My Top 10 Gift Ideas for Watercolor Artists

It's hard to believe that we are heading into the holiday season again, but it will be nice to decorate and relax with your family and friends. 

This year I've compiled my top 10 gift ideas for the watercolor artist in your family.

After painting 20 years, I've found these to be some of my favorites and I wanted to share them with you. Most are under the $60 dollar range. 

1. ROSA Professional Watercolor Paint Set - Artists will appreciate the single pigments.

If you are looking for some super bright watercolors, these are gorgeous. This is the small set, great for checking out the quality of these paints. When you add just a touch of water to these, you'll be amazed at how bright the pigment is. There is none of that mixing forever to get a lot of saturated colors.  I was gifted these paints by one of my artists and friend Lisa Hedrick (she's a designer and art instructor that works with Gina K. designs) this fall and just loved them! 

They come in this cute little portable metal case with 12 different colors. Each pigment is a single pigment color, so you can get some great pure mixtures. They also have a high lightfastness, which basically means that your art will last for years without fading quickly.  

2. Silver Brush Limited Dagger Striper Paint Brush - A game changer for painting loose.

Okay, so this one does take some practice, but wow it's the perfect brush for adding those little lines for tree branches, waves, or anywhere you want a light touch that doesn't disturb the layers underneath. This is one that I love to use in my Watercolor Seascapes Course is the 1/4" size, but they do have a 3/8" if you prefer. 

Great for layering and creating swirling shapes, which I think makes it great for loose florals. It's not really expensive either, because it is a blend of squirrel hair and synthetic fibers. 

3. White Ceramic Artist Palette - The perfect little mixing tray for a limited color palette. 

If you haven't tried a ceramic or porcelain palette let me share why it's preferred to plastic trays. They are super smooth, which makes them easier to clean up and less likely to stain from watercolor pigments. 

This one is conveniently small and great for a small art space. Works great for a limited color palette and holds 7 tube colors, but you can also just use it to mix your pan colors. 

4.  Strathmore Watercolor Cards - Excellent surface and ideal for small artwork.

One of my favorite ways to use this paper is not as a card, but to cut it into half to make (2) 5X7" pieces. The texture is wonderful on these and it doesn't produce any pulp and is strong for wet into wet techniques. It comes in sets of 10/50/ or 100 along with envelopes.

If you purchase the 100 cards, you get 200 small 5x7" surfaces to paint on. But of course, if you rather use it as a card, having the envelopes to go with it is perfect, especially for the holidays. 

These also come in bright white or postcard size. 

5. White Gouache - Perfect for adding white details without masking fluid.

Go for the bigger 1.25 oz if you are like me and don't want to wait for masking fluid to dry, or want to be more expressive with your paintings without planning where those lighter areas will be.

It's great for adding sparkles in water or highlights, creating clouds, and my favorite way to pop in birch trees over lots of green trees! This stuff is a permanent part of my artist toolbox and I use it daily. The black gouache is great too.

6. Arches Watercolor Pad - Spend your money on good watercolor paper.

Although I like the Strathmore cards for my small paintings, Arches paper is my go-to professional watercolor paper. These 9x12" pads fit perfectly in my cabinet and are easy to carry. The paper, no matter what size or press is fantastic. My students find less frustration when they use good-quality paper. 

This paper is 100% cotton and has been around for centuries, seriously since 1942. These folks know what they are doing. My favorite is the 140lb cold press, it gives me just the right about of texture for creating rocks and other textures in my artwork. Also comes in hot press (nice for fine details/portraits or ink), and rough. 

7. Winsor & Newton Cotman Kit - My very first watercolor kit. 

This was the first and only watercolor kit that I used for the first 5 years of painting, and you know what, still use it to this day. This kit only has 12 colors and it comes with a lovely little sable brush. 

We use this kit in our watercolor classes, and I recommend it to my beginner students. A great small kit to learn about water-to-paint ratios and mixing. Since they are pan-paints, you can mix and create your own colors from these basic colors. A great set to explore and make your very first color wheel. 

8. Dorlands Wax - A game changer for sealing watercolors on wood without frames.

If you hate to spend a lot of money on UV glass and framing watercolors, this is a fantastic alternative. 

