My 31 Art Studio Essentials - Acrylic Paints

Acrylic Paints

I have a range of acrylic paints that I use for different types of work.  With the Folk Art paints I usually use this in my journals, although some of the better quality paints will give your art journal a great finish, so it is worth having a play around.

I would mostly use my main acrylic paints when I am creating paintings or art where the quality is important.

If you don't feel like painting, playing with your paints is another option.  You could spend time creating color swatches, or order your stash

Check out the Video

Art Resources to check out (click on the images)

Daler Rowney System 3

Winsor and Newton Galeria

Winsor and Newton Artisan mixable Oil Colour

31 Studio Essentials - Art Journals

Art Journals

Art Journals are one of my studio essentials, and over the years I have made quite a few.  I recently did a mini tour of 31 Art Journals which you can check out HERE

The great thing about art journals when your stuck is that you can always revisit them and finish off pages that may have been left.  I usually don't finish an art journal in one go, preferring to dip in when the desire takes me.

In those moments of feeling stuck you can choose to do some work on a page, or you can create a background, there is no hard and fast rule, you make your own!

Or you might just want to look over an art journals page to see what you were doing at the time of creating it.  The main thing is that you use your tools to suit your needs, and if you just want to make marks on a page then do that.

Check out the video to see what I get up to on 3 pages and how you can use the supplies you have to take yourself on a mini adventure.  

Until tomorrow, stay blessed and be a blessing.

Resources

You might find some of these resources useful click on the image to find out more

Have fun, stay blessed and be a blessing!

My 31 Art Studio Essentials - Brushes

All about Brushes

Can a girl have too many brushes?  Don't answer that one lol!!

Brushes are key depending on what medium you work with and as a mixed media artist. I find that I use a variety and the ones that you see have been collected over a number of years.

I do have my favorite brushes that I use for different projects, but when you are purchasing ones for yourself you really don't have to break the bank and there are some really affordable brands that you can buy. 

One of the things you can do with your brushes If you are in a slump is to spend time ordering them, you may not need all the ones that you have and you might be able to bless someone else or do a trade with another artist.

Take a look at some of the brushes that I have in my collection in the video

The Video

Resources

12 Piece Nylon Hair Brush Set

Royal Langnickel

Happy New Year - New 31 Days challenges!

 Happy New Year 

to You and your family!!!. 

I hope that your dreams and desires for this year are realized.  As you break all the tasks down and take small steps every day before you know it you will have achieved what ever it is you are striving for.

This month I will be working on a new YouTube channel called - The Creative Gardener, which looks at all the plants that I love growing in my garden and the tropical environment (which means that everything grows so much bigger).  

I want to share my journey of starting from scratch in the garden to developing a tropical paradise, and I am also keen to learn about the medicinal and nutritional properties of plants.  The artist in me has to come out as well and I will and will also be sharing a few outdoor creative projects.

The other thing I will be doing for this month is sharing with you my 31 Art Studio Essentials for creativity.  

It can be hard to find time for some creative play and over the next 31 days I will be sharing with you some of the ways in which I manage to find time, and they are very easy things that you can incorporate into your day as well.

Look forward to seeing you on this journey.  I will be sharing the first posts later on today!

Blessings await for 2018!!

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

Affordable Art and the Anonymous Charity Art Show and more!

If you are going to be in Barbados between now and the 31st January, then you will have a wonderful opportunity to own not only one of my paintings and sculptures, but you will also be able to purchase the work by many talented men and women artists as well.  

Mixed Media Art Doll

If you don't happen to have the opportunity to make it to Sunny Barbados then check out my website and other social media profiles to see how you can purchase my art direct and also see what other paintings and sculptures available.

I am participating in the Affordable Art Show at the recently refurbished Queens Park Gallery where all the art work on display will be available for under $500. 

Mixed Media Painting - Amanda Trought

I have both paintings and sculpture available for sale

Mixed Media Sculptures - Heart - Amanda Trought

and it is a lovely gallery space!

The Affordable Art Fair (Art Supermarket) makes art more accessible for those who would like to start building their collection of a range of artists, and also opens the door for many emerging artists to show their work as well.  

Things are going quite quickly so you will need to hurry with Christmas only 8 days away!!  

The Art Fair is open until 31st December, so you can also get your New Year Gifts as well!

Opening reception of Queen's Park Gallery "ART SUPERMARKET/ "AFFORDABLE ART EXHIBITION" exhibition Sunday Dec 10th 11am to 2pm. 

