Tuesday, June 26, 2012

A Secret included here


Oh how I adore Madge Gill!  
I knew when England came up in the Postcard Challenge, I would be trying one of hers. 
I have been inspired by her work before
This time, I felt challenged to actually go with pen and ink.
Must tell you how relaxing this was.
You should try it. 



Here is a little secret.
The last seven pages in my Postcard Challenge are included in my new class, 
A Diary of Faces.
Don't miss it.
Registration ends July 8th.

Tuesday, June 19, 2012

I made it to Africa

 Well well, I feel like I'm making a little head-way. But still running 4 behind, I think.  This one is different. Don't you think? It may not be to your liking but it sure excited me. I guess it was all the colors. Go here for a reference of this piece.  And just as I suspected, the actual reference I used was not complete.  I just found the more complete painting when getting the link for this blog post.  Google was holding back on me!  But I felt pretty sure there was more to the painting.

That's OK, I still love Google. Do you realize how much I am learning and getting to discover with just a little search? I'm amazed every time I type in a search.

One thing that excited me about this painting was a little experiment, no wait, it was three experiments that I was recording while working on it.  I can't tell you what I did because it is in my new class but it was one of those things that gets you all jittery inside and hopping mentally and physically with inspiration to apply the lesson learned to other projects. 
The only thing that calmed me down was hearing from one of my "cheerleaders" who told me how excited she was about the new class and anxious for it to start.  But when she said, "I need direction, a daily teacher, fresh air..." I jumped. "A daily teacher"! That is exactly what I want to be with this class. There on your screen daily with little bits of art, inspiration, tips, experiments, and all that.  ♥

Sunday, June 17, 2012

Bulgaria is done


I'm still working on postcards. I'm not all that crazy about this one but there were some really good lessons in it for A Diary of Faces.


Off to Africa now. I didn't have much luck with West Africa but found a wonderful artist from South Africa.  


I also want to say thank you to all my students taking advantage of the student discount on my new class.  If you didn't get your message, check your spam folder. 

Friday, June 15, 2012

A Diary of Faces


A DIARY OF FACES
A video and audio workshop recorded diary style.


This class is about keeping an art diary for the painting and study of many different faces.  But wait! It’s more than face painting. 


Inspiration for this class
I have a vision for this class.  I want to share the study of painting faces in a slow methodical and organic way by inviting you into my studio most weekdays for 18 weeks to follow along with me or to just be inspired to go forward with your artful journey.


I have had this vision on my mind for just about a year now. But the inspiration that has pushed me forward is my Postcard Journal that I started earlier this year. This journal became my Diary of Faces and I will be continuing it as my part of this class. If you haven’t seen it, visit my blog page, “Postcard Challenge 2012”.



My vision for you:

  • Daily inspiration and motivation to paint beautiful faces
  • Many tips and techniques shared
  • Study feelings and emotions in faces
  • Learn to enjoy sketching faces
  • Lessons in painting hands and hats and hair and backgrounds
  • Learning to slow down and enjoy the process
  • Record lessons learned in your Diary of Faces
  • Research to help you discover art that has meaning to you
  • Study a bit of art history
  • Discovery of “your style”
  • Practice
  • Interact with other students
  • Support and encouragement
  • Learn from trying new products and techniques. 
  • Being brave with experimentation.
  • Both you and I working toward improvement
  • Learning from our mistakes
  • Enjoying an art journey with me
  • Sharing ah ha moments
  • And in between moments too
  • Creative growth (feeling it and seeing it)


More Specifically:
We will search the internet to discover works of art by painters from over a hundred years ago. We will learn to scrutinize their technique while trying to replicate the work in an art diary. You will be amazed as your diary grows with all the different faces. In addition to painting in the diary, I’m sure we will be inspired to splash paint on a canvas or two or more.


After the first several weeks, (already recorded) the class will progress organically in real-time, meaning daily segments will be produced and shared as they happen in my studio.  Also meaning, I will respond to student participation with videos and audio recordings as needed.


This class will be what ever you want to make of it.  I hope you want to join in the daily art conversation; however, if you just want to watch and listen I guarantee you will be inspired and anxious to come each day to see what is new.


Supplies will be what we have in our studios plus an old book to paint your Diary of Faces in.  Of course I will share what products I use but you are encouraged to use what you have and add to your supplies as you wish.  I mostly use Golden mediums and paints because that is what I have. 



What you get in this e-course
Specifically:
I will be posting most weekdays for 4 months (18 weeks).  Post will be in the form of video, audio, PDFs, photos and or narrative. Posts will be informative and inspiring. 


In addition to my posts, there will be a place to communicate with me as well as other students. There will be a gallery for you to post your works of art in and receive support and encouragement from all of us.


Class will be presented in a private “group” at All Norahs Art, my Ning network.


