a watercolor celebration giveaway!

Did you know that July is the worldwide celebration of watercolor? I didn’t either until late June! And I have a special treat for you! I have pre-filled a wonderful 36 pan travel palette made just for me by robax.com and filled it with 36 of my favorite Daniel Smith Watercolors. Woot! Imagine all the luscious possibilities! Oh, and I am adding an autographed copy of my newest book, The Art of Creative Watercolor just to make your summer a little more colorful! All you need to do is visit my shop and place and order in my Market between now and 9 am PST, Monday, July 16, 2018 and you’ll be auto-entered to win! This includes all physical products and the classes. International peeps can’t buy physical product yet but can buy courses to be entered! Please note, my FREE course, DD | Inspired does not count as a purchase …

EVER AFTER 2018 | blog hop & giveaway

Hello everyone! I have some wonderful & exciting news! I am going to be teaching on Ever After this year! I’m excited for the opportunity to present my passion and my work through a new platform. Even MORE exciting than that? I can give away 1 space on this magical new collaborative art course! Keep reading if you want to find out more about Ever After and if you want to find out how you can win a spot! First, let me tell you a bit more about Ever After in case you haven’t heard about it yet! “Ever After” is a mixed media art & style development course with a fairytale theme hosted by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts. Tam is joined by 14 popular mixed media art teachers who will all share beautiful fairy-tale & myth inspired lessons with you AND they will also divulge all their hints …

down to earth | start-to-finish workshop

I had such an amazing response to my most recent mushroom-filled illustration that I have decided to share the process and create a workshop based on it. I think it will be a wonderful way to see in the New Year and I hope you’ll consider joining me.  I’ll walk you through my process from start-to-finish. The course will include instruction on drawing, painting and inking using Daniel Smith watercolors, Faber-Castell Watercolor Pencils and Pitt Pens and my handy-dandy white marker techniques. We’ll stay focused throughout on creating a pleasing composition through placement, shape, size, color and pattern choices. I am especially excited to introduce a few new learning tools in this class as well! It’s my hope that they will serve you well as you move your own art forward after completing the class. This piece took me almost 20 hours to complete so you know the content will …

BIG WHEEL O’ COLOR | sometimes boring browns

I recently added 9 new Daniel Smith watercolors to my palette and I thought I would share my thoughts on them and I how I envision using them in future work. Here are the next two for you to consider adding to your ever-growing Daniel Smith palette! DANIEL SMITH | yavapai genuine Apache legend speaks of a single dove that left the edge of the original well and saw the world. When the great floods came, this dove led the first woman to the safety of the Yavapai. Today, the enfolding security of the Yavapai stone provides a sentimental glimpse through time. The endurance of the stone symbolizes the endurance of the human spirit. The warm, reddish, yellow-brown color, similar to a sienna, remains unchanged. Made from Arizona rock, Yavapai Genuine is transparent with a surprisingly smooth texture in washes. This legendary pigment can link your palette to the indomitable past …

BIG WHEEL O’ COLOR | all things green

I recently added 9 new Daniel Smith watercolors to my palette and I thought I would share my thoughts on them and I how I envision using them in future work. Here are the next two for you to consider adding to your ever-growing Daniel Smith palette! DANIEL SMITH (PG23) | rare green earth  is dark green in mass tone and in washes. With the slightest hint of blue, it suggests, in washes, the hue of distant evergreens. It’s good for atmospheric shadows too. Try mixing Rare Green Earth with Rhodonite to make luscious, reticulating grapy purples. ASTM Lightfastness Rating: Excellent Transparency: Transparent Granulating: Yes Staining: Non-Staining DANIELLE’S THOUGHTS | rare green earth is a subtle, chalky green that reminds me of a soft moss that grows on the rocks and trees on my hikes in the forest. I just want to lay down and take a nap in it. Pictured on the leave to …

BIG WHEEL O’ COLOR | limited loveliness

I recently added 9 new Daniel Smith watercolors to my palette and I thought I would share my thoughts on them and I how I envision using them in future work. Last week we covered yellows – this week, a new favorite orange and a meek little violet. DANIEL SMITH (PR168) | anthraquinoid scarlet is a deep, transparent orange. In a wash, it’s a light peach tint—at full strength, it moves to a deep, red-orange lipstick color with all the pigment strength, DANIEL SMITH paints are famous for. It’s absolutely beautiful! ASTM Lightfastness Rating: Excellent Transparency: Transparent Granulating: No Staining: Low DANIELLE’S THOUGHTS | anthraquinoid scarlet is a dreamy, blush color when mixed with lots of water to create a transparent wash. DS considers it an orange but it looks more like a really warm red to me. I just love this color! It mixes beautifully with lots of colors. Try it with Nickel Titanate Yellow or …

BIG WHEEL O’ COLOR | yellow is a lonely fellow

I recently added 9 new Daniel Smith watercolors to my palette – two of which are yellow. In the next few blog posts, I will share my thoughts on them and I how I envision using them in future work. If you haven’t heard by naow – yellow is a pretty lonely color on my palette. Given that it is my least favorite color, I hate to give it a ton of space on my palette – BUT it is essential to my work since I seem to paint with every color in all of my illustrations. What can I say? I am a rainbow kinda girl!

Two Upcoming Workshops — Join me!

Hello, Hello, Hello, adorable gang of mine!!! A quick (down & dirty) Sunday note! I have TWO workshops coming up. Here are the details!!!! (ps. because I would love to see you there!). If you live in California or you feel like a quick trip….Oh, c’mon! It’s going to be all kinds of fun!! Just click away below and you will find all the info! April 9, 2017 a one-day (step-by-step) workshop at A Work of Heart Studio San Jose, CA May 13, 2017 a one-day (step-by-step) workshop at Running With Scissors Studio Sacramento, CA    

A Color Narrative — Join me!

  Guys!!!!  Only 24 hours left to get the early registration price of $32 for my New course  “A Color Narrative” coming up next month, on the Jeanne Oliver Network!. This course is filled so many new ideas, techniques and inspiration! We begin — March 6th. Come on! Join in the fun!!!! . . . . . Color tells stories and shares emotion in ways words can’t. In our time together, I’ll help you discover the beauty of each color and the stories they are ready to help you share through your art. We’ll begin by learning how to build limited color palettes that travel well and push you to figure out how to create your own beautiful colors. Once we have built our palettes, we’ll learn to mix a plethora of colors with a series of simple questions and adjustments. Next, we’ll work on some exercises that will reveal the …

A Color Narrative Workshop — Winner! Winner!

We have a winner! A BIG HAPPY CONGRATS TO — FAYEAOWENS! I will be sending you a DM on instagram with details! I can’t wait to see you in class! Thank you everyone for the sweet comments and new follows! Stay tuned for more fun!      

the stamps are here. get inspired!

You guys! The day is here and so are the stamps! Can we get a big “yippy skippy!!!” But first let’s give some cheers for the winner from yesterday’s blog giveaway. Are you ready, can you hear the drum roll! A happy congrats and wahoo goes to… Courtney Walsh! The stamps are ready to skip to their new homes and studios. Ready to be filled with color and your very one style and flair. Hop on over to the shop and check out all the sets.  I am beyond happy with this new offering and would love to see how you are using your stamps to create, I mean who doesn’t love sassy girl stamps! ( another THANKS to stamping bella) …and just for giggles, let’s use #danielledonaldsoninspired and get this party started! Giveaway note:  Courtney Walsh, we will be in touch!