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Let's Get Your Creative Juices Flowing!!!
A few short weeks ago, Lucy Brydon and I embarked on another adventure with 10 amazing women for an art retreat at Scotland's Lickleyhead Castle.
This SCAR (Scotland Castle Art Retreat), was retreat #4 since 2019, and the SECOND retreat Lucy and I have hosted together since June 2023! We had THE BEST time in our new venue, just south of Auchleven in Aberdeenshire. We art-ed our hearts out, ate the most amazing catered dishes from Cafe 83 (Kenmay), rekindled magical friendships, and created new ones that will surely last a lifetime!
Lickleyhead Castle is located in Aberdeenshire and was built in 1629. Just being inside buildings from centuries ago is so interesting!! They're full of SO much history. Read more about it here on the castle website. It may interest you even more if you last name happens to be Leslie, Forbes, Leith, or Duff.
The landscape is breathtaking here. Just look at these castle grounds!!
The above photo was taken just before a huge storm hit the UK.
The sky was so moody and beautiful before literally BUCKETS of rain fell and flooded SO many of the neighboring village roads. The funniest part about being in a castle for a giant storm is you barely hear the rain because the walls are so thick! And the great thing about rain is - it's the PERFECT excuse to art!!
Lucy and I split teaching time for each project. I typically taught the drawing portion, while Lucy taught watercolor and gouache. Lessons included inspiration from the castle itself - recreating a portrait hanging over the fireplace, capturing a cozy book nook, and rendering a stone garden gnome from the castle gardens.
Some of us worked our fingers to the bone and art-ed as much as possible, like Robin (WAY TO GO GIRL!) ...
And Melanie... (you're killing it, girl!)
While others of us couldn't resist goofing off...
LOL! Ok, Melanie appears to be well-rounded here,
art-ing hard while also playing hard!! We had some of the most delicious food we've ever tasted while being spoiled by Andrew and Connor from Cafe 83 (Kenmay).
They introduced us to entrees and desserts we'd never tried before, like raspberry sorbet with lemon posset (THIS was outstanding, and just SO fun to say).
They also provided the most delicious cocktails like Andrew's Blackberry Gin Brambles - which I think we could have devoured every single night!!
We enjoyed an excursion day to see the sights in the countryside including a stone circle and hairy coos (cows)!
Since no one slipped through the stones to find Jamie, we spent the rest of our day shopping for souvenirs, antiquing, and enjoying a cozy lunch together in the quaint village of Balletar (just 15 minutes from Balmoral for you Royal fans).
Our last day was spent at the Aberdeen Art Gallery taking in the paintings, pottery, sculptures and fashion.
Later that evening, we enjoyed our last night in the castle together by the fire in the main sitting room. We laughed together, reflected on highlights from the week, and took even more selfies after yet another luxurious dinner provided by Andrew and Connor.
We hope our guests had just as much fun as we did!!
It was such a magical week!!
Wanna Make Art Like The Pieces Featured in Today's Video?
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Thanks for hanging out with us today!!
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Art Marker Hoarder? Me too!! Let's Get Organized + Complete Review of ArtBeek Markers Set of 26225/10/2023
I'm OBSESSED with alcohol markers for shading the faces I draw. I've spent years collecting my beloved Copics!! And for just about the same length of time, I've been searching for great Copic alternatives that don't cost an arm and a leg! I think I've pretty much tried every brand possible.
Not too long ago I tried ArtBeek alcohol markers, and was thrilled to discover the VALUE they deliver at such an affordable price point for myself and my students!
When ArtBeek approached me and asked if they could send me a set of 262 alcohol markers to review, I was absolutely thrilled! So today, not only will I be swatching this ENTIRE set, I'll be showing you MY favorite marker storage solution!
*All product links are affiliate and for U.S. residents only.*
Just LOOK at how many colors there are! There are so many, they wouldn't even all fit in the above pic!!
Right outta the gate, the value in this particular set of ArtBeek Brush Tip alcohol markers is insane. On Amazon, this set of 262 colors costs around $130, making each marker a SUPER cheap 50 cents each! Amazing, right?! Especially when you consider the cost of Copics, which are $8 and up, PER MARKER- depending on where you buy them. Like Copics, each of the ArtBeek markers in this set comes with both a brush tip like the marker shown below (essential to me!), and a chisel nib on the opposite end.
The only downside of ArtBeeks vs. Copics (and Ohuhus for that matter), is that ArtBeeks are NOT refillable. Kind of a bummer.
While you get a huge bang for your buck with ArtBeek, I really appreciate how Copic and Ohuhu give us the ability to replace the ink in one marker at a time as needed. If an ArtBeek marker runs out, it's headed straight for the trash, and I'll eventually need to buy another set just to try and get that ONE marker back that I loved. Kinda sad, and honestly something to consider. Since my new ArtBeek set of 262 is so huge, I need a NEW place to store them! While ArtBeek included a nice storage tote for this set, I really prefer using my own storage system based on what makes sense for how I work. Not too long ago, I fell in love with these wooden marker storage cases and decided to purchase an extra one just for my new ArtBeeks! SOOOOO glad I did :)
If you've been following me for any length of time on YouTube, you probably already know how important I think swatching is for ANY and ALL art supplies! It's such a gift to your future self and really helps you prevent surprises BEFORE you create!
I find the easiest way to start swatching a new set of markers is to start by grouping similar colors together. As you'll see in the video, I try to grab all the greens, blues, yellows, etc., and swatch each group one at a time.
I can get pretty far with this at first, but you'll see in the video how common it is for me to "assign" a color to a marker in my mind based on the marker's cap or color name, only to find when I put the marker on paper, it looks completely different and belongs in a totally different color family! Here's a great example, below. See the box I X'd out below? Initially, I thought this color belonged with skin tones color family based on the marker cap, but on paper it's totally green!
Speaking of skin tones... THIS is the thing that's thrilled me MOST about the ArtBeek set. I counted 98 skin tone markers!!! This is freaking bananas and makes me SO excited because the marker art projects I teach and do for fun are typically faces :) I absolutely LOVE that ArtBeek has included so many skin tone markers in this set.
Speaking of faces and alcohol marker projects - I recently published a book calledSkin Tone Secrets, to help artists easily identify skin tone marker combinations that go well together for shading faces of various ethnicities.
When I wrote Skin Tone Secrets, I used my Ohuhu skin tone markers set. BUT, as you'll see in the video, the book really can be used with ANY alcohol marker brand. Click over to watch the video and I'll show ya how!
In Skin Tone Secrets, I also share TONS of alcohol marker coloring tips from how to eliminate streaking to where to place shadows on the faces you're coloring.
Shading can be extremely tricky for artists who are just learning how to draw faces. In Skin Tone Secrets, I teach you about how to figure out where your light source is coming from so shadows look realistic even in whimsical face drawing projects. Plus, I show you three of the most common face shading patterns so there is zero guessing about where to put your shadows.
You'll also find a link in the book to the swatch sheets that I'm using in today's video so you can download a set for yourself to print at home. They're SO helpful for swatching!
If you're thinking about starting an alcohol marker collection, I HIGHLY recommend this ArtBeek set of 262 alcohol markers. The color selection included really is outstanding, especially if you love to draw and shade faces as much as I do!
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Karen CampbellFounder of Awesome Art School. Mixed Media Artist. Author of 19 Instructional Art Books! Whose work has appeared in...Archives
April 2024
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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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