Perpetual Student

 When I was a young mom, with five children close in age, I found that I needed to "get away" now and then....ANYONE RELATE?  My choice was to take a class...and so I did for years and years.

As I look back over SOOOO many years, I note a pattern as I am still taking classes. But is it a different experience today!!  Where previous classes were composed of sitting in a classroom or art studio with lots of people, today  (for me) it is "online learning" which can be done with or without communication.  

There is an explosion of online classes available: photography, illustration, painting, textiles to name a few. Believe me I have signed up for many a class.  Online versus "in person" has definite perks: don't have to get dressed up, travel, can do it at 3:00am, etc. However I have found my commitment level has not kept up.  In other words, I may sign up for a class, but not start it until it is finished, or start and stop...start and stop..and... and worse...just plain forget about it.  But it doesn't stop me from signing up for something that is totally enticing and "I am positive I will do it this time."  ANYONE RELATE?  

There are some marvelous instructors, some very intriguing subject matter... some of you might be interested in some of the best I have "hung out with."  Now and then I would love to share with you the classes, instructors and a bit of what I have done.

So lets start with something really, really, super really FUN.  

Mindy Lacefield of Tim's Sally  (click on name)

is hugely popular.

Mindy is a charming southern gal, with loads of ideas for

painting the cutest little characters....

I have taken several of her classes and actually completed a few of the projects with my own interpretations.  

This is a great place for those who are beginner, or wish to be beginner, to those with more painting experience.

The way she teaches painting and collage everyone can do. This is a huge plus...

I am taking Primitive Faces II...mine aren't as primitive as Mindy demonstrates but that is okay.  

These two I just completed this week. 

Two years ago I got the BIG idea of painting a "personalized" canvas for five or our grandchildren.  It was lots of fun and done in a bit of Mindy's artistic style. The pieces are large and framed in simple black frames. 

If you are so inclined to try a class, even if you know very little about paints and STUFF....Mindy's courses are a fantastic place to start.

Let me know what you think....or perhaps you have a suggestion of a great instructor and can add it to the comments section.

I would ask that you not print, distribute or use these images.  They are quite personal.

Thanks.

Playful Paintings

Last spring I treated myself to a really fun online class with Mindy Lacefield.  I tried very hard to keep up, who wouldn't want to, when it is  Play Play Play with color, glue, paint, paper, scraps, anything you can get to stick to paper!  

To lend a note of joviality to the holiday season, here is a peek showing a bit of my homework!  I think you can feel the joy and freedom.  My next post I will share how I created all this messy mark making into paintings for some of our grandchildren.

Fingers, hands, brushes, pens, pencils, chalk, sticks and stones, glue, crayons, pastels.......it was crazy chaos pulling out so many mark making items.  

Maybe that is why I kept up with the class, I had made such a mess I didn't want to clean it up!!!

Mindy had many ideas for us to play with.  My favorite was making sheet after sheet of blissful messes! 

Another we used fancy tapes and wrote out words, thoughts, or sentences in improvised handwriting.

 Oops this one is sideways....but it is one of my favorite scribble sheets.

When I finally got down to creating something, I color copied all my work, then tore it up, glued it to another substrate, and scribbled over that.....and so it went.

 This is one of my first pieces that was actually a project.  Using lots of my scribble pages I adhered them to a notebook.

Next I painted the girl's face over the torn papers. Finished with a gloss varnish.

This was a  fun class and Mindy is offering another new class in 2013.

I think you might come away feeling happy and lighthearted if you visit her website.  
Click here:

Hope to see ya' all in a day or two for more 
Playful Paintings......

Rather Neglectful....Good Things to Come

I do manage to have big gaps in this blog.

Probably because I have been spending more time on

PHOTOGRAPHY and BLOG.

What is a girl to do? When she LOVES everything?

Well to get me settled down and painting again

I  signed up for Mindy Lacefield's

yummy class

Neat Stuff: a nostalgic journaling adventure.

I took her previous class but didn't complete enough to post. 

But I have good intentions to be a better student this time around.

Isn't it super to try something new.  

It is all about Kid's Play with lots of fun, messy paints, pastels, colored pencils, glue, paper scraps...

I will Eat my Cake (hmmmm TART)

If I don't pull through this time.

Ahhhhh ohhh, I just remembered that this week I need to make Pesto, Strawberry Jam and Peach Jam.

Maybe I will rub a few pieces of fruit on my journal paper to start the painting juices flowing again!!!!

Even if it is just background colors on journal paper, 

I will be back with something to post THIS WEEK!

(Whew I never make commitments like that!)

Take time out to HUG yourself and your Loved Ones!