Art Studio Blog - Belinda Del Pesco

fantasy portrait nude collagraph print art

Make a Collagraph Print from Mat Board and Glue

What is a Glue Collagraph? A glue collagraph is a printmaking plate made from a stiff base, like mat board, with a printable design applied

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monotype portrait with colored pencil added

Adding Colored Pencil to Monotype Print Portraits

Colored Pencils to the Rescue Have you ever added colored pencil to your monotype prints? (If you’ve never made a monotype, read on…) Whether your

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Watercolor Painting Sketchbook – Study of African Violets

Watercolor Painting Sketchbook Studies Watercolor painting sketchbook studies of African violets became my meditation last week. I snapped a photo of a pink African violet

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still life watercolor painting os a chopping block with freshly washed granny smith green apples, a knife, and a wedge of laughing cow cheese near a cup of coffee

Find Ideas for Watercolors with Your Phone’s Camera

Where to Find Ideas for Watercolors Artists are in a hard crush to render our world in pigments, graphite, charcoal, etc. These days, we’re limited to finding inspiration

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Drypoint Printmaking with Recycled Plastic and the Stomp Method of transferring the print without a press

Drypoint Printmaking using a Cookie Container without a Press

While nibbling a cookie (Trader Joe’s Biscotti), I was pondering drypoint printmaking without a press. The cookie container in my hand was sturdy and smooth,

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a watercolor sketch of a little girl in a pink chef's hat and apron, sitting on the counter, squeezing candy dough into a baking tray

How to Talk Yourself into Painting More Often

Art Tips from History Practice makes perfect. The secret to success is consistency of purpose. Plan your work, and work your plan. Successful specialists have

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Make a Collagraph with Mat Board and Construction Paper

What is a Collagraph? The word collagraph sounds a bit like the word collage, right? The root of the word – Colla is derived from

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a monotype print of a bathroom with art deco tile, and an open window with a bouquet of flowers on the sill in the sunlight

Adding Colored Pencil to Monotype Ghost Prints

Monotype Ghost Print Transformation Let’s add colored pencil to a monotype ghost print. If you’re not familiar with monotypes, visit this information page about monotype

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a collagraph print of a woman laying on pillows in a bed, reading a book

Figurative Collagraph Printmaking – Printing Intaglio, and Relief, and Adding Other Media

Figurative Collagraph Prints Traditional mat board (known as mount board or pressboard in other parts of the world) is a wonderful material to make a

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a block wall with birds eating from a flat bowl of seed and pink roses framing the scene painted in watercolor

The Definition of Art

Definition of Art We’re visiting the dictionary in this post, my friend. Painting, Printmaking and Drawing are all bound to creativity and expression. One of

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a linocut print painted with watercolor showing a swing band under a canopy

Paint Linocuts with Watercolor – and a few more Linocut Posts

Hand Color Linocuts If you print your linocuts and woodcuts with inks that won’t re-wet, you can have a lot of fun hand coloring your

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a still life watercolor of a kitchen cabinet in the sun featuring glasses, bowls and goblets

Watercolor Paintings of your Kitchen

Creating Watercolor Paintings of Your Own Kitchen Have you observed your kitchen as inspiration to paint a watercolor? Whether the room is dark or well-lit,

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a tiny portrait in watercolor of a girl's face, with chin length black hair, looking off to the distance over our shoulder

30×30 Direct Watercolor Challenge, and Reaching for Quiet with Art

Creative Focus in Strange Times My husband asks me how I’m doing. My reply: ‘I feel like I weigh a thousand pounds.’ It’s a declaration

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a collagraph of a great dane dog in a garden with colorful plants in the background

5 Tips for Your Artist Newsletter

5 Tips for Your Artist Newsletter How often do you send a newsletter or email to your followers? If the writing segment of your art

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Art Studio Planning – and a Watercolor Portrait

Summertime Art Studio Planning Over the past 67 days (yikes!) of quarantine, the macadamia nut tree outside my studio window has erupted in fronds of

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Using Watercolor and Charcoal Together

Exploring Watercolor and Charcoal Together I was sorting scanned image files in my archives, and I forgot about this watercolor and charcoal painting of an

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a still life painting of a row of lemons and one lime in a vertical line up on a blue patterned cloth, painted in watercolor

5 Alternatives to Art Exhibits During a Pandemic

Alternative Plans during a Pandemic (for Artists) We’re among thousands of artists who’s exhibit schedule went dark this Spring. What tools do you have in

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Still Life Painting Design Ideas – Adding Interest to your Art (even if it wasn’t there)

Still Life Painting Design Ideas Still life painting in watercolor – especially interiors – is loaded with design opportunities to embellish. You can change the

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a still life in watercolor of roses in a bud vase and a bowl of plums on a windowsill reflected in kitchen counter tiles

Still Life in Watercolor- 5 Painters on Instagram

5 Instagram Artists Painting Still Life in Watercolor While we’re hunkering down and staying home, it’s nice to peruse some beautiful still life in watercolor.

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a trace monotype of a pre-raphaelite inspired woman with red hair waering a wreath of flowers on her head

Resources for Learning to Draw the Human Face

Learning to Draw the Human Face Draw a cluster of trees crooked, or a stack of bowls a little askew, and it’s considered charming. But

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monotype portrait of a young girl with dark hair, leaning on her elbows at a counter

Painterly Printmaking with Monotype

Painterly Monotype Portraits with Colored Pencil Painterly printmaking with monotype is a very accessible art project. You don’t need a press, or sharp tools, as

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Monotype print of a still life showing a window sill with a row of preserve jars lined up like a train

Monotype Printmaking Experiments – Repairs & Fixes

Monotype Printmaking Experiments Every printmaking adventure has some element of surprise. Add a drop of modifier to the ink, or swap a tried and true

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dark field monotype print of a couple from a vintage photograph

Sheltering in Place with Art Alone-Together, and Printing a Monotype without a Press

We are sheltering in Place with Art Alone-Together Amidst the steady stream of sad news over the Covid 19 pandemic, there are creative, generous, kind

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9 Books to Improve Your Creative Mindset

For the Love of Reading While Sheltering-In, books are a perfect antidote to fretting. A good book closes the door in the room of fragmented

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a watercolor painting of tiny daisies in a brass vase in the sunshine

Painting Flowers in Watercolor – and a free download

Painting Flowers in Watercolor as a Meditation I’m painting flowers in watercolor as a meditation this week. With my cell phone, I snapped a photo

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A woman wearing a fur coat and a pencil skirt walking her beagle dog in a green neighborhood

Creative Collage Ideas – No Drawing Required

Ideas for Easy Creative Collage Art Let’s layer some creative collage ideas with no drawing skills required. Easy peasey, fun art, you can create alone

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collage portrait made from torn paper and paint of a mother and child

Portrait Collage Ideas – Vintage Family Photos

Portrait Collage Ideas Eldest Son was created from hand-printed, archival tissue papers, torn and assembled as a portrait collage of two figures. The faces of

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portrait of a little kid, head down, staring out from under her eyebrows with determination, in watercolor in a Moleskine notebook

Can You Use Watercolor on Moleskine Notebooks?

Painting with Watercolor in a Sketchbook You can paint with watercolor and get good results when your Moleskine notebook is made with watercolor paper. If

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