[pinit]

[pinit]

Hi there, Saved By Love readers! This month I have a little different type of project to share with you and I hope you like it. I love crafting and I especially love sharing craft tutorials but I realized I hadn’t shared any of my artwork with you yet.

With Father’s Day coming up, along with summer vacations getting started, I thought you might enjoy a fun printable that I made from one of my watercolor paintings. I have links to the downloads at the bottom of the post, but first I wanted to show you some of the steps I go thru for a watercolor.

I start with a sketch, of course.

No, that’s wrong. I actually start by gathering loads of visual references. Google makes it so easy now.

When I started painting in the ’90’s, I was a magazine ripper. I had binder after binder of cataloged photos. When I’d paint a mural at someone’s house, their wall would be covered with magazine photos, held up with blue painter’s tape. Now I just keep photos in folders on my computer. Much, much easier.

When it comes to sketching, there are lots of techniques and methods out there. (I think YouTube has quite a few.) I don’t know any, however. I pretty much eyeball everything. Good erasers are a must!

For drawings like this vintage camper, I sketch in pencil pretty lightly until I’m satisfied that everything is in proper relation to everything else. Then I’ll grab a ruler to draw the straight lines. When the pencil sketch looks about right, I go over the pencil markings with a black marker, usually a Prisma .03. I don’t use a ruler with the marker, however, because if the ruler isn’t lined up perfectly, the whole drawing is shot. That’s happened a couple of times.

I’d rather freehand the lines and have a few bumps here and there. It also adds to the ‘charm’ of a freehand illustration. There are so many great digital artists now, and I love their work, but there’s something pleasingly ‘organic’ to a handdrawn or handpainted piece. At least, I think so.

Another drawing tip I have is to turn the paper (or canvas) upside down and all around while sketching, both with pencil and the marker. This is particularly helpful for curves and circles. Although another reason to turn the sketch upside down is you’ll see imperfections more clearly and, therefore, can fix them.

Try turning your paper upside down the next time you draw something. You’ll be surprised at what you see!

Finally, after everything is inked in – and it has dried (!) – I erase all of the pencil markings. That’s important before the painting starts otherwise you’ll get some graphite smeared into the paint.

With the sketch inked in, it’s time to lay down the colors. I’m new to watercolors so bear with me if you’re a watercolorist because I don’t really have any idea what I’m doing. Although I am having a lot of fun with them!

I still need a lot of practice with highlighting and shading but for simple illustrations like this camper, I just add layers of color until I get the depth I want. If you haven’t painted with watercolors since . . . well, since you were a kid, then you ought to give them a whirl again. It’s a great medium and the results are beautiful without a huge time investment, for the most part.

Sometimes I’ll leave the painting right there and call it finished, just with the initial inked sketch and color over it.

But going back over everything with a marker again helps sharpen the details, I think.

Either way, you wind up with a cute little painting that you can turn into a fun printable.

Click the above photo or here to download this 8 x 10 printable.

I thought this might be nice for a Father’s Day gift or just keep it for yourself!

Click the above photo or here to download this 8 x 10 printable.

Or you can download this camper and add your own text with PicMonkey or any other photo editing program.

Ever since I started painting, (nearly 20 years now) my goal has been for people to use my art. Sure, if you want to hang it on a wall, that’s great too. But I always wanted my paintings to be on everyday items. Now, with sites like Zazzle, that’s possible!

I also noticed that some artists were making their own digital clipart. After some research, I jumped into that pool too and opened a shop on Etsy where all of my art will be available as downloads. Clip art is in the works and will be in the shop soon. Not only does this keep my prices down, it means that people can use my art to make their own creations, including their blogs and web sites. So exciting for me!

I hope you like these camper printables! And I hope you’ll use them for other creations, besides just printing. I’d love to see what you come up with!

I’ll be back at the end of June with another fun project. In the meantime, drop by Just Paint It for more paint projects. You can also find me on Facebook, Google+, Pinterest and Instagram too. And of course, I’d love for you to drop by my Etsy and Zazzle stores.

Before too long, this camper will be in both. Not yet though. Right now, it’s just for Saved By Love Creations readers.

Happy Summer!