Please note:  Due to the diary nature of the class, time will not permit me to give the in-depth critiques that I offer in my other e-courses. Never fear though, because I will be right there to answer your questions in a timely manner.



Who this e-course is for 
Whether you are a beginner, an accomplished artist or crafter, or somewhere in between, this e-course is for anyone who is looking for creative growth.


More specifically:

  • Anyone who occasionally needs extra motivation
  • Anyone looking for inspiration
  • Anyone who knows those little shoulder demons that whisper discouragement in our ear 
  • Anyone who is mesmerized with faces
  • Anyone who needs to have a paint brush in their hand
  • Anyone.

Please Note: 
Due to the diary nature of this class, registration will be closed when the class starts and there will be an end date to this session. However, students will have unlimited access after the end date. You are encouraged to receive this vision at the pace you are comfortable with.


Class Dates

  • Registration:  Now Open
  • Registration Ends:  July 8th
  • Class Starts:  July 9th
  • Cass Ends:  November 9th



CLICK HERE TO REGISTER
Class is 18 weeks and costs is $99.00


!!!!!    BUT WAIT    !!!!!

Go to your classroom for a 10% Student Discount!
If you are already a student in any and all of my classes
THE ONLY WAY YOU WILL GET THIS DISCOUNT IS BY REGISTERING THROUGH YOUR CLASSROOM


All sales are final. There is no refund period.  Thank you.



After you have paid for the class 

  • You will receive a confirmation email from me with additional information about the class.
  • The classroom will not be open for you to enter until July 8th.
  • On July 8th you will receive a Ning generated invitation to the private group, A Diary of Faces.
  • You will enter the classroom the first time through the link in the email invitation.



One more thing, if you are not already a member of my Ning network, you should go here and sign up.


FAQ’S
Q:  Will you be offering this class again? 
A:  No this is the ONLY time I will be offering this session. 


Q:  I really want to sign up but I will be on summer vacation. Will the class group be open after the class end date?
A:  The class “end date” is when I stop adding content.  You will be able to continue at your own pace indefinitely after the end date.


Q:  What do you mean by “organic“?
A:  By organic, I mean the class content will evolve and grow with time. The content will be produced and presented following real-time progress with my Diary of Faces.


Q:  What do you mean by “diary style?
A:  Diary style means I will be adding daily content in small segments consisting of the progress I create during my morning art period.  In addition, diary style means we will use a diary or journal in the form of an old book to record our face lessons with pen and paint.  


Q:  Is this class like your other classes?
A:  No, not really.  All of my other classes were filmed and ready before the class was offered.  The content was known to me before the class opened.   Also, this is the first class offered with a registration end date.


Q:  Do I have to be at my computer at a certain time each day?
A:  Actually, I will have to be at the computer every day; however, you can pace yourself and go as fast or slow as you like.  You can come and go and watch the videos as many times as you need, meaning you don’t have to be anywhere at any given time to make it to the class. 


Q: Will the class include PDFs? 
A:  Yes! Some of the class content will be offered in the form of 
PDFs. You may save and print them to keep as references.


Q:  Will you offer a DVD of this class?
A:  No, that is not in my plans at the moment.


Q:  Can I download your videos.
A:  No


Q:  Should I be nervous? Are you nervous? 
A: You should not be nervous?  Me on the other hand…..yes I’m nervous about the “organic” “diary style” part of the class. Those little shoulder demons are whispering stuff about that. But my excitement about the class  definitely is bigger than my nerves. As I push to do something new and exciting, I push the demons aside.  I am anxious and can’t wait!


I’m thrilled to be offering this e-course, excited to meet new artist and anxious to renew friendships with those who have taken my other e-courses.


If you still have questions: email me at sktomlinson@gmail.com.

Thursday, June 14, 2012

Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Sunday, June 10, 2012

New Zealand postcard

I'm not even close to catching up. But that's OK cause I'm working on my new class as I work on my postcards. 

Thursday, June 07, 2012

Did you ring?

I'm still here. But it seems I took a unexpected break.  There was just too much life going on and stuff stacking up inside.  I took a step away as I do and stitched and stitched and stitched until everything was all cleared out.  And the good thing is I made huge progress on "Tim's Cloth".  The other good thing is there was a holiday in there when my sweet family came for the whole 3 days and we played and worked and ate. All good.
It was mostly "ART" stuff stacking up.  It happens when there is so much inspiration that an internal fight/conflict about what to do and when gets in the way of actually doing anything. And then you (I) feel the passion start to slip and that is scary or rather confusing because then I wonder if it was such a good thing to do in the first place.  So, that's why I stitch. Stitch. Stitch....until I become bored with stitching and ready to go back to this side of me. 

Now working on my postcard for New Zealand. I'm studying the work of Charles Frederick Goldie. It is a study in perspective and I will tell you that I haven't mastered it yet on this one.  Perhaps, Professor Doctor Tad Keys will have something to say about that.