Hello and welcome! I'm so HAPPY that you've decided to come and visit my site! :0) I hope you find what you're looking for here! I offer online art classes, art for sale and you can find my in-person workshop schedule here too! If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me on tam {at} willowing.org - Big hugs!
Hey there fabulous creativas! (It’s a new word I created and it’s a mix between creative and diva: you are creative divas!!) :)
One of the awesome perks of the job that I do is that you get sent new awesome art materials to review and experiment with! I’m a big fan of Jane Davenport‘s work and I love her as my friend and an allround sparkly, koala-saving, long blond-haired mermaid, kick-ass art maker kind of person. :) So I was thrilled to be asked to be part of her blog hop again to review her newest stencils as manufactured by the lovely Lisa (and Michael) from Artist Cellar!
If you love creating faces, but you’re having a hard time creating them, these stencils are perfect. Sometimes you can use them just as they are and voila you have a face, but ALSO you can use them as a learning tool, trace over the stencils face and get to know those face angles and dimensions, you can also embellish the stencilled face and/or really make it your own! Some of you may remember the video I did with her last stencil set (you can watch it here) and I what I liked about it so much is that the stencil face is really Jane-style, but I could easily make the face into a more Tam-style. Yay.
Anyhoo, yesterday I played with her newest face stencils and this is what I created. I hope you enjoy this little time lapse video darling! :)
As part of the release of these stencils I’m allowed to give away one set of stencils to a lucky person! :) If you want to enter the give away, make sure that you subscribe to my newsletter (if you don’t already) and leave a comment below telling us how making art LIGHTS YOU UP! :) (it does, doesn’t it?)
And to increase your chances of winning a stencil set, check out the other artist hoppers in the blog hop:
Have posted already – some you can still enter for giveaways though:
I just wanted to give you this extra info about the Stencils:
The Set is called Jane Girls Petite Faces.
When I created my first set of stencils, it was in direct response to what I thought would help my online drawing students. What I have discovered through my teaching is that when people start drawing we tend to err towards wanting to be perfect straight away. Even though we know its unrealistic, the expectation is there! The stencils where intended as a safety net.
When I worked with my stencils in live classes, I could really see just how powerfully confidence-building they were! I had requests for some smaller faces, so the new set furnishes those wishes. I also made them a little more complex so skills can keep improving as creative confidence flourishes!
Sorry for the delay in announcing the winners you guys! I’ve been having some technical problems with my site this week, which I hope have now been resolved! Soooooo, without further ado here are the 3 Life Book 2014 winners! Eeeeeeeeeeh! If you’ve won, pls contact me on willowing AT gmail.com and let me know the email you’ll use on the ning site. You’ll then be invited when registration opens on 7th October! Thank you everyone for entering the give away. If you didn’t win; bummer I’m so sorry sweetheart! If finances are tough for you be assured that I will be offering payment plans. I want all of you to be part of this: of course!!
So I’ve recently started seeing a therapist. While I’ve only had a few sessions with her, I’m already noticing the impact of sharing my stuff with a stranger, being heard and ‘held’ and being supported on my life long quest to become more loving to and accepting of myself.
I know that so many, if not most of us battle with a lack of confidence, a lack of self worth, a lack of self acceptance on a daily basis and I truly believe that working towards more self-acceptance and self-love (and I don’t mean the physical kind though dude: that is SO cool too! ;)) doesn’t only make YOU happier, more at peace and in joy; it truly also helps and improves the world. I am utterly convinced of that.
Most of you know that practising self care, self kindness and self love play a big part in my life and on my courses. Life Book (for instance) is all about finding a greater love for and a deeper connection with one self through the magic of art making (it’s ALSO about celebration and honouring and having fun btw, but this post in not about Life Book right now more on Life Book soon :)).
I sometimes get asked the question: why? Why the focus on self love? What is all this woo woo mumbo jumbo self lovey dovey all about? Why the focus on ‘self’ so much? Shouldn’t we love others? Not ourselves so much?