I love to mount my watercolor paper onto a wooden panel, seal it with UV then top it with this wax medium. It protects your watercolors and adds depth to your colors. PS. The wooden panel is my Number 9 item. 

It gives watercolors a completely different look. You can leave it with a matte look or buff it to a glossier finish. It also won't yellow or fade.

Here are some watercolor ornaments that I sealed with this wax. 

9. Unfinished Wood Panel - Love this contemporary look for watercolors.

These wooden canvases/panels come in many sizes and widths. Make sure that your seal the raw wood so that it doesn't damage your watercolor paper for attaching your art. My preference is the deep panels, that look like a frame. You can choose to leave the edges natural, stain, or paint them to match your artwork. 

This is such a beautiful and contemporary way to mount your watercolors. You can also use these panels for Oils. Here's an art piece that I finished. Interesting story, I had originally poured resin over this piece of wood but didn't care for the painting so I painted over the resin with watercolor grounds, then waxed the top. 

10. Steal Like An Artist - Book by Austin Kleon - Just a fun little read for any artist.

I've had this little book sitting on my shelf for a number of years. It's a great little book that reminds me of the little things. Just a little fun read for any creative person. Makes for the perfect stocking stuffer too. 

Would love to hear about some of your favorites! Leave me a comment and let me know. 

Happy Creating,

Kellie 

Legal Info: Thanks for watching my channel I am affiliated with Amazon and This Channel accepts forms of cash advertising, sponsorship, paid insertions, or other forms of compensation. I only recommend items that I personally use and like and hope that my opinion helps others. :) Safety Note: When using paints and chemicals please adhere to any and all manufacturer safety guidelines with these products. If you have specific safety questions or concerns please contact the product's manufacturer or your doctor. I am an artist, not a Scientist or a Doctor. These are just my opinions and my process, I am not responsible for your health or actions.

My Mom illustrated a children's book about the 102 Year Old Lobster Lady!

Purchase the Children's Book Here

Just wanted to share some exciting news about my Mom today!

A few months ago, my mom, Shelby Crouse was approached by Author Barbara Walsh, to illustrate a  new children's book about Ginny Oliver, Maine's 102-Year-old Lobster Lady. She is currently heading out each day with her son (who is in his 70s) to haul lobster traps!
That is not an easy job.

I am just so proud of my mom's illustrations and hard work, and I knew you would be too. She is the reason that I found my passion for art.

Watch the interview with her and the author below. They made it on our local News Channel Show called 207! You can Watch the Video Here!. 

I snapped this photo while watching her finish up the last illustration (page 14) of the book. She is so proud, but this was just before she had to have a big surgery on her neck of all places.

She was so darn determined! 

Congratulations MOM!!

XOXO,

Kellie

Watercolor money saver masking hack!

Not sure if you feel the same way, but summers always tend to be my downtime creatively.
I am definitely not lazy, just enjoying my family, the outdoors, and my gardens. The lupines have gone by and are just about to turn to seed so I can replant soon. 

I've been testing out something pretty cool this week! 

You know that masking fluid is pretty expensive and comes in the smallest jars right? Well, I thought I would give regular old monster latex a try in place of my Winsor and newton masking. I decided to use some Strathmore watercolor cards to start. Tested both of them three ways just to make sure. 

1. For the first test I let both the winsor and monster dry naturally on the paper. 

2. I used a heat gun to dry ( I wanted to see if it would adhere to the paper and not come off as easy.

3. Let the masking dry and sit for over a week before I attempted to remove it. 

You can watch the new money-saving test that I did with Monster Liquid Latex vs. Winsor Newton masking, it worked great. 

Watch the video over on my youtube channel. 

It's a huge saving. (16 oz of Monster is $12.95 vs 16 oz of Winsor Masking would be over $85.00.)

Well during that test, I felt the urge to paint from this gorgeous reference photo that my friend, Benjamin Williamson took (which you can purchase by the way if you don't want to paint it).

This painting is loose and fun, and I hope you'll join me and paint along. I've added it as a new course on my website, and it will be going up on skillshare soon if you are a member there. 

Hope to see you inside the course! 

