Happy Sunday, friends! Today is actually Valentine’s Day. My husband bought me a huge bouquet of hydrangeas and beautiful greenery and other type of flowers. He knows exactly what flowers I love. it helps that I constantly remind him…”if you ever want to get me flowers..you should get me hydrangeas!”

**Pink Peonies that were originally at my grandma’s farmhouse. My dad just planted these in my yard in November. Can’t wait to have them in my own yard.**

Did you do anything exciting today? I worked in my sketchbook and listened to some podcasts while my girls played out in the snow. We have had a decent amount of snow this year and are supposed to get more tomorrow! At least it makes winter more fun.

Heirloom Peonies

I however am ready for spring and summer. I have been thinking about warm weather so much that I have been having dreams about my flowers. I know this sounds kind of weird, but I had a wonderful dream the other night about peonies blooming in my garden. Let me explain these peonies. They are actually the same peonies that were grown at the farmhouse where my 92-year-old grandma grew up. Years ago my parents dug up a bunch of the peonies and brought them to their home. I was too young to really understand how cool that was. Now as an adult with my own home, I actually get to have some of those exact same peonies! My dad came over in November with three from their yard and planted them He planted them right in front of my kitchen window. So hopefully this year or next I will see these beautiful flowers and think of my grandma. My grandma is still alive and lives in a nursing home. With Covid I have been unable to see her much at all, and it is hard to talk to her on the phone. However, I feel like these flowers will bring me a special bond with her forever.

Working in my Sketchbook

Today I found myself thinking about them, so I decided to work in my sketchbook. My sketchbook is a great place for me to play around and experiment with different ideas. I talk more about sketchbooks in this blog post here.

Here is my process of working in my sketchbook for the sketchbook today.

**I start out by laying in an underpainting to cover my entire sketchbook page. This is ultramarine blue mixed with white. My favorite color mixture ever!**

**I focus on mixing colors and laying in basic shapes of the leaves and then the petals. I work loose and large and then tighten up details later. I am not worried about every petal and leaf.**

**I love having a color swatch chart nearby of some of my favorite colors. It always helps me make more informed choices in the colors that I use. I am using a script brush to add details.**

I highly recommend making a color chart before painting. You can see what colors your paints mix to create. One of the major tips I have for new painters is to MIX YOUR COLORS! I never use green straight from the tube, I always mix it!

Here is my final sketch. I have a self-portrait on the other sketchbook page. I am always trying to challenge myself and improve in my sketchbooks. It is so cool to look back through old sketchbooks and see how far you have come.

So there you have it, a quick little step-by-step on my peony sketch process. This is how I usually work on most of my sketchbooks except portraits. I usually start off really loose and play around with color and brushstrokes. I hope this might inspire you to work in your sketchbook and paint something that brings you joy or inspires you. See you next weekend on the blog!