There are all sorts of crazies you can meet at Art Is You.  I should know since I meet the best artsy friends there!  I still remember my first Art Is You.  I nervously went by myself and left with friends.  The theme this year is Art Is Your BFF and it says it all.  But that’s not the kind of crazies I mean…this post is about meeting the crazies in your paintings, the workshop I am teaching in October.

You can watch Meet the Crazies Workshop at Art Is You on YouTube here.

The Crazies are fun characters that pop up in paintings!  These people live inside every paint tube and I’ll show you how to unleash them as we play with paints.  Don’t feel comfortable drawing people? No problem! Drawing these Crazies isn’t drawing at all.

We’ll be using stencils with acrylic paint in very playful non-traditional ways as we lay the foundation for the Crazies.  Along the way you’ll learn how to use your 6 colors for bold and subtle effects before we add the outlines of our Crazies.

I’ll share with you my 3 simple steps to telling the story behind your characters. It is amazing to watch their personalities emerge.  Although no experience with paint or story telling is needed for this workshop even experienced painters will start seeing all the crazy characters popping up in their paint!

Your finished piece will be mounted on a wooden board no larger than 12×12 so it will easily fit into a suitcase for easy travel.

Supplies brought by students:

Bring any supplies that you have that do the job of the supplies listed.  We are not going to measure the width of your brush but I included sizes to give you an approximate idea.  I have links to the products I use but please please please use what you have!

• 6 colors of acrylic paint (any brand) that you like plus white. Here is the link to the paints I use frequently.
•  This is the link to the heavy bodied white paint called Titanium White.
• 4 Stenciling brushes (I use kiddie ones as shown in the video. These can be found in the kids section of craft stores or  Kids Stenciling Brushes can be found on-line)
• Paint brushes: 1/4” flat, 1/2” flat, and 1” flat (any variation of flat brush works)
• Rubber brayer any size (if you don’t have one I’ll have some to share)
• Matte Gel medium (any brand)
• Heat gun
• A water container to clean your brushes (this can be as simple as a plastic cup)

$15 Kit fee includes all other supplies.

Hope you can join me for some colorful play time as we Meet the Crazies in our paintings! 

Cue the noisemakers!  Throw the confetti! It’s 2014 and time for January’s Colorful Gelli Print Party!  2013 was an amazing year and 2014 will be even better!  New to the party? You can see all of the Colorful Gelli Print Parties here.

I’m playing with the brayer on the Gelli Plate for the Party this month as I make a modern print.  In the video I tell you what I see in these shapes.  I’d love to know what you see in the prints – let  me know in the comments!

You can watch Using a 6 x6 Gelli Plate to Make Modern Prints on YouTube here.

Here’s the scrap paper that I cleaned the brayer off on…it was just scrap paper when I started and now I can’t wait to use it in something – even with the piece cut out of it.

Here’s the paper made with multiple pulls.  The 6×6 Gelli Plate can make papers any size!  This is so quick and easy – just 5 minutes and I have 3 unique papers!

On January 1st, Art Is You registration is live!  I’ll be teaching at Stamford this year with my workshop, Meet the Crazies. I’ll be back on Sunday with a video about the workshop so be sure to stop back!

Now it is your turn to play and inspire others!

Link up your Gelli Plate blog posts, Flickr photos, YouTube videos , any online media you’re using to share your work– it is all welcome!  New posts or recent posts that have not linked up to the party before are welcome!

• Link to a specific blog post or flickr page or YouTube video or other source that way people can easily find your Gelli goodness.

• Add a link back to the party so others can join us too!  

• Leave a comment on at least 2 other links from the party.  You know how  comments encourage  creative types!

• Participate as many times as you want- just be sure it relates to the Gelli Plate.