Traveling is a great way to inspire ideas for paintings in an art journal. I am fortunate to be in the colorful, sunny land of Baja, California, Mexico for a few days. My focus has been bird watching every morning - early before it gets too hot and the birds are still active. Inspiration from nature is a great way to add to my journal.

My brother shared with me an app called ebird which has been very helpful to keep track of all the beautiful birds I have been seeing here. In the afternoons, I am enjoying relaxing by the pool and painting in my journal. The birds are colorful fun to watch. Here are a few photos that I took over the last few days. Insiration from Nature....

Inspiration from Nature

Monochromatic Pen, Ink, and Watercolor Washes

It is fun to add pen, ink, and watercolor washes to create monochromatic pen and ink paintings to your art journals. These are easy to do and are a great way to make little paintings in your journal to record your travels. I am currently teaching a series of classes in my Tumalo Studio in Oregon. The weather has turned quickly into a feel of winter, so what a great way to bring in the new season than to do some sketches and monochromatic washes.
The focus of this series of classes is incorporating pen, ink, and watercolor. Here is an example of one of our lessons. I started with a photograph I took of a quaint village in the south of France - the Dordogne area.







I did a contour drawing of the parts of the photo that I wanted to include. Then I used this as a reference and transferred it to my watercolor art journal. I drew it with a permanent pen. I added watercolor washes of Quinacridone Burnt Orange and Aussie Red-Gold, both by Daniel Smith. Where needed, I added more pen and ink lines after the painting was dry.

Upcoming Watercolor Workshops with Jacqueline Newbold

Jacqueline Newbold Colorful Watercolor Paintings Capture Gorgeous Landscapes, Cityscapes, and Flowers 

Make your 2019 wishes come true by joining me on a

Painting workshop in France

Watercolor art painting workshops with Jacqueline Newbold
LET’S GO! – FRANCE May 10-17, 2019, with French Escape!

ART AND SOUL, PORTLAND, OREGON 2019

I am teaching at the Portland 2019 Art & Soul Retreat
The Painted Garden – Tuesday, March 12, 2019
A Naturalist’s Art Journal – Wednesday, March 13, 2019
A Colorful Palette – Thursday, March 14, 2019
Loosen Up Landscapes – Friday, March 15, 2019

Painted Valentine Cards

Why not give your loved ones a hand-made gift of a watercolor card this Valentine's Day?  This card is easy to make and you can make several in one afternoon.  This project uses watercolor glazing techniques and negative painting.  See below:

Negative painting around hearts

• Start with a piece of watercolor paper (I use 140 lb Arches paper) torn to the size you want. 
• Tape your paper to a workable surface around each edge using a removable painter's tape.  
• Paint a colorful watercolor wash and let this dry.  I used new Gamboge, permanent rose, permanent magenta and cerulean blue.
• With a pencil, draw some heart shapes, some large, some small.  Overlap some hearts.  Negative paint around each heart.  This means you paint the background around the hearts, creating heart shapes in your painting.  Let this dry.
• Draw a few more hearts and negative paint again around all the hearts.  You can negative paint these hearts several times to make a rich, glowing background.  Painting over your last layer is called watercolor glazing.

  

  Glazing and negative painting

  
  

• Now decorate the hearts in fun ways: polka dots, checks, stripes.  You can either use watercolor or colored pens and markers or a mix of both!  Have fun, doodle, think of your loved one.  Here is your opportunity to put a smile on their face!  And after reading Jenn's facebook post from Cloth, Paper, Scissors - PUT A BIRD ON IT!
• With an ink pen, draw around your hearts and outline the tape before pulling it off the edges.

My final valentine for my husband.  Hope he likes it!

Hearts of Italy

Hearts of Italy

While traveling and painting in Italy this fall, I started noticing hearts on the ironwork that adorns the windows of Venice and other towns and villages. Once I noticed them, I was finding hearts everywhere.  They were beautifully blended on doorways, windows, and etched into the stones.  I took some photos that I wanted to share with you. The more I looked, the more I found.

Painting in France

Jacqueline Newbold's color-filled watercolor paintings capture a moment in time - sunlight on red poppies, the glow of a Tuscan village perched on a mountaintop, or the brilliance of a dramatic Oregon Mountain sunset.  

Would you like to join me on a painting adventure?

Here are my upcoming workshops:

ART AND SOUL, PORTLAND, OREGON 2019

I am teaching at the Portland 2019 Art and Soul Art Retreat
The Painted Garden – Tuesday, March 12, 2019
A Naturalist’s Art Journal – Wednesday, March 13, 2019
A Colorful Palette – Thursday, March 14, 2019
Loosen Up Landscapes – Friday, March 15, 2019

JOIN ME ON THIS WONDERFUL TRIP TO PROVENCE, FRANCE!
May 10 -17, 2019
Hosted by French Escape