Lemme explain oh gorgeous being you. :) It all comes down to this really:
It’s not *JUST* about me wanting to feel happier and more at peace and confident inwardly and all that. That is a huge part of my motivation, of course, I want me, you, all of us to be happy and self-confident and full of strength & joy. But, my dudes, it’s not only that. This self love and self-peace, my goodness; it spills over into the world and onto others and will literally make the world a better place. The maths = You loving yourself = World better place. For serious. Let me elaborate:
I think that people who lack self-love, who lack a sense of self-safety and a sense of inner peace are at the root of most of the world’s problems. Yes, I think huge wars, the chase for more power and wealth, abusing and exploiting others to gain more for ourselves, neglecting and abusing animals, ruining the environment etc etc all have unhappy people at the root of it. I’m not saying that all unhappy people are causing huge wars, nope, some try to find other ways to create more happiness within them (meditation/ self-enquiry/ therapy/ arting it out/ singing etc are only a small hand full of examples how some deal with their unhappiness) but I’m saying that I bet your bottom dollar that those who create wars, do harm etc; are deeply unhappy on the inside and they are trying to fill the void with all sorts; external power, wealth, food, drugs etc.
And I’m not judging those people, to be clear: I strongly wish they would choose different methods to fill their inner voids, but I can totally understand they have that inner void and that they are clumsily (and at times with great harm to others) trying to fill it. Sadly, current society is set up in such a way that many/ most of us do end up with inner voids and so many of us battle with this problem. Some are more aware, other less. I wish and send all who struggle with the inner void; love and more specifically: a sense of inner unconditional love for themselves, a sense of inner peace and strength about who they are which is: a divine & pure spark of the universe (yes you!).
In contrast: those who are happy, are doing great inner work and have a sense of inner peace and self acceptance tend to create projects in the world that are life-enriching! They are kind to others and themselves, they are usually forces of light and positivity. They have a positive impact on all they meet. People who have an inner confidence and self-love can see others for who they are, they are better equipped to deal with conflict and difficult scenarios. They are less likely to choose violent methods to sort out problems, they promote peace, love, light and are general light-beamers all round.
To summarise: unhappy people do unhappy things and happy people do happy things.
So what do I mean by self-love and self-acceptance? Some people confuse self love with self-adulation. No my comrades, that’s not what I’m talking about. Self-love is not about: arrogance, feeling better than others, boasting or self-glorification (in fact those are all usually symptoms of feeling ‘less than’). Oh nosies. That’s not what I’m talking about at all. Self love/ self care, self kindness, is all about looking after yourself well. Being in touch with what it is you need. Creating strong (but kind) boundaries around you so you do not get depleted. It’s about making choices that enrich your life and well being. Knowing that you are as worthy as others. Creating a greater understanding of who you are. Making space for rest, for nourishment, for replenishing your soul. Making time for healing the hurts inside of you. Liking who you are. Knowing you are equally worthy to others, that you are not ‘less than’. Asking for help if you need help. Being kind kind kind to you you you. It is sometimes saying ‘no’. It’s remaining committed to your values. It’s honouring your pain, your joy, your sadness, your happies. It’s celebrating your inner divinity. It’s moving away from judgement and looking at your deeper feelings and needs. It’s being ok with being scared. It’s being ok with being who you are. It being proud of who you are. It’s being ok with your struggles and flaws. It’s wholly accepting yourself with your strengths and flaws and having compassion and love for this being that is you. <3
Nice Tam, but how does one achieve that?
Ha ha. Yes, well. Seeing that many of us have had life long practises of being biatches towards ourselves, it does take a lot of work, awareness and education to transform. And I do think -at times- that it may take another few life times (for me that is) to transform my own self-judgement in to self-acceptance. That said, I’ve done a lot of work in this area and compared to where I was 10 years ago: I am now SO much more confident, aware, in touch and happier. Sure, I still have further to go, oh totally, but I know that change can happen, transformation can occur, self-compassion is possible.
The things that have helped me most in life to help transform my inner critic into a more loving and accepting person are:
And more recently, I found out that Sounds True (who do amazing audio podcasts that enrich my life spiritually, emotionally and psychologically) are actually running a ‘Self Acceptance Project’! For Free! Sign up here (no affiliate, just wanting the world to become a better place my loves). x
So there you go my message about self love! One of the most crucial things to make your inner AND outer world a better place. :D
What about you? Do you love and accept yourself? Do you struggle with an inner void? What do you do to find more self acceptance? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this.
