Watercolor Palette Hacking

I am a bit of a collector and a tinkerer. My collection of watercolor palettes has led me to some tinkering. Yesterday after scrambling to grab my painting supplies so I could paint in the dining room with my kids I decided to hack up a neglected palette into something more workable for that task. First I removed the rather heavy metal insert that holds the pans of paint inside and instead used blue tac to place 22 half pans in my favorite most versatile colors inside. That left room for a couple of brushes, a water brush and a pencil. Put one of my wrist cuffs sock rags at the bottom and the brush tips are protected. Kit complete? Not until I removed the mostly annoying flap from the bottom. 

Meet my new and improved palette! I love it!

Brilliant Idea. Genius. Binder Clips.

I love my watercolor brushes and treating them well is important to me. Treating them right so they give me their best for years to come. But my space is small and I would rather spend my hard earned money on paint and brushes rather than fancy brush storage. I like to keep my most used supplies as close as possible. Enter the binder clip. Low tech yet they pretty perfect for all sorts of jobs, including good brush storage. 

Messy desk, creative New Year.

Lately I have been too preoccupied to clean up at the end of each creative session. They blend into each other and there is a mess growing in my art studio. The art studio that is getting packed up and moved across the ocean next week. A little mess is okay with me as long as I keep creating. So far 2015 is off to a great start. I am excited about where my art is going to take me. 

For the many teachers in our lives. Happy Holiday gifts.

Each child has multiple teachers. How can I make a meaningful gift for so many when time and money is limited? Of course gift cards to our favorite local bakery and handmade watercolor art cards. Boston we are going to miss you so much. 

Sketchbook Friday : Some of my favorite things from this week.

This week was better in nearly every way imaginable. Feeling positive about my new sketchbook and finally feeling comfortable to work in the large mixed-media sketchbook I picked up awhile back. Not letting the bad stuff get me down when there is so much good stuff in my life. I'm not even that sad about the lost sketchbook anymore because I know that my next one is going to be so much better. Highlights of the week were my super generous and thoughtful friends and other kind people, making a cool travel watercolor kit with stuff I had around the house and getting a new pencil case. The weather is lovely and I got to sketch a lot outside while my kids played after school. Starting to look forward to summer.

Big sketchbook page, DIY travel watercolor kit, new super awesome pencil case and the card and gift card from my thoughtful friends.