Just this weekend, I was gifted a weekend to myself.  Hubby headed off to a blokes weekend in the country and I had the house to myself. As our little fluffy mate passed away over three months ago, there was no one relying on me or waiting for me.  I was as free as a bird to do as I pleased. 
The monthly paint-out had been postponed due to inclement weather.  This had been my only commitment over the weekend.

After heading out for some extra art supplies I headed back to my studio with the heater blasting and started on a project I had not had time to do for months.  The panels I had purchased had sat there on my shelving teasing me every time I went into the art shed. They would look at me and I at them, wishing I had the time to take them off the shelf, unwrap them and then cover them with creamy delicious acrylic paint. I started slowly on my idea using paper and working on my idea for the eight panels. Suddenly two hours had slipped by as I worked on a small 20cm x 20cm piece.  I was happy with the outcome.

Finally, the next day I set up in the garden room with panels, paint, water, brushes, palettes and paper towels, I was ready. I could now start on my project giving it my full attention.  Throughout the process, I mixed an array of colours, used a variety of mark-making tools and skimmed books for the right words to jump out at me for the collage.  It was exhilarating, to say the least.  I didn't stop for a coffee or a break, I was so focused and in my zone.  After many hours, I was finished, it was time to sit back and let them dry so they could be varnished. 

The gift of a weekend to enjoy creating was invigorating, peaceful and filled with what I love to do. I think you need one of these weekends once and a while. 

How would you spend the gift of a weekend to yourself?  Leave your comment below. 
 
Featured artwork: Unscaled Peaks and Uncharted Waters

Recently I was asked how many art classes I run. I totalled them up and this year it will be approximately 120 classes. I also attend classes weekly, sometimes if I can fit it in I will attend an extra class during the week.
Being up the front and running a class is very different than being a participant, that's for sure.

What I have learnt running the classes is everyone has their way of processing the reference they are replicating. Every person has their own style. You can have a room filled with ten people, all doing the same reference photo, yet, there are ten different interpretations. A part of the reason to factor in is experience. Art classes have a range of people with varying degrees of creating art. The main factor, I believe is our interpretation of the piece. There is no right or wrong, there is no good or bad. There is no perfect piece, there is no dreadful piece. 

When I sit as a student in an art class, I love the ability to learn from the teacher, experiment, practice and enjoy the process. Sometimes, my work at a class I would prefer to throw in the bin, yet I keep it to learn from it. I enjoy finding happy little accidents, solving problems and developing my skills for future work. I don't define myself by the work I produce in an art class.

I do see from time to time, a person wanting to replicate the reference photo exactly, like a photocopy. They admonish themselves for not doing it correctly or right. Occasionally, there are silent tears and bright red faces as the person tries their hardest to find perfectionism in art. Emotions come to the surface of "I'm not good enough", "my art needs to be perfect", and "everyone else is better than me". Negative self-talk that serves no purpose and is definitely no good.

Take Vincent van Gogh, one of the world's most renowned painters, yet he is synonymous with the term 'a tortured artist'. He died at the early age of 37 and sold only one painting. In ten years he produced almost 900 paintings and around 1100 works on paper.

Sadly, Vincent didn't get to see how some of his works are the most expensive in the world, his art style laid the foundation for future artists and he was one of the most influential artists in the history of art.

So, my biggest takeaway and advice if I may...... enjoy the class, learn the process, develop skills, use what you learn for future work and don't define your ability by what is done on the day. You do you, comparison kills creativity and joy.

What are your thoughts on comparison and self-talk? Share your thoughts and leave a comment below.

A few years ago, I did a course on using a limited palette.  I found it to be a stretch initially using just a few colours and black and white.  
So what is a limited palette? Imagine you're baking biscuits, but you only have a few ingredients in your pantry. A limited palette in art is like that, it's when you choose to work with only a small set of colours instead of having every colour available, just like having only a few ingredients for your biscuits.
So, instead of using every colour in your art supplies kit, you might pick just three or four main colours, like red, blue, yellow, and maybe white.  I also like to have black or Payne's Grey.  With these colours, you can mix and blend them together to create all sorts of new and exciting colours.
Working with a limited palette is a fun challenge. It helps you focus on learning how colours work together and how to mix them just right to get the shades you want. Plus, it can make your artwork look really harmonious and cohesive because all the colours are related to each other, just like all the ingredients in your biscuits work together to make them taste great!
One of the main reasons I love to work with a limited palette, it makes me stretch myself with blending colours to get just what I need and want for a particular piece.
The photo of a work in progress in this post is using a limited palette of cobalt blue, Payne's grey, cadmium yellow and burnt sienna with white for adjusting tones.  Mixing colour with a limited palette is one of my favourite ways to paint.  

If you are just starting out, you can start with a few colours and mix your colours without buying every tube on the shelf!

So, think of a limited palette as your artistic recipe. You might not have every colour in the world, but with a little mixing and experimenting, you can create something really special!

​You can find some of my favourite tools here 
If you have favourite colours you use in a limited palette, why not share them in the comments below.

