HALLO, FRIEND. I'm so glad that you stopped by to visit. I really like how the seascape turned out too. I've tried to replicate versions sans tutorial and it isn't as nice, so I suspect I need to do it a few more times to really get the lessons.

Lesson 26: Paint some stuff







So now that I've learned some stuff, I wanted to find some pretty pictures on the interwebz to use as reference drawings. The first one used some of the wash and layering of color techniques I got to practice in that train tunnel. And the penguins used those cool hills fading into the distance... but BROWN. I dunno. And the third one has the layering and look at those cute little FLOWERS.

Also I am unapologetically adding ink to my art going forward, when I want, because I just like how it looks. that's not from a tutorial, that's just how I roll.

You are so darn talented!

I love how you roll and I love your style! I especially love the railway bridge and secret garden pieces. They really have their own magic.

Aw, thanks, Suzy <3<3 Thanks for coming in to look at my stuff.

How I rooooooll lol <3. I'm so pleased with the railway bridge, since the tutorial seemed so advanced at the time. I feel like I might try the garden door again with some of the new stuffs I've learned to see if I can get a little more variegation in the coloring, but it's kind of MAGIC right now.


Lesson 27: Hi Friends, thanks for visiting!







I really and truly do love having you guys visit and comment, so thanks to those who take the time to stop by <3. I dunno what to tell you anymore, except that these are more drawings from reference photos I found online. Pictures with a lot of greenery (or the same color, whatever it is) are hard to show much texture, distance, and shadow. If I had to do it again, I probably wouldn't have been brave enough to try that greenhouse, but it's so so so pretty and I wanted to try.

Also, these photos are like 2x as big as the actual paintings, so... I need to figure out how to resize for the future.

Lesson 28: Talking to myself







Okay, just dropping off some more paintings I did using reference drawings for my collection of landscapes/buildings. The first is a bridge here locally, and I was trying to capture the art in a sort of impressionistic way... not sure how I feel about it.

That last one is Ely Cathedral in the distance, which is often called 'Ship of the Fens' because of the way it sits above the rest of the landscape. KBAI.

hi friend these are beautiful i especially love the window one. your style is so aesthetically pleasing and i wish these were on little postcards or postage stamps or something. i really love them lots, thank you for always giving us such nice arts to look at

Thank you so much for your kind words! I wish I could figure out how to make prints because it would be so fun to send little cards with my own art on them. Alas, I haven't figured that out yet.


Lesson 29

Hiiii I def showed up here thinking there were going to be like stick figures but then it was doodles and I was like "okay that's cool!" and then there was stitching and pretty art and watercolors and I told myself I'd pick a favorite but I could not bc I love them all lol You are so so good! Thank you for sharing your beautiful art

I love your watercolors, especially these latest ones you're doing of specific places and buildings. They're so colorful with a cool illustrative style.

Have you tried any negative painting yet? I'm teaching it to my intro class right now, and I wonder if it's a technique you might like.

I'm lovin this around the world theme, i can't wait to see where you take us next
i am liked and subscribed
and i've hit that notification bell
also
i am particularly admiring the greenery in the belgium one today
wooooow

Hi, Miss Ern! I enjoyed looking through the artworks you've made, and I really love what I've seen! I love that you're trying different styles, and also I especially love the way you paint them???? I'm assuming it's watercolour, but I LOVE IT AND THE EFFECT! The way the colours blend is so beautiful

I can't wait to see more of your works! Thank you for sharing them with the community. Keep it up

I mean, they're MY version of stick figures, but thank you for your kind words <3 I hope you keep coming back and visiting.

I haven't specifically tried negative painting, but some of the theory behind it comes into play in doing the glazing in layers. They build up differently and create some shading and variation. I'll have to do some exploring, though, because it looks very cool.

Thanks for visiting and your kind comments <3

I don't have a like, subscribe, OR notification bell, but I know what you mean <3 I do a lot of stippling to create the variation in greenery in a tree. There's probably a way you're supposed to do it, so let's call this my style.

Hi, babycakes! It IS watercolor, and thank you so much for your kind words. I'm definitely going to keep posting, mostly because I don't know how else to show what I'm working on. So stop back, mmk?


Lesson 30

HELLO I AM HERE TO YELL ABOUT BALLOONS
i love when u do the balloons
BIG FAN OF THEM
and u
ok

You could use a sharpie pen. They are gel ink pens and really nice for everything I write and draw.

I actually just went here because I search for things about art and I love art so I went here to look at it. I think that it's all nicccccceeeeee.

Oh wow, I really love that gas station. It has such a cool, vintage mid-20th century art feel to it.

Guess who's back? It's meeee, I'm back!!

Your little hot air balloons are so so so cute! And the sky, oh my. How pretty <3 I agree with MJ that the gas station one looks vintage, and I'm loving the vibe! Your palazzo, though! Have you seen the movie Letters to Juliet? It somehow reminded me of that movie. The feel is nostalgic and romantic and beautiful!

