creative jewish mom

Experimenting With Hi-End Water Soluble Wax Pastels

Looking for a Chanukah gift for an artsy someone? The Caran D'Ache wax pastels might just be a great gift, namely the set of 40 that comes in a gorgeous red tin. Do note however, these are amazing for working in journals and sketchbooks, but they must be sealed with fixative or they will bleed onto the opposite page. The best practice is to slip a piece of parchment or deli paper between the pages and then apply fixative at a later date. So maybe gift a can or bottle of fixative with the gift, just make sure it is fixative that works with oil based things, other wise it may just bead up on top of the work. Also, they work really well for mark making on the final layer of an acrylic painting, as the colors are very pigmented and offer great coverage.

How did all of this come about? As you may remember, this past Spring/summer I challenged myself to do 100 oil pastel landscapes, and I did it. It was great, but the oil pastels were truly such a mess and there ended up being little bits of oil pastel everywhere, even on the challahs at one point! So, while I do hope to delve into oil pastels again, I was looking for something a bit similar, but without the mess, and decided to try the Caran D'Ache Neocolor II line of waxy, water soluble, pastels. What can I say, it is a bit of a steep learning curve, but I keep seeing illustrators creating amazing things with them, and I am enjoying both the water soluble nature and the virtual no mess factor, so I'm not giving up any time soon! Ah yes, and they are literally the most perfect thing to travel with, together with a water brush and a few pencils, and some baby wipes, with which one can literally wipe off mistakes and turn a page gone wrong into the background for something new! Okay, lets take a look at some of the things I've created lately, though for the best look head on over to my instagram account @sara.rivka.dahan!

Sketchbook Drawings From Colored Pencils After The Trip!

While I did take this sketchbook with me my on our recent trip to the USA, I was right in thinking that I would not likely get much sketching or painting done! In fact I ran down to the beach on the last day just to do one quick watercolor so that carrying the sketchbook around would not have been pointless! If you want to include creativity beyond photography on any trip it does mean having that time to yourself, being very quick with that sketching and making it a priority, which may or may not be important to you, depending on your everyday practice? Not to worry, there is a time for everything, so when I started to go through all the photos I'd taken I decided to do some quick sketches of some of the San Francisco landmarks using a palette of blue colored pencils. Something not at all par for the course, but I enjoyed this little exercise, and now at least I've filled two spreads which relate to our trip. Hmmm, now I think I need to sketch some Victorian houses, or maybe even do some house collages? Ah yes, but the newly purchases paint is calling, so the creative adventure continues!

DIY Botanical Doodle Cake Toppers For Birthdays And Anniversaries!

Last summer I spent many hours creating in my sketchbooks, including many hours of drawing botanicals, which then resulted in using those botanicals in many ways. For starters I did create a floral monogram which you can see here, and I also used my botanical sketches to create a frame in my sketchbook, here. After that, my daughter's birthday came along, and I created an 18 in the same style as the numbers you see here. I loved the results so much, that I then created one for each of my teen sons for their birthdays, in September 2020 and June 2021, which is what I've photographed here. While these botanical doodle cake toppers look complicated, they really are quite simple, and if you have time, you can create other items in this same style, like cupcake toppers, napkin rings, gift toppers, you name it! Okay, lets take a closer look!

Sketchbook Brushstroke Daisies Are So Much Fun!

Summer is a great time to start a sketchbook, and fill it up! The more you create in a sketchbook the more you'll want to create in a sketchbook, promise! A year ago I dedicated days on end to sketchbook drawing and later painting, and it was only through that process that I learned that I can make mistakes in my sketchbook and it is okay! During that time I also learned how to cover mistakes that bother me, and today, I have progressed to even leaving unsuccessful pages as is! And friends, my sketchbook is a regular drawing sketchbook, nothing fancy and not made for painting, and yet it works just fine with acrylic paint, and even a composition notebook with lined pages can be used as a simple sketchbook. The main thing is to start a sketchbook, with whatever you have and start the journey! If you feel like painting, so you can try painted circles with flower doodles seen here, or you can try these layered brushstroke daisies, though it does take practice. Okay, lets take a closer look and think about some helpful tips!

Simple Doodle Flowers Are Perfect For Summer!

Summer is the time to spend time drawing and painting and doodlng in a sketchbook! It is so very relaxing, and a great project to take on the go! Last summer I drew in my sketchbook for days on end, and this summer, while I'm involved in other art practices, I finally found some time to get back to my sketchbook for a little colorful doodling, and guess what, NOW it feels like summer to me! So friends, develop your art skills, keep an art journal, learn some new doodles, learn how to draw flowers......whatever it is that interests you as far as a sketchbook, do it! And to get started, how about some sweet doodle flowers that are simple to draw and look amazing! Okay, lets do this!

Create On An Index Card For 2 Months This Summer!