And of course, if you’re interested in doing more self-acceptance work through art making, registration for Life Book 2014 opens on October 7th. It will support, inspire, encourage and move you to become kinder with your precious self darling. Hope to see you there. <3
You know I appreciate you guys deeply right? I so very much love being part of this awesome creative community, it fills me with joy and yayness every day to know that so many of you/ us are sharing our art and our light in this world. It’s a true pleasure and honour to be doing the job that I do, running classes helping people dig deeper and evolve spiritually/ personally. Wow, I’m counting my lucky stars every day. And I also must thank you guys for that. Without you, I wouldn’t be able to do what I do, so just remember that: you are loved, you are appreciated, I care about you.
Now then, all that did not really have much to do with the topic of this blog post! Well maybe a little, because I’m about to start my blog hop for Life Book 2014, and I often feel emotional and grateful when I think of Life Book. It’s such a precious project to me. It does so much good in the world, it’s enriching so many people’s lives. :))) So yes, it’s super dear to my heart and I would love everyone to be able to be part of it.
So, to celebrate the kick off of this blog hop I will be giving away
All you have to do win a space is leave me a comment below and let me know why you want to part of Life Book! :)
This give away is now closed, the winners have been announced as:
Joyce
Amy Weaver
Tawana
But you can still enter give aways on the other teachers’ blogs!
And hang on! If you want an even greater chance to win a space on Life Book make sure that you follow the blog hop! All the teachers are giving away one spot on Life Book 2014!
Eeeeeeh!! After weeks of diligent work I am excited, overjoyed, humbled, privileged and so crazy happy to announce the Life Book 2014 Teacher Team! They are such a wonderfully talented group of people bringing creativity and light into the world. I am truly honoured to bring them all together for you guys in 2014!
Hem hem, here we gooooooooo!
PS. All of the teachers will be GIVING AWAY 1 SPOT each on Life Book 2014. We are all holding a fabulous blog hop starting this Thursday, so keep an eye out and follow the blog hop that way you’ll increase your chances of winning a spot!
To read in depth bios and see examples of the artists’ artworks download this PDF (or scroll down to read all about them):
Singing songs, like creating art, puts me in touch with emotions I can’t usually express/ process in other ways. I wasn’t able to record songs in a while, but recently acquired new equipment which makes the whole process a lot easier. It’s like I could breathe again! I’m singing ‘Flightless Bird – American Mouth’ by Iron & Wine in this video – possibly the most moving song of all time. Not perfect but that’s not the point. Hope you like. xoxo
PS. Equipment used:
Yeti USB Mic
Midi Keyboard: Alesis Q49
GarageBand
There are 3 vocals and 2 instrumental tracks in this.
It’s 10pm. I’m sitting on a mattress in the dark a few feet away from you. You’re in your bed (a mid sleeper) and snoring like a chain-saw. You and I sleep in your room nowadays while your daddy and Elliot have a room to themselves too, this was so that I would not end up catatonic in a psychiatric institution (your brother had a hand in that one with his sleep behaviour, so it was dad to the rescue; he’s a hero your dad he is!)
Each night we have the same routine: we play 2 more games of the ‘people game’ (who’s who?) which is a game recommended for 6 and up but you seem to understand it perfectly at the age of 4. We put on your payamas, put on a nappy (you wear them only during the night nowadays) and brush your teeth (read: you suck the tooth paste off the toothbrush and I brush your teeth). Then, you watch a few youtube videos on the iPad (giggle bellies with kissymoo the cow, octonauts, 4 ducks by Elmo, pingu the penguin or Winnie the Pooh all are favourites at the moment) and then we go to sleep. That is, when you’re not protesting and trying to drag it out by asking for: a drink, a squeezie, a story, a cuddle (awww) or simply by having long confusing chats with me (mummy? -yes? – are you there or there? – it’s pitch dark, I can’t see a thing so I answer: ‘I’m there, Dylan’ – are you there or there? – yes, I’m there. You are there? Yes, I’m there … Dylan, we need to go to sleep now sweetheart. Ok, but you are there? Not there? … )
There was one night that I thought I was ever so clever and tried to get you to sleep (instead of talking to me in the dark) by teaching you: ‘counting sheep’. So I tell you: “Dylan, it’s time to go to sleep now, you know what you do? Just close your eyes and imagine all these sheep in your mind and watch them jump over a fence and then you count them, like this: 1 sheep —– 2 sheep —- 3 sheep ———– 4 sheep…….” and then I went quiet and listened to your breathing, to see if you’d gone to sleep. For about 3 minutes or so you were completely quiet and I totally thought you were asleep and that my trick had worked until suddenly I heard your brightly awake voice say with glee:
“Mummy, there are TWENTY FIVE sheep in my mind!!!”
