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Does your art room or corner sometimes lay untouched because it's just a pile of a big fat messy disaster??? I know the feeling!! I work in so many mediums, teach so many different lessons, and am working on so many different projects and books that it is WAY too easy for my studio to become a hot, insurmountable MESS. Luckily, the COVID-19 lockdown has me completely organizing my art supplies and I am taking you into my art studio today to show you exactly how I keep all of my materials sorted and stored.  Inks, Watercolors, Acrylics, Oils, Stamps, Stencils, Markers, Pencils and on and on and on we go! It's all in here in today's video, together with my best advice and tips on some great ways to sort YOUR stash! All you have to do is click play!
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Last week my good friend, Kristin Van Valkenburgh and I swapped backgrounds and challenged each other to create foregrounds on top!! Here is the background that I made for her...  It is sooooooooo easy!! Just grab your favorite spray paints and some stencils and you're good to go!!! And she made a gorgeous background for me as well!! Well this week we each had the challenge to create some magical on top!!! This was for sure a challenge! I did a test on the background she sent me and I THOUGHT it was permanent. So I proceeded to slap on some ink but then discovered quite quickly that the background was, very much, totally water-soluble!! If you're new to mixed media you may not know that water-soluble means that when you add any liquid (in this case, inks), that underneath layer is sure gonna move!!! And move it did!!! I've learned long ago that mixed media art is more or less a matter of problem solving and so that's what this project became! Watch here to see how I was able to overcome the watercolors mixing in with my inks on top! If you could learn from my trials and errors, than it's a double win! Plus you get to see the little added bonus character that showed up along side my magical watercolor mermaid!! After you're done watching this video you should DEFINITELY go and check out Kristin's video!!! You would not believe the ADORABLE little creature that showed up on her canvas!! Omgeeee!!! Here's a tiny sneak peek!!! Isn't it the cutest?! The craziest part is that I challenged Kristin to incorporate something sparkly into her project. She ended up having these little hexagonal mirror stick on thingies that were the EXACT same size as the chicken wire fence stencil I used to create my background. Say whaaaa?!! are the chances of her having those...on hand?? I still can't believe it!!  At the end of the day, the most special aspect of this collaboration was that we both inspired in each other, a new sense of curiosity (what do I do with this???), creativity (I have these mirrory thingies!!), and friendship (that was sooo fun, let's play again!!).
So while we are still in a period of uncertainty and COVID-19 strangeness, we were able to create a connection from the comfort and complete safety of our homes, even though they are 3,000 miles apart! If you are in a fun Facebook Group (and if not, come join mine!! www.facebook.com/groups/awesomeartschool) and can "meet up" with some others, virtually, maybe you can suggest a collaboration just like this one!! It's a great way to spark YOUR creativity and make a friend! What a beautiful way to spend a day. ❤️ Every week's post is about my weekly YouTube tutorial but this week I wanted to share with you some of the fun stuff we have going on inside my Fun Fab Drawing Club!!! In February of 2020 I began teaching figures (Fun, Fab Figures, of COURSE!) in my Drawing Club over at Awesome Art School. I knew I didn't want to teach figures using the 9 heads method right off the bat. What's the 9 heads method? Well it's the "proper", fashion illustration way to construct the human figure. My first introduction to this drawing system began in the fall of 2017 when I was trying to teach myself. In public. On YouTube. You can watch the painful (and hilarious) process unfold here! SO much has changed since then, my goodness!! The most glaringly obvious difference being the way I've learned to draw figures. I call it Karen's Quadrant Method and I made it up, on the spot, during my very first figures lesson ever. Thankfully. It WORKS. It works CRAZY WELL!!! They'll be a video on this very soon but in the meantime I thought I'd show you some of my student's work!!  And this one!!  Here's more fabulousness. Look at this success!!! She totally nailed it!! THAT's The power of the Quadrant Method my friends!!  The other fun fun lesson we are doing is coming up with ALTERNATE characters based on the ones we drew the week before. I'm encouraging my students (and challenging myself) to change up our characters from week to week. This gives us back to back practice drawing the same image, but also forces us to bust out some much needed creativity (and FUN!!) on top of all the hard work we are doing. This is how it works: In week 1, we study a contemporary artist and try to draw one of their drawings as best as we can. Then, in the following week, we create inspiration boards and, using the body in the exact same way (which helps build muscle memory), we come up with fantastically new characters, this time all our own!! Here's my inspiration board from one week (Art Deco Flapper was original reference).  And here is what my Week 2 came out like! See how the references all blend together to make a brand new, totally original piece of art?! SO FUN!  Here's another example! Here's my Week 1....  My inspiration Board:  And her transformation!  I am so addicted to these lessons and can't wait to explore MORE figures and MORE FUN!
To see more student's amazing work, CLICK HERE to be taken to the Fan Artwork Page! To add your name to the WaitList for when the Fun Fab Drawing Club re-opens, CLICK HERE! Would LOVE to see you there! My super creative student and friend, Karina Aguirre, sent me this super cool background that she made from acrylic pouring. That's when you intentionally ooze a liquid acrylic mixture down over a flat surface and let it do it's magic!! It creates all these cool designs and textures over the surface, designs that would never be possible with a paintbrush or any other tool! She sent me two designs. Isn't this so cool??  I haven't had time to play or do anything spontaneous and fun for FOREVER so I was SO EXCITED that last week I finally found time to do just that. I found this adorable cat sketch on Pinterest and the rest is history!! I ended up making this super cute mixed media cat in just a few minutes!! The best part is that it only called for a hand-full of supplies: just Gesso, a Stabilo All pencil, some Mod Podge, Pitt Pens and then DONE! Click the play button to watch the whole kaboodle! |
Karen CampbellFounder of Awesome Art School. Mixed Media Artist. Author of 15 Instructional Art Books!    
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"Karen is flipping hilarious and she's very real...I like the way she teaches in a way that really gives you confidence, whether you're a beginner or advanced there's always something new to learn!"
- Elizabeth W. |
What Fans Are SayingKaren, you are absolutely fabulous! You make me feel like I can draw anything. I have recently retired and finally have the time to do some of the art that I have loved since I was in school. I am really at the beginning of my art journey and I hope to learn as much as I can. Thank you for all you do. |
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