Splashing Through Life - Art by Patricia Henderson

I have a bunch of sketchbooks/art journals laying around that I had been sporadically working in. I get very excited every March when Karen Abend starts up Sketchbook Revival and I work away each day, discovering new ways to journal and sketch, and discovering wonderful artists, crafters and writers. But when March is over, I go back to only getting out my books just every once in a while. I've decided to change that and start a "Regular Art Journal Practice." That doesn't mean that I will be slavishly producing something wonderful every day. Some days I work at something quite intricate and intense, other days I will just cover a page with leftover paint from my palette! Other days I won't do anything at all. But it's not long before I get back into a sketchbook. I thought I'd share a few pages with you and how I came to make them. Many are inspired by prompts or demos by other artists that I admire, some come from books or prompt cards that I own. S...

  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.

My painting and collage have been put on the back burner for a while due to the holidays and then some family stuff. Until I get back to it, here is a little tiny tutorial on how to make stamps easily and affordably using things you might find around the house and the dollar store.  First of all, head to the dollar store or Walmart and buy yourself a package of craft foam that is adhesive on one side. Draw designs on the foam, and then cut out with a craft knife or scissors. You can then peel of the backing of the foam and adhere your design to almost anything. It doesn’t have to be fancy. Here are some examples of stamps that I have made: Craft foam adhered to jar and bottle lids. Leftover mat board, one with elastic bands, and the other with craft foam. Craft foam adhered to styrofoam cut from fast food containers. Design carved into styrofoam from fast food container with a ballpoint pen. Pattern carved into erasers with a craft (X-ACTO) knife. Be careful!...

  Finally! Bird #100 of 100! Mar 9, 2022 Updated: Oct 26, 2023 Way back in the beginning of 2019, in the "before times", I gave myself the challenge of painting or collaging 100 birds. To make it easier on myself I decided that it would be 100 birds in total, not necessarily 100 separate individual birds, so some of the paintings could have more than one bird in it. Finally, here we are in 2022 and I've recently completed my 100th bird, another crow. They are one of my favourite subjects. With their black glossy feathers that actually shine with so many colours, to their intelligence and character, I find them endlessly fascinating to paint. I want to thank everyone for their interest and for cheering me on. It took me a lot longer to finish than I thought. The pandemic didn't help. While some artists took advantage of being forced to stay home more often and created volumes of work, I found that I was often not motivated at all and often spent time playin...

  Updated: Oct 26, 2023 Once again, I'm digging through the archives of my old blog to bring you this tiny tutorial. I love my meander sketchbooks. I may have to make a new one myself! JULY 20, 2020 BY PATTY With so much going on in the world today, sometimes it’s hard to concentrate on working on a “serious” piece of art. By serious, I suppose I mean something that is going to be a finished or complete project; something that you are going to show others, hang in your home, or sell. Right now, my mind is all over the place, so I’ve turned to my Meander Sketchbook, where I just play with colours, using any or all of my supplies. For these, I’ve chosen not to paint anything specific, but instead I’m painting completely non-objective, or what some call abstract. These paintings are just for me, so there is no pressure to do a “good job”! It was a few years ago at a meetup with some watercolour painting buddies that my friend Charlene McGill demonstrated how to make a Meand...