Donaldson - CreativeGIRL: Mixed Media Techniques for an Artful Life

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couch CREATIVE

Artsy things to do when you are hanging out on the couch, in the kitchen or on the road.

color FULL

Working with big watercolor palettes and patterned paper.

layer GOODNESS

Adding depth to your art with light, shadows and lots of cool layers.

silent TYPE

Storytelling through art with little or no text.

creative GIRL

Creating girls that channel your stories.

hot MESS

Learning to walk away when your art takes a turn for the worse and how to come back and make it work.

creative REPURPOSING

Where new ideas buddy up with unfinished projects, artwork gone awry and pretty stuff from the past.

extra LOVE

A little glimpse at some of my favorite art.

This book is dedicated to my favorite people in the world. You know who you are.

But most importantly, Scott, Lauren and Clay.

To my husband, ScottFor always listening to the process about each piece I create and then saying, Looks good, dear. Every single time. For preparing a multitude of meals while I doodle. For making me leave my studio every once in a while to see the world, not just paint my version of it. And most importantly, for loving me forever, no matter what.

To my sunshine-filled daughter, Lauren. For being one of the best human beings I have ever met in my life. For your eternal sparkly optimism and sassy humor. For displaying more love and energy in an hour than most do in a day. And for your fierce determination to work through the hard stuff and grow into an even better version of you.

To my old-soul son, Clay. For taking the time to call me and tell me your stories, then listening to my stories, then telling me you love me before we hang up. For recognizing my everyday limitations but reminding me my creative side is without limits. For telling me that it isnt about what I draw and paint, its how I draw and paint it that matters most. And for hanging onto the sensitive part of yourself, even when the world thinks you shouldnt.

Discover your very own creative happy place in between the covers of creativeGIRL. That place where your color-filled imagination meets up with your everyday life. Youll learn to organize your time, personalize your process, create colorful creative stashes and organize your supplies in new ways to help you infuse every day with creative time.

In this book, you find out how to do all of the following things:

• Grow as an artist by allowing the reality of your day-to-day to work with your process instead of against it.
• Recognize when you are stuck and why, and learn how to problem solve with confidence, grace and a good attitude.
• Organize your practice in a way that helps you gain focus and allows you to practice specific subjects and techniques, preventing you from being overwhelmed.
• Illustrate objects on a small scale, leaving the realism behind and imagining big.
• Create colorful watercolor stashes and art stations throughout your house and for your travels. Let go of the need for color charts and just play with color and techniques, and bring awareness to what you love and what works for you.
• Find a balance between the need to match the picture in your head to what is in front of you (and accept that its OK to have a picture in your head to go by).
• Tuck your stories in the layers of your work by mixing the old and new with thoughtful layers of color, pencil work and delicate details.
• Overcome the need to fill up all the space by embracing the awesomeness of white paint, white space and white ink.
• Pay attention to common creative threads in your work that can be turned into your signature style.
• And, most important, learn to appreciate the unpredictable nature of watercolors and the unplanned beauty it offers you in your creative process.