2018 was an absolute CHALLENGE for me personally. Despite the atomic bomb that was my life, I accomplished SO MUCH! I launched my YouTube channel, Painting Workshops at The Bar Shoppe and The Dane, I created commission graphics and paintings, including song artwork for Soliloquy, I vended and live painted at Parke Diem, the Shoreline Farmer's Market, Crystallography's Gem Show and WAVES: Biolumina and I rented my very first art studio! I have taken the winter off to regroup and assess how the year went, settle in to my new routine and plan out the upcoming year full of workshops, festivals and live painting. A calendar will be posted soon with dates and times so keep a look out. Painting Workshops are launching in March and...
Ok, I admit, this painting was a bit detailed for painters to complete in just a 2 hour sitting... BUT YOU DID IT! These guys did a great job following the steps in just 2.5 hours (because, like I said, it was too much for the time allotted to us!).
In 2016 I began to teach painting to groups of up to 40 people. It was HARD.
If you think painting is hard, try painting while you are walking around the room, holding your canvas, and stuffing your insecurities down all while reaching inward for a fun and encouraging art teacher. I couldn't believe it! She was there.
Experimenting with paints can be a frustrating experience if you are invested in the finished product being the best painting you've ever done. Sometimes they turn out that way, but remember that trial and error is part of the path to a better understanding of your tools and techniques.
It's been 2 years since I leaped into the wild frontiers of teaching painting! I remember prepping for that first class. I practiced painting the brightly colored representation of the Seattle skyline twice before the third time when I taught the application of paint and various techniques to a room of 30ish people. I rehearsed and recorded myself teaching the steps to the unresponsive walls of my bedroom. I realized how much I said filler words like "um", and "like" and "really", like you know?
