Contest Closed - winners are mention in the commentsOver the last 2 years, I spent plenty of time exploring in my sketchbook with different mediums but the one that stood out and was certainly the most challenging is definitely GOUACHE! It's also the one thing I received the most request to have a class about. I thought about it for a while to create the class I would have loved to learn from. The class will last 3 months and go live on November 12. We'll start with small projects that will build your confidence and help you and get familiar with the medium. Each week we'll build on what we learn in the previous one and the last month we'll focus on creating amazing portraits. learn more about it here Sounds exciting? I know I am. Time for a little giveaway! I'm happy to offer 3 spots in this fabulous class. Here are the rules to participate. I need all the help to share the class and reach as many people as I can. Each public share will give you one entry.
You have until Saturday, October 16th to enter the giveaway. Winner will be announced in a newsletter Monday 18th
Do you want to make art and help the earth at the same time?
Then I have some wonderful news! My friend Tam from Willowing Arts has been worried about climate change for a while now, and she wanted to make a meaningful difference/ contribution to the 'fight against climate change'. This is how the Art for Earth Project was born! This is the second time she is running this project, last year she raised £25,000 for Treesisters, an organisation that plants trees all over the world! This year, she is running it again and I’m part of it! Tam collected together over 45 amazing mixed media artists who have all contributed one or more art resources (like an art course, e-book, printable PDF or other art item) to the Art for Earth Package! It contains over 85+ amazing art resources including some brand new courses that have not been published before! They were especially created for this package deal.
The Art for Earth Package is valued at over £2900+ GBP, but will be sold for only £75 GBP! It will be on sale for 7 days only and get this; 25% of all sales will go to an amazing organisation that helps improve our climate. They are called Treesisters and they are a group of women spread out all over the world with a mission to plant trees and a focus on tropical reforestation.
They say: “Vision & Mission of Tree Sisters: TreeSisters exists to elicit collective responsibility for planetary restoration at the grass roots level with a focus on women and tropical reforestation.We are growing a global network of women who donate monthly to fund the acceleration of tropical reforestation as an expression of collective planetary care. We channel 80% of member donations to exemplary existing reforestation organisations in the tropics with whom we partner to restore ecosystems. The remaining 20% funds our behaviour change and consciousness shift work with women to reinstate feminine leadership, and normalise collective ownership of planetary restoration.”
This package contains some fabulous art resources by some of the most popular mixed media teachers in our community!
I hope you'll buy this wonderful package of awesome art goodies and help the earth while making art! Make Art for Earth! Buy Herewww.willowing.org/product/art-for-earth-2021/?affiliates=122 (link this to your personal affiliate link) Thank you so much! Love Karine PS. This is the list of all the products that are included in the Art for Earth Package! So much goodness! 
It feels like most of this year for me revolved around my hysterectomy I haven't fell like myself for almost two years and functioning on low batteries for these last few months after being put on a waiting list in February really took a toll on me and it was all I could think about. Somehow I still found the energy to explore and experiment with my art and tried a few things. I started this piece pre-surgery. I wanted to create something that would include my love of paint, plants and thread. Like many, during Covid, I started to collect plants and being highly inspired by them. I want to share with you the journey of this piece the many changes it went through before becoming one of my favourite thing I created so far.
I hadn't use acrylic paint in a while, wanted to create something soft and realistic while remaining a tad abstract and painterly. That was the first step and I was please with the results. I always forget how much I enjoy working with paint and how easy it is to fix a mishap or change direction. My favourite category of plants being vines of all kinds, filling the background with philodendron was a given. At first, I painted philodendron Mican, they have a coppery undertone to their green leaves and it's simply stunning but I change my mind later on.
The first idea was to weave her shirt and embroidery some of the background details, I did it before for another painting and it had turned out great but instead of doing different directions I went one big piece and that was not working for me. It was tacky, it wasn't fitting the colours team, in an attempt to fix it the Mican became some sort of Pink Princess. At that point, I loved the colour but the weaving had to go. I slowly unstitched all of it adding paint in the back to feel the tiny hole left behind all along I was thinking of adding some embroidery to her shirt instead but once I was done removing the weave it as clear to me that a dark shirt was the way to go and the Pink Princess Philodendron was the element that needed my attention. Side note looking at your painting upside down really help finding what works or not in your composition, in this case the dark shirt create a negative space that helps the piece "breathing". It balances the busy upper part of it.
In the beginning, I was going to do 2 or 3 leaves and let the others a painted version but as I stitch patiently and completed one leaf I thought to myself, well this is great! So I did another one and thought maybe I could do incomplete embroidery on all of them probably as a way to make my life easier :) but I kept going leaf after leaf. Knowing myself it was a challenge not to just put it aside and work on something else and I committed to not begin another project before finishing this one.  I'm very proud to have kept that promise. This piece was a project of hope and new beginnings. My illness wasn't life-threatening but it has taken a toll on my quality of life and I am happy to put it behind me and focus on art, joy and everything that has been put on hold. Stitch by stitch I've healed my creative soul.  PS I need to take better pictures of her but today was cloudy and I was too excited to share her with you. :) I hope you can forgive me. She is available for adoption and will be added in the shop as soon as I can have proper pictures of her. She comes framed ready to hang and I will offer a lay away option since she's as bigger piece involves many hours of work and supplies.
 Hey there, if you follow me on any social media you know that I've been dealing with some health issues and was on a waiting list for a surgery, well it's happening tomorrow November 23rd. Keep me in mind if you can, I'm optimistic while nervous and I have to admit scare about it all but it's what I wanted and I know it will all be better on the other side of it. Without going too much into the details I will have a partial hysterectomy, it's a complicated case but I have complete trust in my surgeon.
Once Im back from the hospital I hope to finish this project that is taking me forever but is so rewarding. I'll write a poste about its journey and the process.
I know I will be missing some of the big sales happening this time of the years but I promise that once I'm on the other side of this I will have once to celebrate a new beginning.
I love you all and appreciate your support. Cheers to a new beginning and take care of yourself! Karine |
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