No piece is more than Bds $500. 

The exhibition continues until Dec 30th.

Hours 10am -6pm Tues to Sat.

Curated by Janice Whittle

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Anonymous Charity Art Show

The Frame & Art Co is hosting the Anonymous Charity Art Show benefiting Jabez House. The show opened on December 8th running until 31st January 2018.  Here is the Online Album of work so far.  It is for a great cause and enables both established and emerging artists to support and show their work on and build your collection with artists who you might not have been exposed to before.

I have 4 pieces of art in the exhibition and there are over 200 original paintings created in diverse styles and subject matters are featured on 12" x 12" canvases and sold anonymously.

The artist remains a mystery, until after the purchase, when the name will be revealed. All paintings are sold for $375.00 BBD.

For more information, contact 271-6509.

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Crane Village Gallery

It seemed like only yesterday that I was preparing for the Carmichael Exhibition, and showed one of my mixed media paintings.  

Emerge - Mixed Media Art - Amanda Trought

She is still looking for a home and will be available on my website.  I have some new work going up at the Crane, and it is more abstract utilizing different mediums on the canvas.

Layers - Mixed Media - Amanda Trought

Photographs don't do it justice, the colours are really vibrant and the paints have different textures within them, you will have to go and see it in person!

There are so many other Art events that are happening in Barbados at the moment with  Exhibitions, artists, photographers, art talks, workshops and interviews and more - check out The Barbados Visual Arts Events a monthly online magazine published by Corrie Scott.

There will of course be other additional events happening over the Christmas season and on into the New year, so keep your eyes peeled!

Online Art Journal Class - Sneak Peak 2

Greetings, and hope you are having a blessed weekend so far.  Here are some of the teachers that are part of the BADASS Art Journal 2018 course, and I am really excited to be part of the team.

Sign Up HERE

I have a great lesson in store for you where we look at a commonly used supply and see how you can use it in slightly different ways in your art journal.  I really enjoy creating in my art journal and find it a great way to unwind, focus, play and more!

Earlier this week I showed you a sneak peak of one of the pages that we will be doing.  We will be creating two pages in my lesson.  Here is a sneak peak of the other page.

BADASS ART JOURNAL - lesson sneak peak

If you are new to art journaling this is a great way for you to ease your way in and learn some new techniques, and if you are more seasoned you can flex your creative muscles and really experiment - either way it will be fun!

Also remember that when you sign up for the workshop using my Link I will give you access to some great bonuses:

You will receive Art Journal Series 1 as an additional bonus and which consists of resources to help you expand your art journaling:

30 Art Journal hints and tips to get you started on your Journal Journey


4 background videos showing you how to create some simple backgrounds in your art journals for you to download and keep FOREVER!

5 backgrounds that I have created full size for you to download and use in your journals

How-To booklet of 4 Art Journals to make from different materials that I have shared in the 31 Art Journals Series

Early Bird Special

If you sign up for the course which is normally $79 between now and 13th January you will save $10 by entering the code SOBADASS at the checkout.

This is a great way to set yourself off on your Art Journal Journey, and also venture into 2018, and I will be sharing more information on some FREE Art Journal Play that I will be getting up to helping you to warm up with after the Christmas! and also giving you tips on how you can use the Art Journal Series 1 resources!!  I am really looking forward welcoming you in the classroom!

REMEMBER that the giveaway for the wonderful supplies below closes on Sunday. Two people will be walking away with the supplies and it could be YOU!!

ART SUPPLY GIVEAWAY - APPLY HERE

Officially Open for 2018, Sneak Peak and bonus

Sign Up HERE

So yesterday I shared about this amazing course with amazing teachers, and I get to be one of them, and it starts on 5th February 2018.  I have been teaching on it for the past few years and we always have a lot of fun, so many different techniques that are shared by the Teachers.

The registration officially opened today and you have a chance to save some money off the price of the course in the Early Bird Special!!!.

If you sign up for the course which is normally $79 between now and 13th January you will save $10 by entering the code SOBADASS at the checkout.

Register by Sunday 17th DECEMBER and you will be entered for a chance to win this set of Art Supplies (already entered to win, get a second entry when you sign up by Sunday, December, 17, 2017)

Art Supply giveaway - You have until 17th December

I am really excited to share my lesson where we will be creating two Art Journal Pages. I can give you a sneak peak below of one of the pages that we will be creating, and you will get to see part of the other page at the weekend, along side some of the bonuses that you will be getting.

