When I decided to create the course, "All About Abstracts", I wanted to help artists not just to make pretty art, but to work past the behaviors and habits that might be holding them back from finding their own creative voices and making their best art.
In my years of teaching, I've noticed 3 ways artists tend to get in their own way when it comes to advancing their art.

1. They copy other artist's art. Not only is this stealing, but it shows insecurity and lack of belief in oneself as an artist. ALL artists have a beauty inside of them which needs to be nurtured in a safe way in order to be revealed. This course is designed as a safe place of exploration and discovery to set you on the right path to discovering your unique gifts as an artist. You'll never be tempted to copy another person's art once you develop your own unique style.

2. They rely too much on intuition and not enough on knowledge. "Intuitive art" is a catch phrase in art these days, but what does it even mean? If you want to build a car engine, you don't rely only on intuition to tell you what parts to use, or the results could be disastrous. The same is true when it comes to making art. Having a knowledge of design, composition, color theory and the proper tools and techniques in imperative to creating good art. I designed this course with many practical lessons that will help you retain this knowledge.

3. They "wing it". Along similar lines as relying on intuition only, not having a plan in place when you approach your blank canvas can result in art that looks like it is going nowhere. This is why many artists express frustration and not knowing when their painting is done, what it is lacking, etc. I designed this course to help you plan out and create your own visual roadmaps so that you never run out of ideas, and stop creating art that ends up at the back of your closet.

My hope for you is that my course will help you begin making your best art ever. You can check out this course and my others HERE.

All my best,

Kathleen

I was so excited to start the new year after spending the holiday trekking to and from Florida. We arrived home on the afternoon of New Year's Eve and had a restful evening. I got up and joined a couple of friends for a workout on New Year's Day -- great start to the year so far. I completed 5 paintings that week. But as the week progressed, I could not ignore the nagging aches in my body and growing fatigue. Then the fever hit. I went for a Covid test, which came back positive. Bummer. I cancelled my First Friday art event. This is not how I planned January!

That said, I'm grateful for a few kind souls in my life. My boyfriend made sure that painting orders still went out on time. My dog has been ever at my side. And a really sweet friend of mine in California sent me a surprise care package filled with goodies from Blue Oak Coffee in Bakersfield, which she co-owns. Bernadette roasts her own coffee beans, and you can order online.

The care package included organically grown oranges and Meyer lemons. I immediately looked up receipes for Meyer lemons, and came across this great recipe for Ginger Cardamom Meyer Lemon Crinkle Cookies over at the PineappleandCoconut. I may have eaten quite a bit of the dough before it even made it into the oven.  But they were delicious baked as well.

Photo credit Shanna over at PineapplandCoconut.

How about treating yourself to some coffee and cookies? I'd love to know if you do!