My 31 Art Studio Essentials - Books

I love books always have and always will, despite my love for my Kindle, though as an artist I find there are some books that have to be felt, poured over and pages flipped.

I wanted to share a few with you and encourage you to use the great resource which they give you for ideas, inspiration, and will get you out of any slump that you may be in as you question your ''Why' as an artist.

Check out the video which goes into more details about each book and I do a mini flip through and tell you why I like these particular books.  I will at a later date be doing a video to review the books but you will get a good idea as to how these particular books can help you.

Also check out these places for more books some at a discounted price and ones that have some of my favorite magazines as well.

Check out these resources for discounted art books

Book Outlet

Dover Books

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Creative Bug

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Stampington Magazine

I hope that you have been finding the sessions useful in the 31 Art Studio Essentials.  By going through the videos and your supplies you will be more than ready when the BADASS ART Journal Course comes up, and you will be well versed in your supplies, and additional ideas that you can use.

BADASS Art Journal Course

Stay blessed and be a blessing!!

My 31 Art Studio Essentials - Painters

Painters

The Video

I have been using Painters for a while now and they come in all shades, shapes and sizes.  They are single tipped and I mostly use them for writing or making marks on journal pages.

I think that they are great for marking any surface, but of course you need to test them out.  They are just right for my journal pages and will write on any medium placed on the page.

I would normally use them when I want to add additional marks on the page, and you can see below that playing around with your pens allows you to understand how you can utilize it to the full.

With one pen you are able to make a range of marks when you hold it at different angles.

This is another great activity for you to try when you want to just play and get to know your supplies.  Watch the video and have fun with what you have and see how you can use your supplies in a different way.

Art Resources

Check out some of these Art Resources

31 Art Studio Essentials - Gesso

Firstly 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope that this year sees you extend from your comfort zone and really see the treasures that you hold within you.

This is the beginning of a 31 day adventure through my art supplies and tools to share with you some of my favorites and how I use them when I am short of time or feeling stuck.

All about Gesso

If you have seen some of my other videos you will see that Gesso has a special place in my heart.  It comes in clear, black and white and you can mix acrylic with it to give you another color.  It provides a tooth for the surface that you might be working on, especially the thinner kind that you get with some altered books.

You might decide as an activity to sort out your supplies, and You can also spend time preparing pages as an activity, especially when you are short of time, adding color to the pages or using stencils to create texture.

Gesso can also be used on fabric, I especially like to create my own painted fabric, creating designs, and using a range of supplies to decorate.

I like the creaminess of the Gesso and I have a black one that is so thick and creamy it looks good enough to eat!! lol

But you have to see it to get what I mean. Take a look at my video so see how creamy it is, and also check out the resources that I mentioned in the video.

Resources

Click on the supplies below to find out more

I find this acrylic gesso slightly runny even though they are made by the same company but it is worth a try depending on how you want to use it

I hope that this has given you some ideas to play with your gesso and see what different effects you will be able to get.  Come back tomorrow for another supply and see where it can take you!

Stay blessed and be a blessing

Running on Empty

We've all heard the term, and there are quite a few others that have similar meanings, 'burning the candle at both ends, writers/artist block, and many more.  These states of being can be a result of not making the right decisions to ensure we are looking after our health be it food and exercise but also spending quality time with friends and family - making time to renew our creative spark.  Some of us take heed or more often than not we ignore it, waiting instead for the consequences that will either lead to blocks, burn out or illness and exhaustion. 

For those that own a car, each year we take it for its Service and MOT to make sure its road worthy, it won't pass unless everything is in good condition and we regularly put petrol in our car and top up oil and water.  If we are going to do that for a piece of metal that gets us from A-Z why not our own bodies.  Have you been running on empty for a while?

We often committe ourselves and time to doing projects that if we had thought clearly about we would never have agreed.  Perhaps its time to take stock. Take a look at the wheel above draw a line where you think you are at that point, it covers all aspects of life, finance, family, health etc.  You get a chart looking something like the small one below. It will help you recognise those areas in your life that need some extra attention and tlc, the next step is doing something about it....