Seriously, I could not stop laughing! I should’ve known that a counting activity (you love numbers) would’ve only excited you and woken you up more! ;)
You recently turned 4 my little man and here is my birthday letter to you.
At age 4 you love: your friend Maisie (sooo much), your friend Eve, your friend Caspar. You love mummy & daddy rockets (being pushed high on the swing by either one of us), reading story books, jumping on the trampoline, Octonauts, dancing with daddy, ‘Bad Romance’ by Lady GaGa, the ‘Coming Home’ song, Peppa Pig, going swimming, playing with your dolls house (a gift for your 4th birthday), board games like: the shopping game and the cooking game. You also love: cake, chocolate, chocolate cake, chocolate eggs, chocolate monster, chocolate EVERYTHING. :)
Dylan & Maisie
You have a talent for numbers (you were able to count until 100 a while back already), letters & reading (you can actually already read many 3 & 4 letter words -> wow crazy!) and eating ice lollies (in your short little life you may have eaten about 3500 icelollies so far, just kidding). You have a fabulous imagination, you love playing ‘make believe plays’. The other day you were telling me about a 5-legged/ 5-eyed purple dragon named ‘Rainbow’ who’d flown in through the window! (Dude, this is endless inspiration for my art and future children’s books I hope to write and illustrate: thanks!)
In the imaginative play area you love pretending to be a ‘doggie’ a ‘cat’ a ‘baby’ a ‘mummy’ or a ‘daddy’. You play the ‘mummies & babies’ game to your heart’s content. We think you learned this game at the Dharma School (a Buddhist based junior school we love). You’ve been going to this school (pre-school) for the past year now since you turned 3 last year. You started with 3 mornings a week, which then turned to 3 days (until 3pm) and then for the last quarter you did 4 days a week.
While in the first half of the year going to pre-school wasn’t always something you wanted to do, you absolutely loved going during the second half of the year. This was when socially you blossomed and created some closer friendships with some of the other children.
We’ve been encouraging you to express your feelings (as opposed to ignoring, rejecting, judging or repressing them, if you’re reading this while you’re older: I hope you have kept up with this, it’s one of the things that’ll keep you healthy!)) Earlier this evening you were sitting on the couch next to your daddy and out of nowhere you said; “Daddy, I love you”. It’s moment like those that fill me up with a blissful kind of love which is hard to describe. :) You don’t just express your love though; if you are angry, sad, frustrated (or ‘upstrated’) you will also let us know. Sometimes by screaming, sometimes by staging silent protests, sometimes by pushing your brother or throwing heavy objects our way. We are (mostly) gently guiding you to express big feelings without harming others little dude, it’s not easy, I know. I often want to smash a bunch of plates on the floor when I feel angry too.
You are now a proper talker. I can have whole conversations with you in which we both -mostly- understand each other. It’s super cool this talking thing and you making sentences and all. For a parent it’s just amazing simply to see your once immobile ball of a baby turning into a talking, making sense (ish) little boy that’s learning and growing and expressing and becoming an amazing human being! :-) Yay YOU!
While we’re on the subject of talking, there are a few words that you still say in your ‘old way’ and please, I hope that even when you’re 70 you’ll still say them this way, they are, make note:
crocodile = crottodile
yellow = lellow
strawberries = strawbellies (anecdotely; Elliot says ‘stobby’ for strawberry at the moment :))
Now that you’re 4 and a bit before that, you’ve entered into your ‘helpful’ phase which both me and your dad love immensely, though sometimes your version of helpful is not always our version of helpful. Like the other day you wanted to wipe your own bum after a poo and the entire bathroom ended up with little trails of poo, water and godknowswhateelse everywhere, but we really get the intention. You basically have learned that helping others usually makes them happy and happy people means happy you –> aren’t you clever eh? :) But, again a side note: please don’t go out of your way – in life – to “people-please” all the time to the detriment of your own well-being! Your needs are as important as other people’s needs dear Dylan. Find the right balance there!