BADASS Art Journal Sneak Peak

Also remember that when you sign up for the workshop using my Link you will have access to some great bonuses:

You will receive Art Journal Series 1 as an additional bonus and which consists of resources to help you expand your art journaling:

30 Art Journal hints and tips to get you started on your Journal Journey

4 background videos showing you how to create some simple backgrounds in your art journals for you to download and keep FOREVER!

5 backgrounds that I have created full size for you to download and use in your journals

How-To booklet of 4 Art Journals to make from different materials that I have shared in the 31 Art Journals Series

This is a great way to set yourself off on your Art Journal Journey, and also venture into 2018, and I will be sharing more information over the next few weeks and showing you exactly what you will be getting, and how you can use these great resources. I am really looking forward to seeing you in the classroom!

I am Teaching! in the BADASS Art Journal Course 2018

Well well well, here we are again, I am so excited to share with you that I am one of the teachers on the BadAss Art Journal 2018 course, and registration opens tomorrow!!!

You are in for a treat this time round, there is an amazing group of teachers who have some exciting lessons to share with you.  So many things have been happening I haven't been able to keep up with myself on the blog, but I am going to turn it around and start posting on a more regular basis, you will be blessed.

The course registration opens up tomorrow and you will be able to check it out HERE

There is currently 2 free giveaways and a bonus for signing up which you will have to hurry to enter to be a part of.

No 1 

You could be one of two lucky people to receive all these goodies!

For a chance to win click HERE

It is an amazing amount of supplies, and there are a few here that I could do with having in my stash!

No 2

I have ONE place on the course to giveaway, and to be in with a chance to win this place just check out my YouTube Channel and subscribe if you haven't already done so and leave a comment on a video of your choice.  I will be notified once you have commented and your name will go into the hat to have a chance to win closing date for my giveaway is Friday 29th December

If you just want to go ahead and sign up for the course using my Link you will receive Art Journal Series 1  as an additional bonus and which consists of resources to help you expand your art journaling:

• 30 Art Journal hints and tips to get you started on your Journal Journey
• 4 background videos showing you how to create some simple backgrounds in your art journals for you to download and keep FOREVER!
• 5 backgrounds that I have created full size for you to download and use in your journals
• How-To booklet of 4 Art Journals to make from different materials that I have shared in the 31 Art Journals Series

This is a great way to set yourself off on your Art Journal Journey, and also venture into 2018, and I will be sharing more information over the next few weeks and showing you exactly what you will be getting. 

For now stay blessed and remember to enter the giveaways, and share it with friends and family who might also like to play along!!

What about the VLOG? Episodes 1 and 2

Alright, so I dived right in and have started to VLOG!

Yes I have started small, and hope to do a hourly, daily, weekly ok at the moment a sometime vlog talking about the things that are coming up at the moment, and more.  When I started I wanted to do it daily, but life, time, and over promising myself got the better of me, so I totally stopped. The desire to do it was still there, so I decided to break it down a bit, take the self imposed pressure off and do it as a weekly-ish Realityarts Vlog

I moved home had to do the packing and unpacking - I am on my 4th studio space, will share more soon.  I had courses and exhibitions to deal with and lots of other things that seem to be vying for time, and I want to share some of it on video, but I really underestimated just how long it would take.

Join me anyway on my YouTube channel, are you on your own creative journey and want some inspiration, or want to break-in, don't quite know where to start?  Well over time I will be providing some of the answers (from my perspective). I will be sharing what excites and motivates me, and inspiration from other artists - you accompany me on a creative tropical adventure. 

I will also cover in my VLOG the highs and lows of relocating that we found and how we adjusted to a new way of life, answer questions, tell you about new techniques and courses that I am involved with and so much more.

Episode 2 Series 1

Episode 1, Series 1

The third episode which is well over due should be with you this week and perhaps that will be the regular viewing date, I am trying to keep myself to a schedule - (a work in progress), rather than like sniper fire.

Anyway I hope you enjoy, and join me on the creative journey, we only have one life, why not live it to the full and step out and do the things that bless you and can inspire others in some way.  Go on, I dare you!  High Five..... I'm daring myself so you can't leave me hanging!

Do check out some of my other social sites, that seem to take up so much time....

Instagram

Facebook
Website

Pinterest - don't you just love all the different boards, no more piles of magazines with circles around things that inspire you or that you just like..

Anyway, thanks for getting this far, stay blessed and be a blessing

Amanda