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My Journey in Learning How to Draw
Learning how to draw can feel challenging and intimidating. Many of us learn to draw as children but don’t practice drawing as we get older. As an adult, how do we regain our drawing skills and improve on them? Today I will be sharing a few simple ideas to start you drawing again and my personal journey in this process through a drawing course. I Can’t Draw Have you ever told anyone that you can’t draw? I have said these words too many times over the last few years. Learning how to draw has always been an area where I struggled. Often I compared my work to others and felt…
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Neurographic Art with Pan Pastels
If you haven’t tried neurographic art, this is a great self-care exercise for your creative practice. I was recently introduced to neurographic art by a subscriber on my YouTube channel and wanted to show you how to do this easy technique using blendable Pan Pastels. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. If you are new to art journaling or a creative practice, knowing where to start can be half the challenge. The beauty of neurographic art is that you don’t have to have art experience to enjoy this technique. It is…
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Choosing the Best Watercolor Marker
Choosing the best watercolor marker for your creative practice may seem daunting. There are many brands, styles, and colors of pens and markers available. How do we figure out which brand would be the best for us? Today I will share with you my experiences using watercolor markers and what to look for when purchasing a watercolor marker. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. Choosing the Best Watercolor Marker There are several things to consider when choosing the best watercolor marker to use for your creative practice. What are You Using Your…
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Textured Background Techniques for the Art Journal
I love adding interest to my projects with art journal textured background techniques. These beautiful techniques work for both my art journal projects and canvas projects. Adding texture as part of the initial layer before adding color lends to unique and beautiful results. Textures enhance the final look of your project and can help with design cohesion. Preparing the Surface Before adding background textures make sure to add a layer of gesso, especially on stretched canvas surfaces. This will strengthen the surface, add tooth, and allow you to add texture easily to the surface. Art Journal Textured Background Techniques There are many art journal texture techniques out there, but here…
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Canvas Preparation for the Art Curious
If you’ve been art journaling for a while, you may be interested in trying a project on canvas. For many of us it can be intimidating to know where to start with canvas preparation. When I first started painting and using canvases for mixed media, choosing a canvas, and learning how to prepare them for painting was confusing. This tutorial will show you how easy it is to prepare a canvas for painting including tips and techniques to give you great results. Materials for Canvas Preparation A Stretched Canvas or Canvas Board Choose a stretched canvas or canvas board that you would like to use in a project. Most stretched…
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5 Creative Techniques with Watercolor Markers
Watercolor markers are a fun and easy way to add beautiful blends of color to your creative projects. Watercolor markers and pens are easy to use and work well on a variety of surfaces. Today I am sharing 5 easy techniques for using watercolor markers in your creative projects. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. Watercolor Markers Watercolor markers come in many brands and styles. These range from fine tip pens to dual brush markers in a variety of thicknesses and nib styles. If you are new to watercolor and watercolor…
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Intimidated by Watercolor Mixing? An Easy Watercolor Tutorial
If you are new to watercolor painting, watercolor mixing may seem intimidating. Watercolor mixing is a great way of learning the palette, but where to start? What colors do you use? How do you mix colors without creating mud? When I was first learning how to use watercolor and acrylic paints, color mixing seemed impossible to learn. But I was determined to move past only using the color from the tube. I experimented, learned from others and I continue to grow in my skills. The effort to learn color mixing is worth it. Not only does it improve your paintings, but it also provides so much freedom in your creative…
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Creative Stamping with Watercolor Markers
Stamping with watercolor markers is a great way of customizing your stamping designs in your art journal or creative projects. I love watercolor markers because they can be used in so many different ways. Not just as writing or drawing pens, but also used with stamps and other mark making tools. Stamping with watercolor markers is a less conventional way of using these markers in your creative projects. Today I will be sharing some of my favorite techniques and how I use watercolor markers to customize my stamped images. Watercolor Markers There are a variety of watercolor markers available, but I prefer watercolor markers that have both a writing…
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Wild and Wonderful Art Journal Papers: An Exploration into Japanese Paper
There are so many unique art journal papers that I like to use in my creative projects and Japanese paper is one of my favorites. As much as I love my paints and mediums, I get just as excited about good quality paper. Using Japanese paper in collage and creative projects can add unique designs and textures to your pages. Today I’d like to share with you why I love Japanese paper and why you might want to try these unique art journal papers on your next project. Why Use Japanese Paper? If you want to create a unique look on your next art journaling project, try Japanese paper. This…
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Creating Mixed Media Tissue Paper
If you are looking to personalize your art journal projects, creating mixed media tissue paper is a fun way to get unique colors and textures. Creating mixed media tissue paper is easy and only requires a few materials. In this tutorial I will share with you three different techniques for getting a variety of different textures with mixed media tissue paper. Hop-A-Long Studio is reader-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission at no cost to you. Learn more. What Type of Tissue Paper to Use? There are a variety of tissue papers that you can use for this technique. From tissue paper used…
The Art of Self-Care
