Some Favorite Things for Artists

The holidays have changed so much from when I was a kid - and to be honest, my anticipation of the season has shifted to a bit of anxiety and overwhelm.  So this year, my friends and family have agreed to simplify (or forego gifting altogether!) and do things that embrace the holiday spirit instead of lining the retailer's pockets.

Since a lot of my readers are artists, I wanted to "gift" all of you with a dozen of my favorite freebies, tutorials and articles.  Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to one and all!!

Virtual Paint Mixing application by Golden Paints - a FUN application on what color(s) you wind up with if you mix certain colors of paint

Making your Art Biz Legit - links and info on turning your art hobby into a legitimate business

How to Stay Inspired during those Artistic Lulls - fabulous article by the talented Joanie Springer

Wonderful How-to on making wood-burned kitchen spoons - easy tutorial on making some artsy kitchen utensils for your favorite chef by Alisa Burke

25 Handmade Christmas Decorations - make your own decorations for the Holidays by 36th Avenue

Gingerbread Caramel Corn recipe - YUM!

101 Healthy Soup Recipes - by Cooking Light

How-To Make a Distressed-Look Painting - by Little Blue Boo

How-To Draw Video - a 2-hour video from Betty Edwards, author of "Drawing from the Right Side of Your Brain"

A Random Tutorial Generator -- for artists, jewelers and anyone who wants to make things -- watch out, it's addictive!

101 Simple Hand-Made Gifts Tutorial - an amazing variety of hand-made gifts and how to make them!

Tutorials for Photoshop Newbies - how-to's for getting started with Photoshop

"Into the Light"
Mixed Media on paper

Some New Work

  There's something about painting multiple works at a time that inspires and excites me.  I recently

opened a package of ten 10"x8" canvases; laid them out on my dining room table; grabbed some 

supplies and started painting with wild abandon.  Here are some photos of how I started out:  

Supplies:  Acrylic paints, graphite, willow charcoal, Sharpie oil markers and India Ink

Mid-way point:  light gray and buff acrylic with charcoal, graphite and India Ink 

Added some Nickel Azo Gold with dots & lines made with the Sharpie Oil marker

Put down some Lukas Fern acrylic paint for some finish accent color

I liked the composition and designs in several of these "finished" paintings, but felt there was more I could do (plus I wasn't ready to stop painting then!) so one by one, I took these little guys into my "finish studio" aka my home office, and began the adventure I call "search and destroy."  I grabbed some thick white paint and started working with the negative space; added some glazes and introduced some more color.  Here are photos of the finished works:

"A Peaceful Wind"

"A Time to Dream"

10 Finished Paintings

To see more photos of the finished paintings, check out my website  

For purchase information, contact me at:  jjjacobs@comingabstractions.com