JODI OHL ON-LINE CLASS

I signed up for another on-line class, "Painterly In Pink" by the very talented artist, Jodi Ohl.  I really wasn't prepared to take another class since I haven't finished all of Joanne Sharpe's classes but this one offered $30 worth of Luminarte paints and I also needed the paints for Joanne's "Bling It On."  So....I couldn't pass up a bargain like that...now could I?  Plus, I have one year in which to complete the course.  This seemed doable!

"Painterly In Pink" is about drawing and painting faces using Luminarte Silk glazes.  Jodi taught us how to draw the faces first in pencil and then glaze them with color.  We could be as realistic as we wanted or make them whimsical.  This is a class for all artistic levels and is a great one if you wish to learn how to draw faces.  To see Jodi's beautiful art or to learn more about her classes, visit her blog, Sweet Repeats.

Anyway, I was off to a great start....I drew my girl in pencil, painted the background of my canvas, glued the pencil drawing to the canvas and then it happened....the painting looked finished without the face glazed.  To add color by glazing the face would only fade it into the background where it would be lost.  At first I thought that I would go ahead and add the glaze and see what happens and maybe make adjustments as I go along but the very first brush stoke of paint on her face told me that I was making a BIG MISTAKE!  What to do???  I posted my canvas on the class Facebook site to get feedback from my classmates where my suspicions were confirmed....DON'T PAINT THE FACE!  Jodi was very kind and said "that sometimes happens" and that I may have found my style.  I definitely will explore this further as I love to draw faces in pencil and I also love to do collage.  It just may become my style.

Made some of my own collage papers

Finished canvas

I guess that part of being an artist is knowing when to stop.  At least I feel pretty good about that but now I still need to paint a face with glazes.  Back to square one!!!

I'll keep you all posted on where this takes me!

Hugs!
Ginny

ON-LINE CLASSES BY JOANNE SHARPE

I know that if you have read any of my past blog posts, you are probably
scratching your heads by now and asking; what in the heck is "Color Love 101?"  

Well.... "Color Love 101" is a super fantabulously fun on-line art class given
by the very talented and most generous mixed media artist, Joanne Sharpe.  

If you are not familiar with Joanne's art, you should mosey over to her blog, 

Whimspirations, and take a look.  I promise that you will not be disappointed. 

In her work, Joanne uses lots of bright delicious colors and artistically creative 

hand lettered words that speak from the heart.  (Something that I am not 

very good at.  Sigh!) You may have even seen her work before...she is 

licensed in the craft and giftware industry and is best known for 

her colorful and whimsical art work.

Journal made in "Color Love 101"

I have taken all five of Joanne's classes:  " Letter Love 101, Artful Alphabets, Color Love 101, Magical Marker Mystery Tour and Bling It On." I loved them all!!! 

Joanne's classes are the first classes (that I took) to use Facebook for creating a community of other artists taking the class.  This has been a valuable tool for students to share artwork, tips, techniques and even "shopping alerts." And boy... do we ever love to shop for art supplies.!!!  Since taking these classes, I think that I now own every conceivable type of watercolor paint, marker, spray paints, inks and dyes, as well as any blingy metallic paints on the market....and I use them all!! Including many that I already had that sat for years because I didn't know what to do with them.  Thanks to Joanne...all that has changed.

I would highly recommend that anyone wishing to take an on-line class for the first time to find one that is self paced (Joanne's classes are open forever which gives you lots of time to complete the course or to go back at a later date to revisit a lesson) and one that allows for interaction with other students. You can learn LOTS from your fellow classmates.

I am not paid or compensated in any way to promote Joanne's classes.  I just think highly of her as artist and educator and would love for others to experience the artistic growth that I have from taking her classes.  If you are interested in learning more about her classes, there is a link located at the lower right column of my blog.

Here is a sample of some of fun things that I made in her classes:

Manda from Student Bonus lesson in "Color Love 101"

"Magical Marker Mystery Tour" Journal cover

Making Skinny Letters in "Magical Marker Mystery Tour."

"Color Love 101 Journal with "Bling It On " embellishment

"Bling It On" embellishment

Dimensional paint and Twinks embellishments made in "Bling It On"

Glass ornament painted in "Bling It On"

 Lesson for "Letter Love 101" made with letters learned in "Artfully Alphabets"

One final word....I am so glad that I took ALL of Joanne's classes because what I learned in one class, I was able to use in the next!  I am by no means finished with any of the classes but I know that I can take as long as I need to complete the lessons.  Besides....the art friends that I have made all seem to travel together and are so supportive of one another....it makes for an exciting and fun experience!!!  I know that we will stay connected for a long time!

Till next time!  xoxo

Ginny