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Debbie Sweet Art | Formerly @Dsweet55

@debbiesweetart

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Creating art to make the world a sweeter place

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When my nephew was little, he and I went on lots of bug walks. We’d gently pick up bugs, put them in a jar with a magnifying glass on top, watch them for a while and then put them back with their bug families. I did this because I thought it was a fun adventure and also because I don’t like to see kids being afraid of insects.

That same sweet boy is now a man with little ones of his own. Last summer, when they visited Lake Tahoe, (where I once lived) I asked my nephew if he’d taken his kids on a bug walk there.

“We don’t do bug walks,” he said.

There was a long silence. I wasn’t sure what to say. “What!?” I finally asked. “Well now’s the perfect time to start! Go to the forest and see what you can find. In fact, if they pick up some bugs as well as jump into the cold lake, I’ll paint an insect card for each of them.”

The kids must’ve been excited because that same day I got evidence of their adventures—a video of bugs crawling in their tiny hands and photos of them jumping into the frigid lake. I was so proud! 😊

After that, I sent my two great-nieces butterfly cards, and my great-nephew this beetle card.

My hope is that bug walks become a family tradition. Until then, they’ll have a painted reminder that most bugs are safe to handle.

If you live far from little ones in your family, give this idea a try. Challenge them to something you know they’ll probably do and promise the reward of a painting. It’s a lovely way to connect with children who don’t live nearby. 🐞🪲🦋🪳If whatever fun (or ridiculous) behavior you’re trying to encourage doesn’t get passed on, at least you know you’ve tried your best! 🫶❤️🥰

#Insectart #insectartwork #watercolorinsectsillustrations #watercolorinsects #watercolourinsects by @debbiesweetart

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4 days ago

Hello dear friends! I’m thrilled to share this special post with you from my family’s remote watercolour group. It’s been a while! I’ve been painting with my sister and niece once a week for over three years and it’s a great joy in all of our lives. ❤️ I’ve named this collection, “Sea Glass Birds in a Tree.”

One week my niece asked, “Why don’t we paint Melinda‘s sea-glass birds?”

Melinda is a friend I’ve had since high school who has become family. She is very artistic and creative. You can find her amazing cyanotypes at @melindalauten . We asked her if we could paint her sea-glass birds in a tree and she was thrilled with the idea. 👏

She used real sea glass to create her lovely piece of art and we used watercolor. This turned out to be a fantastic collaboration! I hope you enjoy it! Here are the artists in this set of photos:

1. Me 2. My niece (with apologies for cutting the bottom of her painting off.) 3. My sister 4. Melinda, who created our delightful reference picture.

Happy new week to you all! 🪶🐤🐧

#seaglassart #seaglassfun #watercolourseaglass #seaglasslove #familywatercolor by @debbiesweetart

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19 days ago

Hi friends! Here’s a cheerful watercolor for your feed. I painted it from a tutorial by @tammykayeart. Her tutorials help me paint with a bigger brush—something I’m still getting used to. 😅 I hope you enjoy it! 🌼🌺🌸

#canadianwatercolour #canadianwatercolourartist #tammykayeart #watercolorflorals #watercolourpaintings by @debbiesweetart

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3 months ago

Now that I’ve worked quite a while on roses, (years!😫🤣) I decided the next stop was the dreaded peony. 🤦‍♀️ This watercolor was inspired by @shaydacampbell , and after a day I’ve decided I’m pleased with it. Thanks, dear friends for stopping by! ❤️🤗🦋💐💃🏻

#watercolourart #watercolorart #floralsforfun #aquarelle #canadianwatercolor #canadianartist #artistofontario #ontarioartist #paintingfun #looseflowers #looseflorals #canadawatercolor #funwatercolor #loosewatercolor #watercolourofontario #watercolourist #watercolorist #watercolorforfun #shaydacampbelltutorial @shaydacampbell #watercolorpractice #watercolourpractice #paintingwithwatercolors #shaydamademedrawit
#watercolourpeonies
#watercolourpeony
#watercolorpeonies
#watercolorpeony taken in Burlington, Ontario by @debbiesweetart

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5 years ago

Such a fun video by @shaydacampbell ! Florals will always be my favorite subject to paint and I love a great floral tutorial. This painting has several flaws but I painted fast, with fun in mind. Then right when I finished, my brush—which was filled with dark green paint—fell out of my hand and splotched and smeared my florals. 🙈 But because of Shayda’s encouragement to just have fun, I lightened as much as I could and made a few more leaves with the rest. I think it sort of all worked out. Thanks for stopping by, dear friends! I hope you like it, blended splotches and all! ❤️

#shaydamademedrawit #watercolorbouquet #watercolourbouquets #watercolorbouquets #watercolourbouquet #watercolourflowers #flowerwatercolor
#shaydamademedoit #vaseofflowerspainting #chinoiseriepainting #chinoiserieart #paintingflowers #paintingwatercolorflorals #floralart #ilovepainting taken in Burlington, Ontario by @debbiesweetart

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2 years ago

Hello Everyone! I hope you have a great Sunday and do something fun or relaxing. We all need a bit of quiet in our lives these days. I hope you enjoy these bright florals inspired by a @tammykayeart tutorial I found on Pinterest. Thanks for stopping by! 💐

#tammykayeart #watercolorflowersart #loosefloralwatercolor #flowersinwatercolor #ilovetowatercolor by @debbiesweetart

