Hello Friends!
It is such an honor and privilege to get to serve the artists and students in our community all year long. I know that I sound like a broken record, but the truth is that I would not be here without each and everyone one of you! The holidays is a time when I can show my my gratitude to all of you by offering gifts, goodies and giveaways! I want you all to know just how thankful I am for this art community that WE have created together! I could never have done this without you! To show my gratitude, I will be sharing free videos and give aways for the next 10 days!
If you miss a day, don't worry! But if you want to be sure not to miss a day, bookmark this page! You can also follow me on FACEBOOK and INSTAGRAM. Also, to view days that have passed just scroll down the page. All COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS content will be available through Christmas Day evening! Get started now!!
Hugs to you all!
Kara
GOODIES, GIFTS, AND GIVE AWAYS
Each day we will be showing you our student favorite videos from the year! These videos will not be downloadable, but they will be available to you through Christmas! If you miss a day, don't worry, just scroll past the current day and you will see all previous days available!
Also, each day we will have special discounts on certain classes! Don't miss out on these as they may only last for up to 24 hours at a time. Worried about missing a day? Don't worry! You can scroll down and find all previous days below! They will be available until December 25th!
Day 10
Welcome to Day 10 of our Christmas Countdown! Today I am sharing an amazing lesson from one of a 2023 course favorite, Melinda Cootsona! Melinda is an incredible artist and instructor. If you want to learn more about painting and abstracting the figure, Melinda is your girl. Today we are sharing a FREE lesson from LEAN INTO FIGURATIVE ABSTRACTION! If you enjoy this lesson by Melinda, you can purchase the course, or any of his courses, this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
Now it’s time to practice. Let’s draw together! Learn the order of working and how to identify different stages in the process.
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
- Oil or acrylic paint White and black or another dark color.
- Brushes
- Odorless Mineral Spirits or water depending on your medium
- Paper or other appropriate substrate
- Charcoal or graphite (optional)
LESSON 1 - SKETCHING
I hope you enjoyed the lesson with Melinda If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Melinda's lesson, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 10!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
Day 9
Welcome to Day 9 of our Christmas Countdown! Today I am sharing an amazing lesson from one of our favorite community artists, Juan Perednik! Juan is an incredible artist and instructor. If you want to learn the technical aspects to drawing, he is your guy. Today we are sharing a FREE lesson from EXPRESSIVE HAND DRAWING! If you enjoy this lesson by Juan, you can purchase the course, or any of his courses, this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
Now it’s time to practice. Let’s draw together! Learn the order of working and how to identify different stages in the process.
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
- 0.5 mm HB Mechanical Pencil (or any pencil you feel comfortable with).
- Softer wooden pencils for darker tones if needed.
- Blending stumps, different sizes.
- Kneaded eraser, Faber Castell is my favorite.
- Napkin for blending, toilet paper will also do the trick.
- Mono Zero Eraser
- Paper with no grain or texture to be able to blend creating a soft and even texture
HAND DRAWING 1
HAND DRAWING 1 EXPLAINED
I hope you enjoyed the lesson with Juan! If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Juan's lesson, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 10!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
Day 8
Welcome to Day 8 of our Christmas Countdown! Today I am sharing a lesson from one of our favorite community artists, Emma Petitt! Emma has created several courses for our community and has participated in Let's Face It many times! Our students love her and for good reason. Today we are sharing a FREE lesson from PERPETUAL POSSIBILITIES! If you enjoy this lesson by Emma, you can purchase the course, or any of her courses, this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
In this lesson I will show you how to play with perspective in your figure painting. I will show you how to free up your approach to composition by using an unusual shaped substrate. You will learn the importance of planning your work. Composition is crucial. I will show you how to have fun with the pose, create quirky angles and character to you figure, making them relatable.
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
SUBSTRATE
Use the 30 x 80 cm long canvas from lesson 3
PAINTS
Fixative spray
Amsterdam acrylic paint for skin tones
Titanium white
Naples yellow green
Raw sienna
Pyrole red
Turquoise (I use Vallejo #54)
PAINTBRUSHES
Size 10 flat edge brush
Small brush 1/3 inch for detail.
OTHER
China marker pencil
Fixative spray
Water
Paper towels
LESSON 4 - PART 1
LESSON 4 - PART 2
I hope you enjoyed the lesson with Emma! If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Emma's lesson, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 9!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
Day 7
Welcome to Day 7 of our Christmas Countdown! Today I am sharing a LET'S FACE IT 2023 favorite lesson from Laurie Johnson! Laurie has been a class favorite this year and we are so excited that she has agreed to come back next year!! If you enjoy this lesson by Laurie, you can purchase the course, or any of the Let's Face It courses, this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
Welcome to Week 12! This week we have a lesson with Laurie Johnson. You can visit her IG account @lauriejohnsonart. Enjoy!
