For Just a Day

Daylily, watercolor and ink

Daylilies - such showy bright buttons of color!  July is the month that they burst into bloom.

This will be my free gift in early August to my friends who receive my newsletter! 

It's easy to get a friendly, colorful newsletter right in your inbox!

You can join me at the button below!  I'd love to be friends!

Let's get connected!

Yes! Let's be Friends!

For Email Newsletters you can trust.

Daybreak

Daybreak, 11x14" oil on canvas
©Helen Read

Dawn can be the most magical time of day!  It's as if colors vibrate and come alive as the sun lights the sky.  Ancient scripture tells us that blessings are new every morning... and so it is!  Beauty is renewed, the birds begin to sing, light and color delight the eye! 

Please click here for pricing information and a purchase link.
To see more, visit my website!   

Proven! After years of teaching drawing....

I know that these 5 Tips work! 
For those who are new to drawing, for those who need a timely reminder, these 5 tips (plus a few more bonus tips) will up your game and do away with common frustrations!

I've taught hundreds (probably thousands) of students how to draw over the years.

These tips come from that experience and from the common things that can get in the way of progress.

My FREE DOWNLOAD will help you draw a better drawing,
(without stress and self-criticism!) 

Click here!  You'll get the immediate download, then several more helpful tips will come to your inbox on the next 3 days!  

 It's all free!! And there's nothing to lose... in fact, there's a lot to gain! :) 

I love helping people become more confident and proficient artists!  Let's connect!  

Check out my website meant for artists and those who love to create!

 

Ruffles and Lace

Coming in just a few weeks  ~

this is my gift in July to my friends!  

I love Irises... such beautiful color!  

My first awareness of irises was as a child.  We lived in Texas on a ranch.  The colors of the summer landscape were green and sand - sometimes a reddish sand.  To get a flower to grow in summer probably meant it was a cactus.  (I learned early in life that picking the beautiful flowers of a cactus was never a good idea!)

But one year I found some iris growing next to a chimney on our property... that was it - just the chimney.  I'm not sure when the house had accompanied the chimney; well before I was around!  And near the chimney were purple irises.... still thriving, still blooming, years and years after anyone had tended them. 

 Such tenacity!  Harsh conditions. Abandoned but thriving. 

You'll be able to download this, print it and enjoy it in your own home, but you will need to get my newsletter to do so!  Every month I send out a newsy note with my latest work, with gifts and links to cool stuff!  

It's super easy to join - just click the button below and you're in!!
My newsletter will be sent during the first week of the month - click the button and watch your inbox on July 7th! 

 

Count Me In!

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FREE, You say?

That's right!  Totally Free!!

YOU can learn the basics of drawing... with the materials you've got at home - and with stress-less instructions right in your own inbox!

I've taught hundreds of people how to draw, and I know everyone can learn!

Sign up and you'll get your first lesson right away - then 4 more... one on the next 4 days.

You'll learn some basics and see your skills improve!

Click the link and get started!

Soon to be announced... a WINNER of this little mini painting!

UPDATE 6/10/20  -  This one is going to Washington State! But sign up anyway, because there will be another give away a few months from now!

And it could be YOU!!  

That's right - I'll be giving this little original oil painting to one of my friends in just a few weeks.  You can get all the details about how to enter your name into the drawing when you get my newsletter in a couple days! 

Click the button below to get the link and when my note comes out on June 2nd, you can enter to win!  Super easy, right!?  

Over the last few years, these little mini paintings have flown all over the US... and I can't think of a better place to send this one than to your house!  

Then once a month I'll send you a little note so we can stay in touch!  My notes always have something fun just for you - free downloads, contests, new work, and surprises!! 

Yes, Please! Sign me up!

For Email Marketing you can trust.

Beautiful Chaos

 

Beautiful Chaos,  30x22" watercolor/acrylic on paper 

©2020 Helen Read 

Ah... the early moments of spring ... just as the first blooms begin to appear - it looks as if the chaos of dried leaves, twigs, branches will never yield life.  

Then... the first buds and blooms appear - as if by magic! 

And once again the triumph of life emerges from what looked like hopeless debris. 

This painting is composed of circles upon circles... thousands of them.
Symbolizing to me, the exuberance of life...in colors of growth.

More Information on Availability of This and Others Here!

 

Freebie Coming in June!

Did you know?   I create a  free watercolor download every month as a gift to those who receive my newsletter!  

This next month, this is the little painting that you'll be able to download, print, and frame.    Just because giving gifts to my friends is, well... fun!!  