ARIANA LIKES THE BALLOONS. Got it. I don't know if I have more coming soon, but I feel like I should make an opportunity for balloons just for you.

I actually do use a fineline sharpie for some things, and I've used a thicker one occasionally. It's nice that they are water resistant. They're a little thick for some of my line work, but I love how they turn out when they work.

I actually saw this one in a magazine and I knew that I immediately wanted to try to paint it. I love the lines, especially with those low mountains as contrast in the back.

Oh, I didn't think of that before, but that one totally reminds me of that movie now! I love that reference, thank you! I'm glad you came back for another visit, and that this set in particular spoke to you <3



Lesson 31





Hey, friends! These two reference photos were selected from perusing random street views on Google. I thought it would be SUCH A GOOD WAY to find interesting places to draw.

It is not.

It's mostly just streets, and all the interesting buildings are from the STREET and taken right up the nose of those buildings. The angles are odd and I can't pull back enough to enjoy the angles. So probably going to do something else going forward, but at least I got these two <3.

hi ern
i'm really enjoying this around the world project it's such a neat way to highlight all the beauty that is exists around us with the beauty you bring to the page with your colors and paintings and inks !!! it also sounds like such a good way to get to learn a little bit about new places !!!!

how are you feelin about the personal project? are you learning things from it!?

Hi ARIANA. I was feeling a little overwhelmed at first, but it's just something that I find fun and that I'm doing for me, and as long as I keep reminding myself that when it stops being fun, I don't have to do it. Does that make sense?

ALSO GLAD TO SEE YOU HERE.


***

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria







As referenced by Ariana above, I've started to 'paint my way around the world' as a more systematized way to choose where to paint next... and also, since no one can travel right now, it's a way to see the world from the comfort of my own home! I'm thinking I'll do 3 (or so) per post, but if you guys have an opinion about how many I should post, I would appreciate your feedback.

As an aside, Afghanistan was my first attempt at painting a reflection, so that was a fun adventure.

I think it's such a cool idea to paint all of these places. What a really cool travel journal it would make, even if you're not actually going there. But it's still pretty neat to see the pictures and learn a little about the culture. Nice job on the reflection. I like the blending on the land formation on that one too. I really like the contrast between the trees and the white buildings/mountains on both the other two as well. I also think three is a nice number for posting.

HENLO I looked in here a million years ago and planned to come back and since then you have posted ALL THE THINGS and I have had a blast looking at said all the things and catching up

I have the terrible habit of seeing someone do something and going 'nOW ME' so basically now I just want to learn to cross stitch cause I loved looking at yours so much uGh

and. and. aaaaaand, seeing you go from trying out this watercolour stuff to what you're producing now is just. JUST. i'm kind of emo about it. I love what you can do with colour, and shading stuff blows by mind like how do make watercolour sHaDE. but not even just that, your grasp of shape and form is so good too and uGh (again) I love looking at your art ;-;

this around the world project is so cool, I'm excited to see the journey (hehe) you take with it. you did a great job on that reflection *-* also also I keep staring at that Algeria one, I do not know enough art terms to say why but I find it so balanced and so calming

I can't wait to see more

GLUB.

I've been loving this journey you are on, Ern. And I absolutely love love love love LOVE that Afghanistan one you can really see how your brush strokes are improving over time and I always love the contrast between your watercolors and the inking and just UGH they are so stunning

I really have discovered that the world is a very beautiful place! Tons of countries I barely knew even existed (if at all) are calling my name! I definitely have always wanted to have a travel journal with sketches and artwork, so I'm hoping I've developed the skills to actually do what I want. Granted, putting pen and paint to a physical journal will probably terrify me.

Cross stitching is one of those things like coloring or knitting that is SO soothing because it's repetitive motion without requiring a ton of thought. So that's to say that if you want to cross stitch JUST DO IT. It's a nice hobby that anyone can do but not many ACTUALLY do.

DON'T get emo about my watercolors gosh. I mean, you can do what you want. I'm not the boss of you. ALSO WATERCOLOR SHADE IS EASY. Honestly. You just tell it that it's ugly and... no, that's the wrong kind of shade.

THANK YOU for coming on my journey with you. I can really see the journey of using ink and paint by comparing these early ones with some of the ones I've painted recently. It's less obvious when you're painting every day, you know?

hi ern
i love the way you do all the things, but i think my biggest favorite is always the TREES and the greenery. i spent a whole five minutes yesterday zooming in on the trees. i love them. thank u for blessing us with so many beautiful plants.

YOU LIKE MY TREES? I think my trees are the least 'this is how watercolor is supposed to work' of anything I paint, so it's nice that you feel that way. THANK YOU.


Argentina, Armenia, and Australia







Welcome to the second to last round of the letter A (I think). I don't know why Armenia looks motion blurred, and I don't think I could do it again on purpose if I tried.

And yes, that's supposed to be a moon over Australia, but it turned out very faint. I'm using white gouache to paint it, so another layer or so should make it pop.