I've received a lot of questions recently about how I learned the mixed media techniques that show up in my work. Thanks to the magic of the internet the resources are endless! Here's an overview of my favorite online art instructors, who all offer FREE tutorials to get a flavor for their unique style and teaching approach.
JANE DAVENPORT Jane is an Australian artist with a serious art supply addiction, which she has dubbed "rainbowitis". She started her career as a fashion illustrator in Paris, then transitioned into fashion photography. From there she started photographing bugs, and has published a billion calendars, books and other goodies featuring her photography. Then she started creating in an art journal, and the rest is history. Watching her create art makes me happy. She has a fantastic way of breaking down drawing in a way that makes it super easy to do. If you think you can't draw faces or figures, you need to take a class from Jane. She has a bunch of online classes, and I've taken most of them. She just launched a line of art supplies this month (you can find them at Michael's) and has just launched a FREE mixed media course. You can see a preview of the free course on her blog, as well as what you need to do to enroll. https://janedavenport.com/blog/ DONNA DOWNEY Donna started her career as an elementary school teacher. She started her creative career in scrapbooking, and over the years has evolved into a fantastic mixed-media artist. Donna has several free weekly video tutorials on her blog, including "Artist Gang Tuesday" and "Find Out Friday". She offers many courses on her website (donnadowney.com), but the best free goodies from Donna are found on YouTube. Her "Inspiration Wednesday" series started as a free weekly video. The new Inspiration Wednesday tutorials are offered as a paid course on her website, but the old videos are available for your viewing pleasure on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVT7cf4dRlE&list=PLjuRMh8MePSkzFamPx66r5BuxpsJjpMPm IVY NEWPORT Ivy has a lovely, refined style and works with some unusual mediums and techniques such as encaustic. She has a BFA in illustration, and has held a variety of jobs in art and design. She has a really gentle and calming style of teaching, and generally offers modifications to her lessons to accomodate all skill levels. Ivy has several free classes, which you can find on her website. https://ivynewport.com/free-videos/ TAM LAPORTE Last, but certainly not least, is Tamara LaPorte from willowing arts. Tam tends to offer lessons that incorpoate reflective or meditative exercices, which I really enjoy. Her main offering is a year-long mixed-media course called Lifebook. It isn't a free course, but it is super economical. You receive a lesson each week from a variety of different instructors. I've been doing Lifebook since 2015 and have learned a ton of different techniques. It's also where I learned of other inspirational artisits such as Ivy, Donna and Jane. Tam has several free courses on her website, including a lesson from Lifebook 2016. You can find out about the free course on her blog. http://www.willowing.org/2015/10/19/free-life-book-taster-yay/ YouTube & Pinterest The last two resources are chock full of content, but do require a bit of sifting through the junk to find the bits that inspire you. A search for art journaling or mixed-media will bring up a plethora of resources. If you find something you like, I encourage you to share it with others via the comments section of this post. Happy creating!
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I admit it. I'm an art supply junkie. I also tend to bounce around between painting, jewelry making, scrapbooking, embroidery and card-making. This means I have piles and piles of supplies. I have decided that in 2017 I need to use it or lose it. I am on a mission to use or give away the supplies I have cluttering up my studio. My first project is to take the hundreds of pages of scrapbook paper and cardstock to make journals. So far the journals are coming together nicely. I'll post another picture of the finished product, once the signatures are bound and I've added a cover.
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About the ArtistI am a self-taught mixed media artist with a passion for vibrant color and lots of texture. My hope is that my paintings will inspire joy, and encourage others to connect with their inner artist. Archives
March 2020
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