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Freewriting with Freewrite…
This month, I discovered the art of distraction-free writing with the use of the Smart Typewriter from Freewrite. First of all, I adore the lemon yellow smart typewriter and when I sit in my bed with it on my lap, letting my thoughts flow, I feel like a little girl again dreaming and listening to what my heart and my mind are saying to me and I just… write. This is much different from how I’ve written in the past, especially with my novels. Usually, before I start a book I give myself a month or more of plotting, character development and outlining before I even begin. Writing on my…
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Tatakizome, the art of flower pounding
Flower pounding, or Tatakizome, is an ancient Japanese technique of hammering plants to create patterns on fabric. It is a very simple technique that renders gorgeous results. All you need is fresh flowers, a hammer and either paper, canvas or fabric to transfer the flower “dye”. I’ve recently discovered some absolutely gorgeous flower pounding art on Instagram. Before that, my good friend Debi, showed me some of her results with not only flower pounding but also flower dyeing, which is an art unto itself. Hers are some of the best I’ve seen! I find that fresh flowers work best because the flowers at the grocery and flower shop contain dyes…
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Why Your Book Cover is Your Best Marketing Tool
Your book cover is your most essential marketing tool. It’s right up there with your story and your back cover blurb in importance. A book cover’s singular goal is to attract readers to your book and make them want to pick it up. The book cover needs to convey the book’s Genre or sub-genre Location Tone of the book Possibly the main character(s) Think of it like a movie poster for your book. It needs to be attention grabbing and professional looking. You, as the author, might have a scene in your mind that you want to put on the cover. It’s an important part of the story and you…
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A floral study in gouache, colored pencil and Tombow markers
Recently, I’ve been enjoying searching for spring florals on my walks. This morning, the most beautiful dogwood flowers caught my eye and I hope my neighbor didn’t mind me taking a few for my art journal! I started with a pencil sketch, then moved to acrylic gouache and colored pencils and finished it off with Tombow markers. I love Tombows because the colors are so highly pigmented and water soluable so when you hit them with water, you get a beautiful and bright watercolor effect. They are great for adding shading and depth to your artwork and blend beautifully with gouache, watercolor or acrylic. I blended several shades to try…
