Splashing Through Life - Art by Patricia Henderson

  Updated: Oct 26, 2023 I've recently painted three happy sunflower watercolours and have added them to Daily Paintworks' Art for Ukraine Fundraiser. In this fundraiser, artists donate their artwork and people can bid on the pieces they are interested in buying. I would be so excited to have someone buy my paintings, and delighted to donate the proceeds to UNHCR Canada. This agency helps refugees throughout the world and right now desperately need funds to help the people of Ukraine. Below each painting is a link to bid on the art. My auction will be live for 10 days, starting today, April 7, 2022. Thank you! UPDATE: As of May 8, 2022, all three paintings have been sold! Thank you so much to the bidders.

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

Maybe it is appropriate that my last painting of this year is of a crow. According to some legends, the crow can be a sign of change. We are changing from the old year to the new, and that always comes with the expectation of changes, hopefully for the better. Wishing you all a Happy New Year full of wonderful changes, new beginnings and the comfort of things that we want to stay the same. Family, friends, and home. Patty A Sign of Change 5" X 7" Watercolour, ink, coloured pencils (Click on picture for larger image)

I've been working on a collage, but  I've been going back to the Clear Tar Gel when I need a break. These are great because you can do a lot of the Tar Gel designs ahead of time and then bring them out when you feel like playing! This is one I've been working on a little bit at a time, and I don't think I'm finished yet. I like where it is going so far. The camera has emphasized the darker purple parts a bit, but I kind of like the look so I may darken some more of those passages. I'll post again when it's finished and I have a better photo. Abstract Orange Floral 20" X 15" on Illustration Board

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:

I had taken a break from Watercolour Wednesday for a few weeks...(okay, I was lazy!), but it's back!! I was missing my little green tree frog that was sold the other day, so I decided to tackle a couple others. These guys are really colourful and fancy, and probably poisonous...but I thought they were cute! They are mostly watercolour, with a bit of ink and crayon. And both are available in my Etsy Store . Feeling Blue! ACEO 2.5 X 3.5" Fancy Frog ACEO 2.5 X 3.5" (Reference Photos courtesy of Morguefile)

Today I'm veering away from my watercolour sketches and sharing three prints I created with my  Gelli Arts®  Printing Plate . I had recently purchased some new paint, Golden Open Acrylics . They stay wet longer than regular acrylic paints and I wanted to see how they work with the  Gelli®  Plate. So,  I went out into my yard to find something interesting to use. Well, something that I have an overabundance of is Dandelions! A couple of these are combined with some fronds of a fern that I have in the house. I have to say, that I had to force myself to stop after a while! This is way too much fun and ADDICTING!  I really liked using the Golden Opens for these prints. I think I will try to put together a bit of a step by step demo one of these days here on my blog. Although there are tons of info out there on the net about  Gelli®  Printing! Click on photo to see larger

A real quickie this morning, as I had to go to the dentist! I've done a few of these rosebuds in ACEO format, but this one is bigger. It's a real girlie-girl painting. Would have been perfect for Valentine's day! Pink Rosebud 11 X 7" Watercolour and Acrylic on Matt Board

It's the dead of winter and I'm daydreaming about summer days and dragonflies. I know that it is Watercolour Wednesday, but today I've painted in a mix of Water media.  What is watermedia you ask? Well in art circles it is basically any media that is soluble in water. So it includes watercolour paint, acrylic paint, inks, dyes, etc. This tiny painting was  started with watercolours and ink and finished with a washy mix of acrylic paint. You can't see it here, but the wings were covered in a pearly iridescent paint. Dragonfly Daydream 2.5 X 3.5"