Cynthia Maynard

Author | Artist

Painting

Inspired by Monet

I love the colors and textures of the works of Monet. I wanted to do an 8 x 8 inch soft pastel painting, and I thought Monet's Waterlilies would be a great inpiration. I always love how they start out looking like a kindergartner's class work. :) I used Lyra watercolor sticks to block-in the main colors for the background, then activated the pigment with water on a paintbrush. This also keeps you from using up too much of the pastels and making them harder to layer. After layering ... View the Post

Painting

Acrylic Pink Floral

Whenever I have leftover open paint, I quickly paint a second canvas. They don't always turn out. I have mixed feelings about this one, but the colors are calming. I think popping it into a frame would be good. Autumn has been so beautiful that it's been hard to be down in the studio. I have been writing a lot. I think it's time to start painting some fall colors! Here are some favorite products! ... View the Post

Painting

Inktober (So Far)

October is my favorite month, and it's been Autumn perfection here in Michigan! Here are a couple of ink and paint sketches for Inktober! There are links at the bottom of the post for great supplies to get you going! ... View the Post

Cartography

Inkarnate

Inkarnate is map making website-based program that is my favorite discovery! As a writer, this is an invaluable tool, but also as a paper crafter, this has so much potential for junk journals and more! I have recently made some digital washi with my maps (in my last blog post). You can find it in my Etsy shop. These are among my first basic maps. So fun! Do you enjoy maps? You should check out their website! ... View the Post

[instagram-feed]