But let me stop being all mumsy and ‘lecture’ you on the ways of life: if you’re anything like me, you’ll want to discover the ‘ways of life’ yourself and not have an ‘upstrating’ mummy wagging a finger in your face all the time so I shall shush my beautiful angel.
I want to tell you about you and your brother Ellie: you love this little man and this little man loves you so much. Oh sure, you guys quibble and bash each other up here and there (the other day Elliot decided you were a horse and he was ridingyou literally on your back which you liked for a little while but then got very fed up with), but you guys have SUCH fun playing together. And Dylan, you are SO sweet towards him; always looking out for him and looking after him and jumping around with him. The joy I feel when I hear you two giggle together; it’s awesome! Thank you for that my dude. :-)
You’ve also deepened your connection with your dad. It’s a very special connection you have with him. He adores you and the ground you walk on, always remember that.
Dear beautiful Dylan, I wish for you so much. I wish for you: inner peace, an ability to be in the now, to laugh, to be whimsical, to have respect and care for yourself and others. I wish for you a helpful and healing way to self express. I hope you will be aware of your inner world, your feelings, your needs, your thoughts. I wish for you a spiritual connection to the universe, the sacred energy vibration that is the source of all life. I wish for you: fun, play, joy, sandy beaches and beautiful blue ocean waters. I wish for you: self understanding, growth. I wish for you: love, beauty, connection, community, health, progress. I wish you a 1000 stars and moons.
Dear Dylan, always remember that I believe in you. That I think you are worthy no matter what you do or do not achieve. You are loved and seen. Thank you again for coming to us and being our teacher. You have my heart little dude. <3
Happy 4th birthday dear angel.
Your mummy
x0x0x0x
from left to right: Amelio, Eve, Dylan, Louis, Maisie
Thank you so much for checking out my new Summer Classes! :) I’ve been preparing 3 new juicy mini classes for you. I’m SO proud of them and really enjoyed creating them. I hope you’ll sign up and get to enjoy them too. Let me tell you all about them–>
They are 3 separate stand alone classes which each can be purchased separately, however, they kind of belong together as they are in a similar style and were created in the same couple of weeks, I also cover 3 different portrait styles in them. If you sign up to all 3 you can get a discount! Or you can also sign up to 2 of them. Up to you! :) If you sign up to two you’ll get 10% discount, if you sign up to all 3 you get a 15% discount. :) Either way, they are affordable little lessons with a whole load of juicy info and inspiration! :)
If you don’t need to find out more info, you can sign up straight away by choosing any of the options below, otherwise, scroll down for more info on each individual class! :) If you sign up for more than one class, make sure to write down which classes you want either in the form below or in the paypal message box. :-) Thanks and see you there!
Yes, I want to Sign up Now! :)
Summer Gypsy – In this summer class you will learn how to create a beautiful mixed media portrait in a ‘Gypsy’/ ‘Summery’ style. The portrait is a front-facing one. The workshop lasts about 2.5 hours and comes with a 14 page in depth PDF. You can download and keep all the content and you’ll get access to the group forever! I’ve also created a special Facebook Group where you can share you work with other students. Please note: this class is a ‘self-study’ class which means I’m not around for feedback. Costs: £17.50 GBP (approx $25 USD) (You can sign up for this individual class by clicking here, or scroll down to sign up for more classes and get a discount!)
Video Screen Shots of Summer Gypsy Class:
Summer Goddess – In this summer class you will learn how to create a beautiful mixed media portrait in a ‘Goddess’/ ‘Summery’ style. The portrait is a 3/4 one. The workshop lasts about 2.2 hours and comes with a 12 page in depth PDF. You can download and keep all the content and you’ll get access to the group forever! I’ve also created a special Facebook Group where you can share you work with other students. Please note: this class is a ‘self-study’ class which means I’m not around for feedback. Costs: £17.50 GBP (approx $25 USD) (You can sign up for this individual class by clicking here, or scroll down to sign up for more classes and get a discount!)