XOXO,
Kellie 

Special Watercolor tags to spice up your package or gifts!

Special Watercolor tags to spice up your package or gifts!

Supplies needed: 

Scrap pieces of watercolor paper, Watercolors, String, Craft scissors, and a whole puncher.

Cut out any shape you like, I decided since it's Mothers Day coming up soon that I would cut out that classic heart shape. The design and holidays are endless so do what fits you. Think about it, you could cut out Shamrocks, Easter eggs, Trees, Leaves,  Xmas Stockings, or ornament shapes....the list goes on. 

Once your shape is cut out add some watercolors, and have some fun. You could even add some pen and ink abstract details to yours once it's dry. I like to leave it blank so I can fill in a little note with a black sharpie or white gel pen.

Then use a hole puncher to create a space to thread your string, ribbon, etc through and tie it to your package. I love to use just plain craft paper, but again use anything you like.

Feel free to leave a comment below and let us know what special little touches you like to add when you package your gifts or art?

Are you joining us for the April Flower Challenge this week?

Happy Easter Creatives!

Are you joining us for the April Flower Challenge this week?

Day 1 (today) is painting a Daisy. I love these flowers so much that back in 2009 my hubby bought me 1000 Daisies!  I had to use every vase and mason jar in my home. Plus my neighbors got a few little bouquets too. 

My original plan was to share part of my painting process live on Instagram, but you know how things work out! Had some time yesterday so I created a full 25-minute video on youtube instead that I hope you'll enjoy! If you plan on joining the challenge, make sure to leave a comment over there on youtube! 

PLEASE JOIN US and practice your flower skills!

Materials I used for this one:
Watercolor Cotton Paper by Legion, Winsor Newton Watercolor Cotman kit, and a size 10 Black Tulip brush. 

Use #flowerchallengekc on Instagram and tag me in your stories so I can see them @KellieChasse_FineArt, hope to share some of yours. Here is the List of flowers you can paint each day. Feel free to use any medium you like. 

     

Tomorrow's flower is the Sweet Pea, hope you'll give them a try!
Feel free to share this email with your creative friends and family members to paint along with you in the challenge.
 
XOXO,
Kellie​

Painting a Maine Summer Camp | Watch Me Watercolor!

Painting a Maine Summer Camp | Watch Me Watercolor!

Hi creative peeps!!

Another week in February is down, and that means, what 5 more weeks before spring is here in Maine. Can't complain too much, I really am enjoying cross country skiing and woke up to a beautiful snow blanket this morning. As I am taking these pictures, I'm thinking about all of you in Texas this week and hope you are all doing well.

This week I wanted to share a commission painting that I finished up for a very special lady! A dear friend commissioned me to paint this for her. It's a special place, where they spent many wonderful times, they call her Maine Camp her "happy place"!

You can watch my time-lapse video painting this piece with voice-over on my youtube channel.

Would love to hear about your happy place! This year I will be doing more work from home and picking up more commission paintings and putting my work up in my etsy shop because, well, you know why (wink, smile).

Here's a peek at our next class coming soon, you can see more of the process on my Instagram page.

Have a great weekend!

XOXO,

Kellie​

Only 2 more days to get the Art Bundle for Good #5

Hi Creative Peeps!

The biggest and best Art Bundle for Good is only here for 2 more days. There are over $4500 worth of courses, workbooks, and other resources on topics like watercolor painting, art journaling, sketching, mixed media, acrylics, stencils, collage, creativity, art journaling, and much more all bundled together for one low price. There are over 100 courses this year!

You’re not going to want to miss this fantastic deal. The sale will end on Monday at midnight, New York Time, so don’t miss out. 

25% of the Art Bundle profits are going to support Courageous Kitchen, a Bangkok based charity helping refugees. Get more than 100 top art courses from over 75 different artists AND do some good.

Thank you,

GO TO THE ART BUNDLE FOR GOOD WEBSITE 

Feel free to share this link with your friends and family: https://bit.ly/ArtBundleforgood

P.S. The Art Bundle is backed by a 30-Day Money-Back Guarantee. Try out the courses for a couple of weeks. If you are not happy, John, from the Art Bundle for Good, will refund your money. 

XOXO,
Kellie