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
Choose the paint medium of your choice
I’ll be painting with Water- Soluble Oil Paints
Primarily will use the Zorn palette:
- Titanium White
- Yellow Ochre
- Cadmium Red
- Ivory Black
- Cadmium Yellow
- Transparent Red Oxide
- Manganese Blue
- Alizarin Crimson
8X10 or 9X12 Canvas
Brushes - Your Choice
I’ll be using 2,4 and 6 Flats and Round sable brushes for small areas
INTRODUCTION
SUPPLIES
WEEK 12 WITH LAURIE - PART 1A
WEEK 12 WITH LAURIE - PART 1B
WEEK 12 WITH LAURIE - PART 2
WEEK 12 WITH LAURIE - PART 3
WEEK 12 WITH LAURIE - PART 4
WEEK 12 WITH LAURIE - PART 5
WEEK 12 WITH LAURIE - PART 6
I hope you enjoyed the lesson with Laurie! If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Laurie's lesson, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 8!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
Day 6
Welcome to Day 6 of our Christmas Countdown! Today I am sharing another course favorite from a community favorite teacher, Sarah Sedwick! Today's lesson is from METAL AND GLASS. Sarah is one of the most talented still life instructors out there, which you will see in this free lesson! This course is just another one of Sarah's incredible courses, and we have many! If you enjoy the lesson on painting glass, you can purchase the course, or any of Sarah's courses, this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
In this lesson, we’ll repeat the process, switching textures from metal to glass! We’ll review still life setup considerations, emphasizing the importance of what we see through glass, as opposed to what we see reflected in metal.
I’m working with only one glass object, but feel free to make your still life as complex as you like. (We’ll combine both glass and metal in a more challenging setup in the last section of class.)
Next, we’ll move on to color mixing, and our underpainting, using the same “tone color” (cad red + cad yellow + ultramarine blue) that we used for our metal study. After that we will complete our painting! First we will paint an underpainting, then we will add color to complete the painting!
Just like painting anything else, glass is just “values shapes and colors.” Thinking about it in this abstract way can take the intimidation out of starting. We’ll focus on capturing what we see through the glass, plus any distortions, highlights, and dark accents to create the illusion of clarity.
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
Canvases or other painting surfaces:
- A pad of canvas paper, or Arches oil paper
- Two canvases, any size you’d like to create a finished painting on. One square, one rectangle (8x10 or 9x12 or larger). I will be working on a Raymar SC23 smooth cotton canvas panel. Use the code SEDWICK15 at raymarart.com for 15% off your entire first order, if you’d like to try this great surface too!
- Sketchbook, paper, or drawing pad.
Paint
- I recommend M. Graham brand. These are the colors I’ll be using in the workshop.
- Titanium white
- Alizarin Crimson
- Ultramarine Blue
- Cadmium Red Light
- Viridian
- Cadmium Yellow (Medium)
- Hansa Yellow
- Yellow Ochre
- Ivory Black
Brushes
- I use Princeton Aspen synthetics, but I encourage you to use what you’re comfortable with. A good starter kit is a #2 round and a #4 flat and a #4 or #6 filbert.
Solvent
Medium
- Gamblin’s Solvent-Free Gel (or substitute with linseed oil, walnut oil, Galkyd, Liquin, or similar)
Palette
- a 12x16 (or larger) disposable paper palette pad. Or any palette of your choice - I like New Wave.
Palette knife
Other Supplies:
- Brush Holder - use code SARAH for discount
- Pencil and black Sharpie marker
- A container for Gamsol - I’m using a metal brush washer, and a glass or plastic jar works just fine. Have one for clean Gamsol to use while painting and one to pour your dirty Gamsol into at the end of each painting day. It will settle, and clean Gamsol can be poured off the top and reused.
- Rags or paper towels (I like disposable blue shop towels, available at hardware stores)
- Viewfinder: The Viewcatcher by The Color Wheel *optional*
- Easel and side table
- Clip light or desk lamp
- Lightbulbs: I’ll be using 75 watt LED’s 3000K.
- A few simple still life objects. I also have a picture pack to help you with ideas
- A few sheets of colored paper for backgrounds
A standing easel, or tabletop easel if you like to sit down to paint. I recommend the Leder Easel for lightweight portability. (See my demo video in the supplies video in class)
GOOD TO HAVE: Plastic clamps 3-5” in size. Masking tape.
