I think I will call it not so formal online art training!

I've been thinking a lot about my skills as an artist and how much I have grown. I think back about 7 years ago when I first took an online class from Suzi Blu. It was my first lesson on how to draw faces, real and stylized. I wasn't sitting in a classroom filled with other eager to learn students. I was at home in my sweats printing PDF's and watching online videos from Suzi.  I look at some of my first drawings and I can say there was definite room for improvement but I practiced and kept working at it. I worked really hard to get the eyes in the right place and the lips were a tough one for me those took me sometime to get them just right.  To be honest everything was hard but I loved practicing and I couldn't get enough of it. That's when the art bug bit me! I spent the next years taking online classes from abstract art to art journaling. I still practice almost every day and I love still take online classes.

Over the years I have watched countless videos from amazing artist all over the world. I have learned how to draw, paint, make marks and even how to start selling my art. Each of the teachers that I spent hours watching their video's have made such a huge impact on me and I bet if you are someone who has taken some class from these same teachers you might see a little of them here and there in my work.

 I think the online workshops, classes and the teachers from all over the world influenced me so much.  It has taken me some time to figure out how to use those influences and not copy them but use them to create my own style. 

It has taken me some time to figure out my style too.  It changes often and I don't ever seem to be very happy doing the same thing over and over. I've decided that I will embrace this and go with it. Instead of trying to make the same style or piece over and over again I will make series. Who says you have to do the same things over and over again right!

While I can't say I have a degree in fine arts, I don't think I would call me a self taught artist. I think I will say that I have been formally trained online!  I have yet to take a live class and maybe someday I will but what I have learned online has been life changing for me.  So today I say thank you to all those amazing teachers for helping me a long the way in this journey through the artland. 

Next step for me is to work towards getting my art out there in the local sense.  I will be putting my work up at Louvre in Edmonds WA. It's a cute coffee shop surrounded by art galleries. Maybe I will get into a gallery or two myself. I am also thinking about creating my own online art video. I'm ready to turn this corner in my journey with the hopes to someday become a working artist! Wish me luck!

Thank you to the following and check them out sometime:

Suzi Blu- You were my first online teacher and I loved so much watching you paint and draw.
http://suziblu.ning.com/

Julie Prichard and Cris Cozen (Land of the lost luggage) Thank you ladies for showing me how to make some amazing backgrounds as well as some fun substrates to work on. Can anyone say vinyl!
 http://thelandoflostluggage.com/

Tam and all the amazing artists from Lifebook!  This is year two in the amazing LB and I will for sure be joining 2014. It is worth every penny.
http://willowing.ning.com/

Jane Davenport- Your "I heart drawing" class really helped me create body portions that don't look all wonky. 
http://janedavenport.com

Martiel, Ilysa and Kira from Things Crafty and Amazing Success Academy(formally known as DYS).  These ladies are awesome! I have learned so much from them on how to start an art business. I am so grateful to them for the time and energy they put into this class. If you are looking for some help and support on growing your art business Martiel is a great person to turn to.  Check out http://www.amazingsuccessacademy.com/. To see what Ilysa and Kira are up to in the world of polymer clay go to. http://thingscrafty.com/

Here are my two newest creations.  My favorite flower is a peony and so I created my girls with peony flowers for their hair. Broken Puppet is a tattoo artist I found on youtube that has some really good tutorials on how to draw a peony new school style. I also watched his video on drawing an owl.  Perfect example of me using what I learned from watching a video online and using the skills to create my own piece in my style. Check out Broken Puppet on youtube he has some mad skills!

Peony1

She is painted on a 5'by7'wood canvas. The canvas is distressed to look worn. Acrylic, pen, pencil, marker and inks were used to make her.

 Peony2

She is painted on a 11'by14' watercolor paper.

I used pen, pencil, water color, ink sprays, acrylics markers, stencils and a gelli plate to create here.