I have to admit, I did not know that there have been thousands of creative people creating on index cards every year for the months of June and July, each year. Of course when it started 11 years ago I can imagine it was not thousands, but today it is, and WOW! I am familiar with the idea of creating on index cards, or index card size, I just didn't know it was "thing" that I could participate in. Just as I was wondering what might keep my creative practice running once I finish my 100 oil pastels, (9 to go!) voila, this opportunity comes along. At first I thought, no way, you are too busy. But then I realized that by adapting a simple style, I could infact do an index card a day, and it could be great! With three days now under my belt I am so very very happy I committed to this 61 day challenge, and while I'll be sharing with you here from time to time, the daily peeks will be on my instagram @sara.rivka.dahan.

The challenge is called Index Card A Day, and the home base is right here. There is a Facebook group one can join for a fee, though I don't really have time for that, so I'm sharing on Instagram and making connections with fellow participants there. You do what works for you, maybe a family challenge with no social media? Maybe a challenge with a friend? There are no rules about what to put on the index card, so sky is the limit! I was even thinking about doing little sculptures, but then the illustration style I'm currently doing won out, plus it is much quicker!

I really think that an index card creativity challenge would be a great thing to do with the kids this summer, and at the end you can make a book, or do the second side next year! Daily creating is an amazing thing to fit in anyone's day, believe me, you'll end up doing it every year!

Simple Geometric Color Swatch Art

Looking for an interesting way to learn about color combinations with results that are just so satisfying? Looking for a fun art project for all ages? This just might be the one! These bars of color are so simple to create, either in a sketchbook, or on paper, or even canvas, you just have to give it a try! You can use oil pastel, acrylic paint, colored pencils, watercolor or a mixed media combination. Do thick bars with acrylic paint and then go back and fill the bars with doodles or marks, note to self! Or choose to do squares or any combo of geometric shapes. Choose a set palette of 5 or 6 colors, plus white, and then have fun placing one color next to another. How did I get those bars of color to be so crisp? Keep on reading, I even took a process photo, imagine that!

Watercolor Blue And White Vases With Flowers

Summer is the perfect time to delve into something new, and if you can take it with you, all the better! So friends, consider starting a sketchbook, keeping in mind that it is about creative growth not perfection, and I can promise you, it is a very very worthwhile journey, and so very satisfying, trust me! This watercolor paper sketchbook of mine was started two years ago on a vacation in Sweden, and I have been slowly adding art to the pages, most recently, art created with watercolors, ahhhhh. And guess what friends, if you don't like the results, so paint an acrylic paint painting over it, and voila, that watercolor painting gone wrong is old news. The main thing is to use your sketchbook to tell the tale of your creative journey, which can be so many things! If you'd like to start but not sure where, how about some sweet blue and white vessels filled with flowers, or not? This is a perfect subject for beginners, because wonky vases and flowers with interesting shapes might be that much more interesting! Okay, lets get started!

Simple Watercolor Leaves To Paint For Shavuot!

As you know, I love to create with a wide variety of media, and recently I've been devoting just a tiny pocket of time to filling my watercolor paper art journal with simple watercolor paintings. Check out my watercolor carrots, watercolor feathers and watercolor ferns. It is true, I'm loving the watercolor exploration as it is a relief from the intense oil pastel paintings I've been doing, though to create the kind of art I love with watercolors I'd need to combine them with acryla gouache and also get some liquid watercolors with intense colors, ah yes and huge pieces of watercolor paper! That said, my little travel watercolor palette is just so cute and fun to use, and there is something about the simplicity of watercolor that is just so very very wonderful, not to mention all the cool results one can achieve by letting the watercolors move where they like, on paper to which you've applied water first. And when the time comes to travel once again, I'm all set! Especially since I treated myself to some travel watercolor brushes, that come apart and form their own little protective case, lucky me!

Right now, as we approach the holiday of Shavuot for which we decorate our homes with greenery and flowers, decorating with watercolor paintings of greenery is certainly a wonderful way to go. So take a look at this layered watercolor leaves idea, do it on sheets of paper, and then hang them for wonderful and artful greenery! Keep on reading for a few helpful tips!

Simple Watercolor Feathers To Paint Today, For Lag B'Omer!

Tonight we welcome the festive holiday of Lag B'Omer, so why not carve out a tiny window of time to paint some watercolor feathers? It is true Lag B'Omer generally brings to mind images of bonfires and bows and arrows, but I'd say feathers, which are used to write the Torah, and certainly the Zohar, originally, are a perfect symbol as well! Plus, feathers are just so fun to paint, and I ended up filling two pages in my watercolor journal with them, and can't wait to paint more, next time in a mix of rainbow colors or pastels, we'll just have to wait and see! If I had the time I'd paint some of these on watercolor paper and cut them out to hang anywhere, so lovely! Wishing everyone an amazing Lag B'Omer! Keep on reading for simple painting instructions!