas to improve your sketching skills in 2022
On the last week of the year I'm always taking time to reflect on the past year and on the coming year. It's the slowest and most busy week of the year, where I end up puzzled for not having done what I wanted to do. I found a nice list of questions to reflect on the...
The most common creative block?
Hello my dearest ! It's that time of the year again: december ! And we're still in a pandemic year, with all exacerbated emotions, highs and lows… How has this year been for you? Have you been creating and drawing and painting? How do you plan on fueling...
Painting Autumn
I'm fascinated by the explosion of autumn colours each year ! The smell of the earth with the falling leaves, the changes in temperature and the colours of the trees... Fall is inspiration for many writers as well.... Time to paint, to eat with friends in the evening...
Don’t feel guilty !
"Don't feel guilty about spending (or wasting) your time on making art.", I got in my mailbox from Danny Gregory. I found that's really a great message I want to share with you, because I've been feeling this a lot, and I read a lot of similar messages from readers...
Exciting drawing days !
The beginning of autumn is for me always a beautiful time, but as well an overwhelming time. Light is changing, colors are changing. Life is changing... I'm in total overwhelm for the moment! We will be moving out of our house in a couple of months, my hubby and I,...
