Don’t Worry, Be Happy! I will be teaching the Secret to Colorful Neutrals in my Wonderful World of Color workshop at Art & Soul Portland, Sunday and Monday, June 20-21, 2021 : https://www.artandsoulretreat.com/retreat-pdx21-5543…

What strange and interesting times we live in at this moment in time. 

As I write this I am trying to stay warm as the snow is starting to fly and it has dropped to 19 degrees.  Sitting in my big oversized chair with Olive and Milo, my two Jack Russells, we are keeping each other warm. They are in my lap vying for the best position, pushing my computer out of the way so it teeters awkwardly as I write.  Lately, one of my favorite pastimes, besides watching CNN nonstop at history in the making, is birdwatching, especially from my big picture window. 

I have a variety of different feeders and have been attracting lesser goldfinches, house finches, Downy and Hairy woodpeckers, adorable tiny bushtits, white-crowned sparrows, and even wintering Anna’s hummingbirds.  Unfortunately, the starlings come too. My feathered friends are inspiring me to do some bird paintings in my watercolor sketchbook Journal. Please check back and I will post some of my paintings! If this is something that interests you, I will be teaching an A Naturalist’s Art Journal Watercolor class at Art & Soul, Portland, June 23, 2021

Fine Art America is having a 25% off all artist tote bags and zip pouches. There are many sizes and styles available. This sale ends on November 21st at midnight eastern time so hurry and get your order in!

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/poppy-dance-jacqueline-newbold.html?product=tote-bag

https://fineartamerica.com/featured/poppies-and-pods-jacqueline-newbold.html?product=pouch

Good morning!

I just received this lovely email from Francesca from Ireland. It was in response to my article in the current Art Journaling Magazine now available at Barns and Noble.

It got me thinking about all the places one could look for pigments to use in your art. It is easy to try. Just add some gum Arabic to help the pigments adhere to the watercolor paper. I assume you would need to grind the pigments into a fine powder. A mortar and pestle like the kind you need for making mojitos should work!

This is what Francesca writes:

My name is Francesca and l live on the southeast coast of Ireland in an area known as ‘The Copper Coast’. I really enjoyed your work on the Roussillon area of France, l have recently been making my own inks and watercolours using foraged pigments. I was interested to know if you have details of the local sources of the pigments in earth tones. The coast in my area is rich in alluvial mud stones which is easy to grind into pigments. There is a choice of colour, earth tones, lilacs blues and greens, they also contain mica fragments so sometimes l get sparkle too.

        I have been a hobby artist for years but my interest in natural color comes from my interest in ecology. Thank you once again for a great article. Best wishes Francesca. 

A new color palette: Hummingbirds can see colors we can’t even imagine. Their color discernment goes well beyond our rainbow color spectrum, writes Virginia Morell for Nat Geo. Researchers studying wild broad-tailed hummingbirds in Colorado found they could determine spectral-colored feeders from feeders in nonspectral colors. “Seeing them do this right in front of my eyes is one of the most exciting things I’ve ever witnessed,” says Mary Stoddard, a Princeton evolutionary biologist.

Read more at: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/06/hummingbirds-see-colors-outside-rainbow/?cmpid=org=ngp::mc=crm-email::src=ngp::cmp=editorial::add=Animals_20200618&rid=B3A6CED8605047579A2791D10CEA9344

I am so happy to share with you my new article, Color Choices, in the July 2020 issue of Art Journaling Magazine! It is always a privilege to be included in such a prestigious art magazine. My article is about how I make watercolor color choices in my travel journals.
Whether painting landscapes, windows with flowers, or just preparing a colorful backdrop for journaling, there are color choices to be made. Color is what initially drew me to watercolor painting. As a novice painter, the excitement I felt for all the lovely bright juicy colors when putting watercolor on paper led me to use every single pigment on my palette in all my paintings. Unfortunately, my attempts ended in a big, ugly, muddy mess. This was the beginning of my lifelong quest to learn everything I could about color and how to make certain combinations to create beauty instead of dreadfulness. I learned many secrets of mixing color by studying how to use the color wheel and by producing oodles of color studies. This article shares with you some thoughts on how to successfully create colorful, vibrant paintings and art.

Watch for the release of Art Journaling Magazine Summer Issue 2020 available July 1, 2020!