If you haven't signed up for my monthly newsletter - you can do it right now! 

You'll get a colorful, friendly visit in your inbox each month

with news, and other fun things!  Some times I have a drawing for a free mini oil painting, discounts, downloads and invitations. 

The next newsletter comes out in early June ~

Sign up right here and watch your inbox!

Please sign me up!

For Email Marketing you can trust.

TWO. Months. In..... to this pandemic shut down!

We've been shut in...and the pandemic continues. 

For some of us, it's been very difficult.  For others we've done OK. 

WHAT IF, THOUGH....

you could use this time to learn a new skill? 

What if, you could try something new without any negative self-talk -  just try something new for fun... and watch yourself get better?  

What if - you could do something you've always wanted to do - but didn't have the time or a friendly plan of action to help you!? 

If you've always wanted to learn to draw - you CAN!!   

 I'll send you Five FREE lessons - right into your inbox; 1 a day for 5 days!  

 You'll find the instruction fun, easy to follow, encouraging, and you won't have to have any special materials!  

I've taught hundreds (probably thousands) of students to draw, and I'd love to 

help you with your drawing skills too!   

Use this link and you'll get your first lesson right away!!

There's no better time than NOW and you have Nothing to lose!!

 

Marsh Grasses

Marsh Grasses, 16x20" oil on canvas
© Helen Read

Not far from where I live is a large green area; much of it is marshland. Just along the edges of the marsh grasses are lovely stands of trees, tall rustling grasses, and a symphony of birdsong. Within all of it is the beauty of bright sunshine and the depth of cool shadows. There's a lovely beauty to it's wildness.

This just finished painting, Marsh Grasses, captures just a moment in time when the glow of sunlight casts its magic! It measures 16x20" is painted in an impressionistic style. It is painted with oil paints and painted around the sides.

 

Please click here for more information on pricing and a purchase link.

Harbinger of Spring

Spring Hyacinth, 6x6" oil on gesso board

Spring takes a long while to finally arrive in the midwest... however, there are a few early arrivals and beautiful hyacinths are one of them. 
Hope that blooms in blues and purples!

Enjoy spring year round!  Hyacinth beauty in lovely cool shades will brighten up a shelf or small space!  Ready to find it's new home!  

Click here for more information on pricing and a purchase link

See more at my website! 

Beginning a New Painting

Toned canvas

Adding some structure - in a purple wash

Some background & middle ground added in

Adding more into the middle ground and foreground

Adjusting and adding cool colors into a basically warm color scheme 

This painting is taking shape.  What isn't so visible in these photos is the toned canvas still having its presence seen in a number of places. 
Especially with the warmer tones showing through, it gives an interesting contrast in a variety of places.  

Lots of painting has to do with "listening" as I work and making adjustments and choices that I didn't see coming.  That's what makes it exciting and mysterious!  

 

A New Website and a Free Painting Lesson!!

In this time of national pause, let's let

PEACE 

overcome 

FEAR

Let's take time to renew our minds and hearts. 

For me, time to be in prayer - time to let the words of Holy Scripture 

soak into my heart is so vital. 

And, I also think the act of creating is a way we can 

fight back against those doubts and fears that can creep in.  

The painting you see above is a free step by step lesson I'm offering through my new

website.  You supply the materials - and I'll supply everything else you need! 

 
So, I invite you to click on the link, follow the menu at the top to gain access to the free lesson, put on some restful music, give your heart a rest from the headlines of the day ~ and create! 

As you create remember this, which gives me hope
and reminds me that we are never alone! 

"Do not fear anything, for I am with you;
Do not be afraid, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you, be assured - I will help you; 

I will certainly take hold of you with My righteous right hand." 

Isaiah 41:10

 

my new website:   https://HelenCReadArt.com

 

Teaching Drawing from Home - social distancing

Distance,  12x9" graphite on paper 

In this era of social distancing, I'm learning a whole new way of conducting a high school drawing class!  

ON LINE

It's not ideal, because my students did not have enough notice of our school closing in the advancing pandemic of COVID-19 

to gather all their supplies to take home.  

So, we are making do with whatever we have on hand. 

Over the next few days in the coming week, my students will be watching a graphite drawing in it various steps to take shape.  They (hopefully) will be picking a photo and creating their own value drawing  too. 

Each day I comment on what I've done and the steps they will need to do too. 

It's a grand experiment to see how it goes.  

:)

We keep trying and hopefully there will be progress!