Deb

I'm heartbroken as well. Wolfie had a special place in my heart and it's sad to think of a world without her in it. Here's the link for her member of the month article in the Gazette: http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/dollhouse_news/FEB2008/feb2008-mom.html

I'm heartbroken this evening. Tracy called to tell me and I'm just at a loss. I can't think of any words to say, but I think Selkie would like me to share this. She chose her name here on the forum based on the legend of the Selkie Woman as told by Clarissa Pinkola Estes. I found this recording of the story for you. https://sarahsutcliffe.com/2014/09/28/march-2014-seal-woman/ It meant a lot to her.

<wrapping my arms around you in a huge hug> Selkie, my sweet friend, if you were ever to pop over for a paint date, I'd probably try to keep you forever. LOL! That would be most awesome! <grinning> And what a wonderful rabbit hole it is too! The best painting paper is Canon's watercolor paper and I think the 140lb cold pressed is the one most recommended for acrylic painting. To help cut down on the curling/warping, you can tape the paper down to a flat, nonabsorbant surface with frog tape which peels cleanly off the paper after it's dried. Of course, it doesn't matter if it does warp since you can glue it to a piece of cardstock to frame it so either way, it can be made to lay flat. Michael's often has the pads of watercolor paper on sale and in the size we do, one pad of 15 sheets would last a lifetime!

Jane has only done the one micro specific tutorial (so far), but as Samantha has discovered, a lot of her 1:1 paintings can be done in mini. Can I recommend a couple for you to try to get started? This one is a cherry blossom branch in front of a serene mountain background and it would be easy to do in mini. Try it in a 2x3 size first (that's sofa sized for a 1:12 house) first to get the hang of it. When she gets to the cherry blossoms, if you're not comfortable using a brush, use a toothpick instead. Or dip the end of your brush handle in paint and gently dot it on the painting to make clusters of blossoms. See? You can do that! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74EF1QocZ5A&t=1052s Then there's this one with ghosts that's adorable and would be soooooooo cute in a haunted house! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3TopU85bhYE Try them in a larger size first to get comfortable and work your way down to whatever size you want to hang on your walls. I can't wrap my head around the math today, but poster size paintings are what we like to hang in our real houses and a 2" x 3" would be about right, wouldn't it? Oh, there's also this one of flowers in front of a wood fence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dB38PTpN6uk and a different style fence with a sunflower here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGqPkbuPYRc <grinning> I love these because I get to paint wood and in the immortal words of our founding father, "Wood is good". If I can't paint on wood, then I'll paint pictures of wood instead! LOL! But those last two would be gorgeous still lifes in a dollhouse. Oops, I got excited and carried away with the links, but those are definitely four that could be done in mini with no problem and you'd have so much fun. Paint the little ghosts first Tracy and you'll see that you know more than you think you do. They're done by dry brushing and you already know how to do that! <chuckling and hugging you tight> It's been way too long since I learned anything new to share so this makes me very, very happy. You need to give this a try too Holly. Try that cherry blossom tutorial and see what you think. Oh, and Jane is just starting to teach watercolors too. <happy grin> I saved my pennies for a set of Dr. PH Martin paints and I've been petting the pretty bottles with such vivid, vibrant colors in them. I haven't had time to open them yet, but I took to watercolors like a frog to water. LOL! Bruce got me a nice sketch box and easel that I can take to the patio to sit in the fresh air and paint. I haven't accomplished anything but abstracts so far, but for me that's the joy of watercolors. I deliberately try to make the "mistakes" that everyone else is trying to avoid. hehehehe Yeah, I'm your sister.

LOL! Yep, she's been called the Bob Ross for this generation and I'd agree. She's very calm and serene (although she has a killer sense of humor) and her teaching skills are superb. You know my scrambled brain has a hard time processing information but there's something about the way Jane teaches that gets thru all that static. Oh Holly, when I discovered that I could understand it, I broke down and bawled like a baby because it had been so very long since I'd been able to learn anything new and a life without learning anything new is torture. But the way she teaches connects the circuitry in my head and I can do it. I may not be able to remember a technique from one painting to the next, but I'm still learning and it makes me able to create again and that's the most important thing. I don't have pics of the paintings I've done posted anywhere to show you but I'll see if I can get them uploaded to my website soon so you can see. I just did three versions of Edvard Munch's "The Scream" that I think you'd really like. LOL! If it does, then put two yellow dots slightly left of the white one and add a blue line down the middle and voila! You've just painted an abstract! Seriously Tracy, these tutorials are so simple and if you don't like what you've painted, paint over it and start again. But I think you should try one just to see what you think of it and you might just surprise yourself. (But you won't surprise me coz I already know you can rock this painting thing) Girl, you rocked that cabin painting!!! Whooooooooooooooohoooooooooooo!!! It didn't take you any time at all to do it either! Awesome!!! Which one are you going to do next? Sarah! Hi sweetie! Hope you're doing ok! <blissful sigh> It's felt very good to be back here talking about miniatures with you guys. I'm having to stay in one thread to keep from getting overwhelmed with too much input but even this small amount is soothing to my soul. Y'all are my tribe and even if I'm hiding in shadows, this is still where my heart lives.

Here's an extreme close up of the micro painting I did this morning (sorry about the quality but I didn't have my macro lens and light box set up). You can see that the canvas weave I was talking about is smooth enough to not be too distracting. That's a 3/4 x 5/8 section so it's not too bad. http://www.greenleafdollhouses.com/forum/?app=gallery&module=gallery&controller=view&id=131139