I am an all or nothing type of person.  When I start a new hobby or project I seem to swamp myself with he must haves and a few might grabs. I can't help myself.  
​There are a few essential items to have in your kit if you are planning to start creating. 

Instead of starting on canvases there is the option to start in sketchbooks/journals or pads. Not only is it cost effective, as someone that is starting our you are more likely to experiment and have fun than worry about wasting a canvas.
  
A few quality pencils starting with a HB and then a range from 2H to 6B is a terrific starting point and often can be purchased in packs. A kneadable eraser and a rubber eraser are also ideal to have on hand.  

For those wanting to explore painting a basic brush set is indispensable. Include a variety of sizes and types such as  filbert, round, flat to give you different brush strokes. A couple of palette knives are also a worth while investment.  You can buy packs of brushes with a few palette knives to give you a reasonable variety of tools. 

Choose your medium, do you want to use watercolour, acrylics or gouache?  Start with a basic colour palette of your chosen paint, this will inspire your to mix your colours and experiment.  You can always upgrade the quality and colour range as you become more comfortable. 

You don't have to spend big on palettes and cups.  I use recycled food jars for my water cups and a plastic palette.  I also use a perfect for me size cardboard and tape greaseproof paper to it.  This is perfect for acrylic paints and for watercolour I have an old plate.  One tip I do have is try and work on a whit palette so you don't change the look of the colour you are mixing by the distraction of another colour or a pattern. The photo above is of my mixing palette using the greaseproof paper. 

Finally, learning resources are something to tap into.  I run over 80 classes a year if you live near my studio or use the internet and check out some of the great resources on Youtube.

There you have it, you can get creating on a small budget and enjoy the process.  I have put together, my favourite tools as a starting point, if you are not sure where to start.

Do you have your favourite tools you would like to share?  Leave a comment below.   

Acrylic paint was my way back into art and I loved it that's for sure. I signed up for some on-line art classes during lock down and was exposed to the world of mixed media. This changed everything for me and my art.  Also, attending art classes where you could experiment and use different mediums opened my eyes and hands to different textures and styles.
So what is mixed media I hear you ask.  Mixed media is the combination of two or more art mediums into one piece of art. Some examples would be painting a watercolour picture and then adding pen or ink to the works or using acrylic paint and then adding oil pastels to the piece.  Of course, you can have multiple mediums in one piece to get your desired effect.  I tend to use soft oil pastels and or charcoal after I have completed the acrylic artwork.  I find adding another medium gives you some amazing affects you can't necessarily achieve using the one medium. 
Mixed media can be used on all genres of art whether you love abstract, realism, expressionism or impressionism.
Vincent van Gough before his early death had been experimenting with colour combinations and mixed media, although it hadn't been named at that stage.
Mixed media for me is a new and exciting way to find expression and texture in my artwork, particularly as my art is inspired by nature and nature is full of texture and colour.

Art can be a relaxing past time, a hobby, or your way of making a living.  No matter what role art plays in your life, creating art teaches us to problem solve.  Looking at a piece of art and seeing that it doesn't quite work or quite speak to you means stepping back and looking at what is working well, what is ok and what isn't working.
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When I was in a corporate role, we often as a management team would sit down and analyse the business based on what's working, what's not, what can we do to improve it.  As artists we do the same. We look at our artwork in the same way as a businessperson would look at their operations.   

Art teaches us to observe, analyse and work through a specific problem to overcome what is not working.  Do we add some texture, shape, tone, or colour?  Do we make this come forward, back, paint over it, leave it.  What will make this piece speak to the viewer?  

This process carries over into every area of our lives.  These skills are transferable and valuable to our growth, increasing our capacity for thinking in new and diverse ways.  We determine what we need to do to ensure a better and different outcome for a specific problem.

The benefits of taking time out for creativity are endless.  Keep creating! 

I love music, I have an eclectic taste in music which I was able to indulge in for 10 years as a radio show producer and presenter.  I could pick and choose what to listen to in between the on-air interviews. You now have access to any song, genre and artist and thousands of podcasts with apps such as Spotify, Apple Music, Iheartradio and the like.
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I have also had two successful podcasts in the past both interviewing guests and sharing knowledge from LBA (life before art).  You can probably tell I love sound and can be highly auditory given the nature of my past exploits. 
For me creating art is intensifying my visual skills and has reduced the need for auditory stimulation.

Initially when I started creating again, I sat in silence and got lost in the paints. It was so relaxing and peaceful.  It was also at a time that there was a lot of negativity and sadness in the world with the pandemic. 

Over the years I transitioned to a playlist for creating.  It is easy to listen to and has intermittent songs I can hum or sing along to. I know of many artists that prefer to paint and create listening to music from various genres such as classical, heavy metal to easy listening.

Occasionally I listen to a podcast from my favourite art podcasts such as Art to Life, Art Chatter and my all-time favorite Art Juice. 

Lately, I have opted for silence.  I have been enjoying creating florals and being present in the moment of creating in silence.  The stresses of everyday life slip away as the paint glides on, and time gets lost. What a fabulous feeling.

Do you prefer music, podcasts or silence when you are working?  What is your favourite podcast or music?