my first mixed media class

Following on from a one-on-one mixed media lesson I did a while back, a couple of weeks back, I taught my very first mixed media class. Leading up to it, I was a mess of nerves and excitement, and now it’s done, it was so much fun, and I can’t wait for the next one in November!

Normally I have a very loose idea of where an artwork is going, but I thought in this case, I really should at least pretend to have an idea of what I was doing. Inspired by this fabulous piece I found on Pinterest, I curated a Paris-centric board to influence my canvas. Paris has always been somewhere I’ve been desperate to visit, and our three days there in 2010 remain a highlight of our Europe trip. My husband still vows the conversation where he suggested we make the most of a gap in our schedule and head to Paris, as the only time he’s ever seen me speechless. Literally. I sat there, mouth agape, not entirely sure he wasn’t pulling my leg. But he wasn’t and I somehow found the power of speech, and off to Paris we went. And it was nothing short of magical. Which sounds cliche, I know, but you know how you dream of something for so long, and then it happens and it’s fabulous? Yeah. That was Paris. Well, truth be told, it was our whole trip (Germany, in particular, stole my heart in way I never expected), but Paris was the first place I dreamed of travelled, and remains a fond memory. So this piece was all about that.

As pretty as the colours in the original were, I wanted to work with what I had. Kind of. Ok, so I did a slight amount of damage to the bank balance at Lulu Art before the class, but that’s allowable, because it was WORK RELATED EXPENSES PEOPLE. Is that not the best kind of art supply shopping? But to avoid serious damage to the bank balance, I stuck with adding a few little treats that complemented the colour ranges I already had, rather than moving into shades that I didn’t have quite as much of. Yellows (surprise surprise) and purples were the order of the day. In the end, I came kind of close to what I had in mind. I’m still not loving the tower, but I’m just letting it sit for a bit, then might come back and change it up.

Mixed media canvas – 8×8″

Patterned paper, upcycled book pages, acrylic paint, ink, washi, pastel pencils, oil pastels, distress stains, pen, coloured pencils, gelatos