Author Archive: Vicki Achard

“Swallowtail by the Lake”

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One day Tom and I were photographing this beautiful swallowtail in our garden. I don’t recall ever seeing such a beautiful butterfly flying around our Queen Anne’s Lace before. These beauties bring me so much joy. Golden Rod has just popped up in our garden for the first time, and I absolutely love seeing cat tails by ponds, lakes, or by the side of the road. I thought the combination of all of that with some rocks that I absolutely have so much fun painting would make a nice painting.

I also added geese flying because I think composition wise it added to the painting. I think this would look nice with a wooden or black metal frame. Hope you too are finding and enjoying so much of God’s beauty.

Happy Creating,

Vicki

Behind the Scenes Work in Progress/”Chicory in the Field”

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Using a reference photo and making decisions about changes to a finished composition is a must at times. If I painted the entire scene it would have been way too much greenery and the chicory would have gotten lost in the painting. Also I decided painting this horizontally would be better than vertical. I like this particularly with a white mat and brushed silver metal frame.

Did you notice I got a new #2 round brush?! I’ve been wanting one since my other one really never had a nice point, which was always frustrating! I also got a #6 round, which was in the pack and never had that before and love it!

Happy Creating,

Vicki

“New Watercolor Painting Reveal / Nature’s Best Art”

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Hello Everyone,

Pretty Lilies – 5×7 Greeting Card

I’m so excited to show you this video as it has my bigger Watercolor paintings I do between my “Let’s Paint” series, “Make a Card with Vicki”, and projects I work on with the materials I have in my craft room. Hope you can take a look.

Happy Creating,

Vicki

“Watercolor in Progress / Bluebird & Black-eyed Susans”

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Hello Everyone, I loved painting the bluebird a couple weeks ago on the fence on my “Let’s Paint” Series and wanted to paint a bigger bluebird.

Bluebird & Black-eyed Susans – 5×7 Greeting Card

In this video I show you “behind the scenes” of what I do between making my “Let’s Paint” series, my “Make a Card with Vicki” videos, and my projects I love accomplishing, usually for gifts.

Happy Creating,

Vicki

“Let’s Paint Day Lilies”

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Hello Everyone, I wanted to capture Day Lilies from my garden in a painting, as they only last a day or a little after that.

Day Lilies – 5×7 Greeting Card

The color of these lilies in our garden stopped me in my tracks, so rich in color. We are also enjoying pink and orange lilies. So much to be thankful for. What flowers are you enjoying in your garden?

Happy Creating,

Vicki

“Let’s Paint a Fluffy Bluebird”

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I love bluebirds. Some are so fluffy. I added a fence and tree. One day I will just paint birds with little around it, as I love painting animals and birds.

Fluffy Bluebird – 5×7 Greeting Card

I also want to paint landscapes, glass, more flowers, more animals, etc. etc. So many beautiful things to paint. I feel so blessed to enjoy and paint just what is around me and use photos of what I capture on my past adventures, walks, and trips. Hope you too can take time to enjoy the beauty around us.

Happy Creating,

Vicki

“Make a Card with Vicki / Birthday and Sympathy Cards”

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Hello Everyone, This was so much fun. I love color, paper, designing, and really had a good time making these cards. I will show you materials on how I made cards this past week and you will see me make a Birthday card using watercolor paints and embossing today.

I love sending cards and receiving cards and today, in 2020 I think sending cards is so meaningful and so uplifting. I think it’s a great way to keep in touch with loved ones and friends.

Happy Creating,

Vicki

“Decorating Little Girl Trinket Boxes” / Project 24-2

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Hello Everyone, I am so excited to show you these cute little trinket boxes I made out of my materials in the craft room and boxes I’ve had for a long time.

“Project 24-2”, my second project I’m doing since my Spring cleaning! I love taking materials I have in my craft or art studio to make gifts. Having them organized in a couple places and making a list of the projects helps me to know exactly where they are and what I plan on doing with everything. Sometimes I know I will have changes, like thinking I was going to make necklaces, but changing my mind and making trinket boxes for my granddaughters!

Happy Creating,

Vicki

“Art Challenge / Painting Shadows in Watercolor”

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Hello Everyone,

I had fun showing you the different paints I normally use in my paintings for shadows and I tried mixing a few colors that I normally don’t use for shadows. It was interesting to see the results.

Shadows can be a challenge, it takes time and patience to learn anything, and watercolor is no exception. I love the challenges it brings. I hope you find this helpful on your watercolor journey.

Hope you are all doing well.

Happy Creating,

Vicki

“Let’s Paint Roses in a Pretty Bowl”

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Hello Everyone,

I love Roses, they are all in bloom in our garden except the pink ones we have in the front garden. I also love putting cut flowers in our pretty dishes as a center piece for the table.

Such loveliness to capture in a painting. I find the more I paint, the more challenging some compositions are for me, but that’s good. That means I continue to learn. Don’t give up if you are starting to paint in Watercolor! Remember mistakes are good, that means we will all learn for the next painting, right?

Happy Creating,

Vicki