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4 months ago

Thank you, @tammykayeart for a fantastic live demo painting this beautiful arrangement! It’s the first time I’ve ever painted quickly and with a slightly bigger brush. I held the brush a few inches up, and without my fingers teetering on the edge of the brush strands I could get a better look at what I was painting. 🧐😅

Happy Wednesday, (or Thursday) everyone, and thanks again for your kind support and encouragement. Enjoy the rest of your day! 🌸😊🌺

#watercolorist #watercolourartist #prettyposies #canadianartist #watercolorposies #watercolourillustration #canadianartdaily #canadianwatercolour #watercolourflowers #watercolorartist
#watercolorlife #watercolorartwork
#watercolor #floralpainting #painteditmyself #paintedposies #watercolor #paintersoninstagram #watercolorflowers #watercolorflorals by @debbiesweetart

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a year ago

Hi Friends! Here’s a Sunday bouquet inspired by a YouTube tutorial that @Tammykayeart created. I hope you’ve had a great weekend and are rested and ready for the week ahead. Have a good one! 😊🌸🌱🌺🩵

#watercolourflowers #flowersinwatercolor #tammykayeart #watercolorartwork #floralsinwatercolor by @debbiesweetart

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2 months ago

A fun summer flower doodle to brighten your day, inspired by the lovely @ellencrimitrent on her Youtube tutorial. 🌹💃🏻🌹
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#watercoloroftheday
#watercolourwhimsy
#watercolorwhimsy
#whimsicalwatercolor
#whimsicalwatercolour
#paintingfun
#Canadianwatercolour
#watercolorpainting
#artistsofontario
#looseflorals
#loosewatercolourflorals
#loosewatercolorflorals
#watercolorflorals
#watercolourflorals
#watercolorflowers
#watercolorpractice
#watercolourpractice
#modernflorals
#watercolor_daily
#ellencrimitrent
#canadiangreetingcards
#greetingcarddesigner by @debbiesweetart

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6 years ago

Hi dear friends! Two years ago, my niece gave her mom watercolor, paper and brushes for Christmas and in Jan. they asked if I could teach them to watercolor. Right away I said, “yes!” and since then we’ve rarely missed a week—meeting for two hours every Monday. We chat and catch up and have a space to share our ups and downs. I treasure our time. 🙏

All three of us live far apart, so we paint remotely using Zoom and document cameras.

What a fun two years it’s been, and they’ve both come so far! Look at their lovely work! The first painting I’ve posted today is mine, the second my niece’s and the third my sister’s. It’s such fun to see the variation in our styles.

My sister is 84-years-old! (Got her OK before I wrote that. 😅) She’d never painted in her life, which shows it’s never too late to learn! To see her happy with her ability to mix the right colors and get the correct paint-to-water ratio has delighted me! To see my niece so excited that she paints during the week thrills me! She’s come a long way, too, and since she’s a teacher she supports the group with fresh ideas, great structure and concrete teaching techniques for various shapes, best practices, etc.

I come from a family who got together a lot and always had fun. Since moving from California to Canada 26 years ago, I’ve really missed everyone. These painting sessions have been wonderful, and we’re all devoted and rarely miss a class. My other niece also comes by to say a quick hi when she can, which is always a treat! 💕

In this post we all painted Spanish Broom from Sushma Hedge’s “Wildflower Watercolor” book. Next week we’ll try another flower from her book and so on until we’re ready to paint a wildflower field with our practice flowers.

I got Sushma’s permission to do this by telling her I’m not making money teaching lessons from her book, just gathering with my family to paint. Also, we all have her book. She was fine with it and very sweet. 💕

If you have friends or family far away (or near) and they want to learn to paint, I highly recommend getting a group going if you have the time. Unless they’re quarrelsome nitwits, you won’t be sorry! 🥰

#sushmahedge #watercolorflowers by @debbiesweetart

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6 months ago

Hi all! I hope your week is a great one! This is another fun tutorial I followed by @tammykayeart . I love her tutorials and have one more in the works. I’ve wanted to get better at loose watercolor bouquets and her techniques have really helped me.

We’ve had a blazing hot few days in Southwest Ontario and painting has been a fantastic, cool distraction. For a winter lover, I’d say I’m coping pretty well. 🥵

I hope you enjoy this song—another one from my younger days when I switched the radio channel constantly as I drove to make sure I was playing a song I loved. 🎼😅🥁Thanks, as always, for your kind support. It means a lot! 🥰❤️

#prettyposies #watercolourlover #floralpainting #watercolor #watercolorflowerspainting #watercolourillustration #funwithwatercolors #funwithwatercolours #summerflorals
#watercolorsketch #watercolourillustration #watercoloringpainting #paintingwithwatercolor #tammykayeart
#aquarellepainting #aquarelleflowers
#watercolorpaintings by @debbiesweetart

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a year ago

Happy Friday friends! ❤️ I’ve had my eye on this watercolor by Negin Armon for a while and decided today was the day to paint it. I’ve never painted daffodils and have always been intimidated by them. They weren’t as hard as I thought they’d be but I definitely want to practice them more. Negin’s YouTube tutorial was lots of fun and if you have a chance, try it out! 🥰

#watercolourdaffodils #watercolordaffodils #neginarmontutorial #springwatercolor #daffodilsinwatercolor by @debbiesweetart

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2 months ago