It is 2:55 AM here right now and I have GOT to get to bed! But, before I go I wanted to share something I just found.
First .... If you have been around for long you have probably noticed that I LOVE LEARNING! Well...suddenly this past week I decided I want to create art. Unfortunately, I only have limited natural abilities ... BUT, from what I can see, the whole "art journal/collage, word art" kind of art doesn't require the talent I lack... it lets a "non-drawing" artist like me, not be perfect, which is one of my hangups... I am very self critical and this style frees you from that.... so, I want that freedom!
Well.... I spent all afternoon Sunday blog hopping and finding folks whose work I love and finding classes they teach. Problem is, most of the classes costs... $35 - $150! OUCH! That is not normally a problem, but I struggle with spending on classes vs. buying more of the materials necessary for the classes! It is AMAZING the "stuff" you want to buy when you want to do a simple art journal! They all say, "use what you have" right after they show you something new and different!
...
Like Pan Pastels! (new for me anyway) Never heard of such and and now I want all the colors they sell!
Yup! want those! but, maybe I'll start small with a 10 or 20 piece set... either way, that plus class costs! OUCH! Here are the two people that convinced me I "need" them! Pam Carriker (this is a free video to watch her using them to create a female head in 10 minutes) and Teesha Moore uses them to deepen the edges of the inside area of a border. (I watched her whole series on creating two journal pages)
ANYWAY!!! I wanted to show you what I discovered! Three FREE, Online, Multi-Week classes offered by Strathmore
I went ahead and signed up for all three classes and started watching tonight. Awesome! And FREE!
They aren't exactly the classes that I wanted ... I wanted lettering and watercolor flowers but, these are getting my "learning itch" scratched!
And now its 3:45! SHOOT! Gotta go give sleep another try...night all.
Yes, I was drooling over the pan pastels, too. I have a lot of stick pastels, though, and I think if you use some of the little make-up applicators you can sometimes get in cosmetic departments, you can probably use soft chalk pastels the same way almost.
ReplyDeleteIf you haven't used chalk pastels, I've found that a lot of the kid pastels really do a nice job (even tho I "had" to buy the pricey ones anyhow.) Anyhow, I already own too, too many art supplies so I'm going to be good and not buy the pans -- just wanted to encourage you that you really don't *have* to, at least to start.
By the way, you can break the stick pastels (it's allowed) and color with the broad side to fill large areas.
Oops! I forgot the reason I wanted to comment in the first place. I wanted to share a couple of links you might like (I have nothing to do with the page owners -- I just enjoy the sites.)
ReplyDeleteLots of free watercolor videos, plus a set for sale: http://www.watercoloursecrets.com/index.html
A community of artists sharing advice, encouragement, tips, etc. on many media: http://community.how-to-draw-and-paint.com/
AWESOME!!! Thanks so much Cindy for the links! It is so amazing the things you can learn for free "out there"!!! Oh, and... too late, I couldn't stand it, I bought the pan pastels and LOVE LOVE them! Though, I will never use all the colors I got! For some reason I have fallen in love with the yellow ?!?
ReplyDeleteBut, I am DONE spending on art supplies for a while! I got a little carried away... but, I'm having fun with what I have.
Thanks again for the comments and stopping by!