Video Screen Shots of the Summer Goddess Class:
Summer Fae – In this summer class you will learn how to create a beautiful mixed media portrait in a ‘Fairy’/ ‘Summery’ style. The portrait is a profile one. The workshop lasts approx 2 hours and comes with a 13 page in depth PDF. You can download and keep all the content and you’ll get access to the group forever! I’ve also created a special Facebook Group where you can share you work with other students. Please note: this class is a ‘self-study’ class which means I’m not around for feedback. Costs: £17.50 GBP (approx $25 USD) (You can sign up for this individual class by clicking here, or scroll down to sign up for more classes and get a discount!)
Ola groovy art gang. Gosh, it’s been a while since I last wrote a bloggie. So sorry, but I needed a bit of a break. :) Andy was away for the entire month of June leaving me alone with two under 4s which was, ahem, challenging to say the least (many a nervous breakdowns were almost had eesh!) And then the week after he came back I taught on an art retreat which was super wonderful but also intense (more on this retreat later btw) and then I was soooo exhausted that I just needed to take it real easy for a while. So I did a lot of Buffy watching (don’t judge, it’s a good show! ;)) and doing the minimum work possible (which is still A LOAD of work anyway, ha ha but still, I tried). And then I got all excited about some of my new work (mixed media portraits) and decided to create 3 Summer Mini Classes on those (which will be up for sale soon, keep an eye out). So my whole ‘taking it easy’ thing only lasted for about a week, ha, what can I say; I am a workaholic I tell you! ;)
Here are some pics of the new works and the paintings I made as demos for the lessons, they are called: “Summer Gypsy”, “Summer Goddess” and “Summer Fae”. :)
I’m doing 3 different portrait types: front facing/ 3/4 and profile. They are all in the same mixed media style but in each class we go over some different techniques. I’m super excited about these new little mini classes. You can sign up some time next week! :)
On to today’s post! I get questions about the supplies that I like using a lot, so I though: let’s do a little post on them and enlighten ya’alls. ;)
So here is a list of the supplies I use the most and some comments on how I use them, hope it’s useful to you dear creative friends, I am here to serve you and be cosy artsy buddies *group hug*! :)
In the comments section, I’d love to know what YOUR favourite supplies are and how you use them. :-)
1. My favourite paper = Daler Rowney – The Langton - Hot-pressed Watercolour Paper – 140lb.
I prefer hot-pressed over cold pressed, the difference is that hot-pressed is much smoother than cold pressed. There is more of a grain in cold pressed which I don’t really like. I found a little image on google showing the difference:
Also, if you do heavy mixed media layering with wet work, paints and collage you want to go for a minimum weight of 14olb (300gsm2). Thinner paper will not be able to withstand heavy mixed media work unless you gesso it thoroughly. :)
2. My favourite pencil is the Graphgear 1000 by Pentel. This is quite a pricey mechanical pencil but it’s worth it. What I like about this pencil is that it’s weighted, so it feels heavier in your hand than some of the cheaper ones (though they are cool too). I like my leads in the ‘b’ range and the size: 0.9. The size refers to how thin or thick the lead is. The smaller you go, the thinner your lead, the more detailed/ finer work you can do.
Regarding the weight of the lead: ‘b’s’ are softer and smudgier, ‘h’s’ are ‘harder’ and less smudgy, here is a swatch of lead scribbles (found through google image search) that shows you the difference:
Btw: totally didn’t know there was an ‘F’ option!
3. I use a variety of paints, from watercolour paints in tubes, gouache, acrylics to watercolor pencils but my go-to and favourite paint supplies are my beloved watersoluble crayons (Caran D’ache Neocolor II). I love them. They are basically really vibrant watercolour paints in a stick. They are really versatile and the colours just pop. You can use them as a crayon (dry) or you can scribble/ add colour to your page and then ‘activate’ the paint with some water and a paintbrush. You can also lift paint straight off the crayon with a wet brush. Super versatile these babies. Regarding brands, I haven’t actually used any other brands than Caran D’ache but from what I hear, other brands’ crayons don’t seem to compare. PS. careful when buying these, the box that holds the non-watersoluble wax crayons looks almost identical to the watersoluble crayons (Neocolor I’s).
4. My favourite brushes are by Pro Arte – England. I like the “acrylixbrushes“, they have a nice balance between being firm and soft. They are not too coarse, the hairs are fine and hold up quite well for all the mixed media stuff I do. Shape wise I usually choose the square shaped ones, but I have some round tipped and pointy tipped ones too.
