My First Vlog!!

I did it! I finally made a Vlog! For anyone who doesn't know, a Vlog is Video + Vlog. So anyway, I've been contemplating the idea for a while. I jumped in, though, when I saw that Willowing was doing them. She's committed to the challenge of doing a vlog every day in April. Although, like me, she started late, too. I don't know where the idea originated. Anyway, here it is...

I hope you enjoyed my first vlog. I enjoyed doing it, although, it's a bit uncomfortable being in front of the camera. I'm sure I'll get used to it if I continue.

Online Art Courses - How To Decide?

I'm one of those "hard to shop for" people. My birthday was last Sunday, Jan. 17th. I told Joel not to worry about a gift, that I'd choose one for myself. That's what he had done for his Birthday two weeks prior, so I figured what was good for him was good for me. I'm trying to keep the pricing about the same, of course. He bought about $65-70 worth of goodies for himself. So, I'm thinking an art class would be just perfect. That's what I wanted anyway, and there happens to be a few new ones about to start that I think I'd enjoy. One is Willowing's Fabulous Faces and the other is Color: Beyond the Basics w/Julie Prichard and Chris Cozen.

I've taken one course from each of them previously and enjoyed them both very much. Well, I've never taken a course from Julie's new co-star, Chris Cozen, but I do have her book, Altered Surfaces.

I'm having a hard time deciding which of these courses is best for me right now. I'd love to just purchase them both, but alas....I can't afford to be spending every dollar on art courses & supplies no matter how much I'd like to do just that. That wouldn't be very frugal of me, now would it? I doubt Joel would appreciate me spending upward of $150 on all of this, either. That is what both would cost if I included the supplies list. I believe the supplies list for both courses are more like suggestions than necessities, however, I have found that it sure does help to have exactly what the instructor is using to get the results you're after.

So, I thought I would compare the two. This will be a comparison based on MY needs. This is not me trying to decide what course is best for everyone, as I think both would be beneficial and fun to anyone interested in art or learning new techniques.

• Both are interesting and would be useful to me.


• Willowing's classes are downloadable. Julie's are not.


• Julie's class is $23 less than Willowing's. (Give or take. Had to use GBP to USD conversion)


• I have all of the course materials for Willowing's class already.


• Both instructors provided contests, however Willowing's contest is over. If I sign up today I could still win something if I choose Julie and Chris's class. (I never win anything...who am I kidding)


• Willowing has a course outline pdf for downloading before the class so you'll know exactly what you'll be doing week by week. Unless I missed it, Julie's course doesn't have this.


• I've taken several face classes from different instructors in the past, but never a Colors class.


• All instructors will be available for questions during the course.


• Both classes are taught on Ning.

Okay, enough of that. It's not helping me make my decision. I still can't choose. There's one other thing that I'm wondering, but not sure about. Just how much are they planning to focus on color and how to mix colors together for a cohesive outcome in Julie's class? I really wish there was a course outline for this class. I don't want to ask all these questions and then decide on the other course. Rude, right? Also, how much of what will be taught in the Colors class is also in Chris Cozen's book? I have her book, as mentioned before. It's a great book and quite inspiring. Then again, so is Willowing, so that isn't a separating factor.

In case you're interested in taking the courses, here are the YouTube video ads for both:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15PueQ_I12o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w-UBRQo7WvI&feature=player_embedded

Here's another option; Go to Books-A-Million or Amazon.com and buy books on exactly what I want! That doesn't seem like as much fun as someone walking you through the process, but I could get a taste of both Color and Faces and save a little cash in the process.

Artful Spaces; DIY wall art for the home

Look what finally came in the mail today!

Artful Spaces!!

Remember me talking about wanting this book in THIS & THIS post? The author of the book contacted me via my blog comments and let me know it was available on Amazon.com for the United States as a pre-order, I posted about it, and Mom sent me a message saying for me to not order it so she could get it for me. Sooooo.....here it is!!

I thumbed through it and I'm loving it so far. It has some great ideas to get you inspired!! I won't give any of them away...I'm thinking that would be a copyright issue. (notice the blurred words in the photo above?) I can say that anyone would be able to produce cool artwork with the help of this book's prompts. I'm super excited to get started on it! Thanks, Mom!!

Digital Art & New Art Space

Joel and I have been busy this weekend working to get the garage cleared out. We're making a space for me in the garage to work on my art projects. I also built my light box, but I haven't got it set up to take photos quite yet. Tomorrow I will find a spot for it and take some photos. In two weeks I'll have a new work bench, too! Yay! Joel found a man that builds them to your specs for a very decent price. Here's what they look like:

Mine will be 8' wide, 2' deep, and 3' tall. I can't wait to get it!! The man that builds them is 88 years young. He said, "It keeps him off the streets". lol He had a really cute ad. Apparently he sold 4 of them yesterday. He must be pretty popular. Once I get this I will use this for most everything, but still use my old desk for sewing. It is a sewing desk, after all, so I might as well use it. I love that little desk anyway. I've always thought it was pretty since I first saw it at a yard sale. It's even better with paint splatters on it. More personality!

I've been quite busy, as I mentioned, so I haven't painted or made any dolls over the weekend. I did have a little Photoshop playtime last night, though. I thought I'd see what my latest painting would look like with a few filters applied. So here are some of the standard Photoshop filters used on my painting photo:

Dark Strokes Crackelure

Sumi-E...and my favorite, Stained Glass...

There you have it; Digital Art Play

Oh, I also picked up a few supplies at Wally World today. Just a few things like craft paint, a miter saw, an exacto knife, and another watercolor paper pad. Oh, and the white muslin for the light box. It was on sale for about a buck a yard!! Beat that!

Michaels Loot

I haven't posted in a while, so I thought I would post a photo of a Michaels purchase from a few weeks ago. They were having a sale. They're having a sale now, too. I went a few days ago with Mom, but I've already put up that purchase. I love Michaels!!

Here are some Michaels Coupons for you. Also, if you're signed up for their newsletter you'd get a 50% off coupon valid for this week on one regularly priced item. I got it and I may just have to take it with me shopping tomorrow. Woohoo!

Skiesart Sharon & Shopping at JoAnn's Fabric

I thought it was about time I featured my close, personal friend, Sharon. You'll be amazed at her beautiful artwork. I certainly was! Check it out: http://www.skiesart.com/. I think my favorite paintings of hers are the last two oil paintings she has listed. She's also decided to take Suzi's Les Petite Dolls class AND the Cloth & Clay Dolls class. It should prove to be even more fun having a friend in the classes with me! :-)



In other art related news, I ventured off to JoAnn's Fabric to get the supplies for the Cloth & Clay Dolls class that starts next week. Big surprise....they didn't have Creative Paperclay or even basic pottery tools. I wish they'd open a Michael's closer than Sanford. So anyway, I have to get those online. The cheapest I've found it is http://www.jerrysartarama.com/, but they sure think a lot of their shipping. They charge regular shipping, which is whatever UPS or USPS charges, plus a $7.95 charge for their part unless you get the most basic shipping, which is still 11:95. I may check out the other places and go into the check-out to see what their S/H charges are before buying. I don't mean to sound cheap, but the supplies list for these classes can sometimes be pretty long. I'm trying to do my due diligence before getting the more expensive items. lol