Splashing Through Life - Art by Patricia Henderson

It was so peaceful on my back porch this morning,while I was sketching in my idea book. We had some tiny visitors to the hummingbird feeders lately and that inspired me to develop an idea for a collage. This is a very small doodle of my idea so far.  I was kept company by Mrs. Robin on her nest, and Miss Maggie by my side. Hummingbird Collage Idea In my Sketchbook 6" X 3" NFS

Every month I get together with a wonderful friend and we play! We try out different art techniques and media and  get our creative juices flowing. Yesterday we got out two books by Mary Todd Beam, Celebrate Your Creative Self and The Creative Edge . I was lucky enough to go to one of her week long workshops at Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Tennessee about 4 years ago. It was great to get out her books and try out some the excercises. It brought back some wonderful memories. Here are a couple of experiments that I tried yesterday: I Dreamt I was a Dragonfly 9" x 7" Acrylic on Mat Board Under the Mountain 14" X 9" on Mat Board

I was having a hard time thinking of what to paint today. Then I remembered that I hadn't done one of these little dandelions in a while. So here you go! Dandelion 2.5 X 3.5"

Around here, summer has returned and is staying a little late. We're not complaining! Yesterday was so nice, I got distracted and sat outside reading instead of painting my Wednesday watercolour. Here are a few little watercolours that have been hanging around from the summertime that never got posted. Next week I promise to be on time! (Maybe...) Daisy # 4 2.5" X 3.5" Pink Rosebud #2 2.5" X 3.5" Yellow Rosebud #2 2.5" X 3.5"

Sometimes when I'm stuck for what to do in my studio, I get out the Clear Tar Gel Medium. What is this stuff? Well on the container of the Golden Clear Tar Gel, it says it "Generates fine lines by dripping from a palette knife or other tool." Here is a little demo I did a couple years back that shows how you can use it. CLICK HERE FOR DEMO . One of these days, I'll learn how to set up a video demo, but for now you are stuck with photos! I have a few of these on the go right now. Here are two funky flowers! Each one is 20" X 7.0" on Peterboro Illustration Board. I used Fluid Acrylic paints. Yellow Flower                    Pink Flower And here are some closeups:

A good friend of mine introduced me to   Brusho®   Paint crystals the other day, and a group of us tried it out. It sure was fun experimenting with it and figuring out all the ways that it can be used! What is  Brusho®  you ask? Click on this link from  BrushoSecrets.com and it will tell you all about it. Basically it is powdered pigment crystals.  You can sprinkle it on dry paper and then spray with water, or sprinkle the dry powder on wet paper, or mix with water and paint like watercolour. Each method gives you a different effect. When the crystals react with water, they burst with colour and spread out in interesting patterns. Out of the several experiments there were only two that came out worth posting here. For the first one, I drew the shape of the flower and then painted it with plain water. I then sprinkled the water with  Brusho®.  I ended up with quite a wild Coneflower! I did add very small touches of watercolour when I got home. ...

We've really been enjoying the fresh fruits and veggies at our local produce stand this year! And one of the best things about summer that we've been savouring  is watermelon. So sweet and juicy! A Slice of Summer 6" X 6"  on Canvas $45 (Available in my Etsy Shop or contact me directly)