5.White Gesso. So, I’ll admit, for a long time I didn’t really get gesso. I was all like: why would I need to prime any of my surfaces, they’re already prepared so I can paint on them, sooooo? Now, I love love love my white gesso. I use it for a variety of things: sometimes when a painting is just going nowhere and I feel like I need to start over, I gesso over a painting and tadaa; I can start again. I also use white gesso as part of my layering process; I love brayering gesso over a mixed media background if I need to ‘mute it down’ a little. I use gesso as a white paint. In the past I would use white acrylics, but I now use white gesso for highlights or anywhere I need to add white colour paint. Lastly, I do sometimes use white gesso as a primer, if I work on a surface that is thin-ish and I need it to be sturdier, I’ll add a layer of gesso (for instance, some of the moleskines have thin pages, gesso helps firming them up). Brand wise, I’ve only ever used winsor & newton galeria and very happy with that one. There are a lot of different gessos out there though, some are coarser, some less coarse, gesso also comes in black and transparent too.
6. Speaking of transparent gesso, another one of my favs is clear/ transparent gesso. Clear gesso is brilliant if you do a lot of collage with different types of paper and you want to work on top of your layer but you’re worried about how your former layer will react to all your different mediums. Apply one layer of clear gesso over your entire painting and you’ve basically created a new unified surface that is transparent with a nice tooth and new possibilities. You can also apply a layer of clear gesso over a graphite sketch if you are worried about it smudging when adding paints. :) Brand wise I’ve only ever used the Liquitex one which I love. (Cheaper than Golden).
7. Some of you who know me and if you’ve been on my courses you will know that I WORSHIP brayers. I know, strange tool to worship, but truly: they can create super yummy and stunning texture. They create a beautiful grungy pull-me – push-me effect. It’s awesome. I love it. Buy a brayer, you won’t regret it. ;) Brand wise I use speedball, I like the rubber ones, not the soft spongey ones.
8.Golden Fluid Acrylics. Ok look, the Golden brand is stupid, stupid expensive. Silly, stupid expensive. Truly. But. But. But. They DO create the most amazingly beautiful paints. They are beautifully vibrant, the pigments are stunning and so, if once in a while you find yourself with some spare moneys, invest in a pot or two of colours that you love the look of. That said, other acrylics brands work beautifully too. It’s not necessary to use Golden brands to make wonderful art. The Golden products are a luxury kind of option in my humble opinion, but I do love them and use them a lot. (FYI: apparently Cobalt Teal is out of production, if you find one, scoop it up and SELL IT TO ME ;), it’s gorgeous).
9.A favourite adhesive I use is Liquitex Matte Medium. I use different gel mediums for different things and some are more expensive than others. I have soft gel medium and heavy gel medium by Golden which are much ‘stickier’ than the Liquitex Matte Medium, but they are not necessary to simply glue down collage papers. Additionally Matte Medium can also be used to ‘thin down’ some of your acrylics paints, it’s like an extender of your paints should you want to do that. For thicker collage papers (like some of the scrapbooking papers) I do like using a heavier gel at times as it tends to ‘grab hold’ of it more strongly.
10.Aquamarkersby Letraset (affiliate link) are another fav of mine, though the first batch (lighter pastelly colours) I bought were initially disappointing because I expected them to be more ‘flowy’ for lack of better word. The brighter colours tend to be more potent. So these are markers with water-colour paint inside of them which, much like the crayons, you can ‘activate’ when adding water with a brush. I particularly love the brighter colours and how they react when water is added. :) I use them quite a bit in my paintings.
So, those are some of my favs! Hope it was helpful to you dear one! Though these are my favourites not all of these products might be or become your favs! I recommend trying out different materials and get to know which ones really work for you.
Let me know what your favourite supplies are in the comment section, I’d love to know! :)
Argh guys, do you also sometimes just get totally stuck when it comes to painting and creating? I DO and it’s super frustrating and annoying! Luckily, I have a few ways to get out of my funk and I thought I’d share them with you today! :) Hope they help and if YOU have any ideas and tips about how you get through creative block DO leave your ideas below in the comment section. Let’s help each other out mkay? :-) Your presence is appreciated and loved around here lovebug! :D
Here are some thoughts on the subject and some ways to get unstuck.
1. If you are one to compare your work to others’ works (such a bad idea!), you might find this paralyses you at times causing major creative block. Your inner critic and inner perfectionist will have A BALL if you keep comparing your work to other people’s work. And they will be quick to tell you: “dude, give up, your work sucks, it’s nothing compared to xyz’s work’. You will feel miserable, in a rut, stuck and totally locked down by creative block. So: don’t. Don’t compare. And try not to judge your own work. Instead, remember to create for the joy of creating. You LOVE how the colours look together, how the brush strokes leave awesome marks, how gesso fixes everything, how layered collage and paint-over delight you, the whimsy and the doodles and the stripey stripes that appear from under your pencils and markers. That’s why you create, you are not in the ‘creation business’ to ‘make a better painting than hooplalala or whoever’. So stop comparing beautiful one and just make art. When you create with that freedom and joy, you will actually end up making good art, in the end, but don’t make that the point, it will stifle, paralyse and inhibit your progress and process. Make art for the joy of it and all will fall into place.
2. Maybe, for you, it’s not about feeling paralysed or stifled, but perhaps you just feel really intimidated by that blank canvas or page. You stare at it and you stare some more an a bit of you is like: “I have no inspiration or imagination, what do I create? I just don’t know”. And I get it moonbeam, I do. That white page can be mighty intimidating and it can be super hard to simply start. So, here is a super easy way to simply start: START. Ha. ;) Take some stencils, take some inks, spray them haphazardly all over your white page: tadaaa, the white is gone! Make more mess, layer, brayer, collage, add some crayons, at some markers, make a big big mess! Play, do this freely, just get it all out without too much thinking. Use your fingers, use your heart. Avoid thoughts, thinking things, thinky thoughts, they get in the way. Just express for a while. Then stop and start looking and seeing, maybe bring in a little bit of your thinky thoughts and start finding shapes and ideas and inspiration in your mess of a background. There you go, the white blank page-itis has been cured. ;)
3. About those thinkie thoughts: sometimes too much noise is going on in your head. You’re not scared per se of the white page, you’re also not stopped by your pesky inner critic, there is simply so much going on in that head of yours, it’s stopping you from doing anything creative. Solution: take a break. Meditate, listen to a beautiful song that you love (I recommend: Dream by Priscilla Ahn), go out for a walk in nature, unwind, slow down, empty yourself off yourself, quiet your thoughts, come back to yourself, your heart, your soul and then come back to the page and begin again.
4. Ok, so for you, it’s not about comparison, blank page fear or too much noise in your head. You just feel like you can’t think of anything interesting to paint or create. You literally need inspiration or a prompt or both. No trouble mah babies, here are some ideas. Start a prompt jar. Write up a whole load of words or sentences that you like the sound of (could even be from poetry or music lyrics), fold them all up, stuff in a jar and when in need, pick a prompt! You can also join places where they give you a challenge such as the monthly art challenge we run on my ning site, or you can join ‘Illustration Friday‘ and get prompts sent to your inbox every Friday. Wahay!
5. Ok, if for you, you’re trying to paint but you’re just sitting there and nothing makes a difference, no starting with random background, no prompts or walks through nature (I’ve been there done that, for serious), one thing that I like doing when I get to that point; I go looking through my own work and search for paintings that I really like. I look for the ones that just made my heart sing when I created them and I simply try and replicate the same painting or the same technique, just to try and recapture that same feeling and inspiration I had when I created a painting that I really really liked and loved.
(Incidentally, this painting was creating during my Collage, Paint & Soul Class which is
Other quick ideas:pinterest, music, prose, poetry and quotes can also really help me get back into my groove and feel inspired again.
The main thing you have to remember is to keep your mind open & empty (create with your intuition and heart more), don’t cloud your mind and heart with comparison & not good enough thoughts, they are killers of creative juices! Your unique creative voice needs to be heard sweetness. Your creativity is a gift to the world: don’t give up on it. :)
Let me know how you get through creative block in the comments below if you feel so inclined! Thank you for being here. I rather heart you. <3 Mwah!
The Set is called Jane Girls Petite Faces.
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