GLASS - SET UP
GLASS - COLOR MIXING
GLASS - UNDERPAINTING
GLASS - PAINTING
I hope you enjoyed the lesson with Sarah! If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Sarah's lesson, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 7!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
Day 5
Welcome to Day 5 of our Christmas Countdown! Today I am sharing another course favorite from a community favorite teacher, Robert Kelley! Today's lesson is from STYLIZED PORTRAITS. Robert is a true master at drawing portraits, which you will see in this free lesson! This course is just another one of Robert's amazing courses! If you enjoy the lesson on drawing the portrait in charcoal, you can purchase the course this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
In the second photograph, you will see that this is also a high-contrast photo. I also liked this photo because there are a lot of values in her hair, but I want to see how I can eliminate that in my drawing. How can I edit that without having to show all of the dark values? These are questions that I asked myself while I was deciding if I wanted to use this or not. I am excited to see where I can take this piece, and try to keep my value range limited.
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
- Strathmore 400 Drawing Paper
- Vine and willow charcoal
- General's Charcoal Pencil
- Blending stumps asst. sizes
- Kneaded eraser
- Inexpensive paint brushes soft to stiff - I also like Trekell hog bristle, filbert brushes
- Cotton balls
- Make Up sponge
- Dry Eraser bag
PORTRAIT 2 - PART 1
PORTRAIT 2 - PART 2
PORTRAIT 2 - PART 3
PORTRAIT 2 - PART 4
I hope you enjoyed the lesson with Robert! If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Robert's class, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 6!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
Day 4
Welcome to Day 4 of our Christmas Countdown! Today we have a beautiful lesson from a favorite course in 2022, BEAUTIFUL BARNS by artist Kim Van der Hoek. The lesson that we are sharing with you all will give you a peek into Kim's teaching style and painting techniques! This course is a fun course and will teach you a lot about painting landscapes! If you enjoy the lesson on painting barn landscapes, you can purchase the course this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
For our third barn study you’ll practice painting a very simple barn, a single large tree and a meadow with juicy yellow flowers.
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
Substrates
Paintbrushes
- Brushes by Trekell -
- Opal Line of Brushes
- Flat 4000F Series in sizes 0, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 (12 is optional)
- Bright 4000B Series in size 0
- Filbert 4000KF Series in size 4
- Princeton Artist Brush Co.
- Summit Series Liner in size 4
Paint
- Paints by Gamblin
Other
- Easel
- Paint palette - paper, glass or wood
- Gamsol odorless mineral spirits
- Brush washer - Glass or metal jar with lid for holding solvent (Gamsol). Do not use plastic, solvent dissolves plastic unless it’s Nitrile plastic.
- Trekell Palette knife Style #46
- Cold wax medium by Gamblin
- Linseed oil
- Gloves - Nitrile or a tube of “Invisible Gloves”
- Paper Towels
- Large color shaper
BARN THREE
I hope you enjoyed the lesson with Kim! If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Kim's class, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 5!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
Day 3
Welcome to Day 3 of our Christmas Countdown! Today we have an awesome lesson from another course favorite in 2023, PATTERN PLAY by artist Natasha Ruschka. The lesson that we are sharing with you all will give you a peek into Natasha's teaching style and painting techniques! This course is totally incredible and will teach you a lot about painting the still life, and using beautiful values and color while doing it! If you enjoy the lesson on drawing the pears in paint, you can purchase the course this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
This lesson is your warm up for the portraits that will follow. We will be doing sketches of eyes. But more importantly, we will be narrowing our focus to determine exactly when we feel a connection to our art. This is our first connection to the inner muse.
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
• 2 mechanical pencils, one with HB lead, one with 2B lead
• Sketchbook (student’s choice)
• Kneaded eraser
• Paper towel or napkin for smudging
ELLIPSES AND LINEAR PERSPECTIVE
PEARS IN A BOWL
I hope you enjoyed the lesson with Natasha! If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Natasha's class, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 4!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
Day 2
Welcome to Day 2 of our Christmas Countdown! Today we have a beautiful lesson from another course favorite in 2023, Inner Muse by artist Patrick Greenwell. The lesson that we are sharing with you all will give you a peek into Patrick's techniques for sketching eyes! Also in this course is a wonderful mixed media portrait lesson! If you enjoy the lesson on painting eyes, you can purchase the course this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
This lesson is your warm up for the portraits that will follow. We will be doing sketches of eyes. But more importantly, we will be narrowing our focus to determine exactly when we feel a connection to our art. This is our first connection to the inner muse.
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
• 2 mechanical pencils, one with HB lead, one with 2B lead
• Sketchbook (student’s choice)
• Kneaded eraser
• Paper towel or napkin for smudging
LESSON 1 - SKETCHING
I hope you enjoyed the lesson with Patrick! If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Patrick's class, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 3!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
Day 1
Hello Friends!
Today begins our very first day of our COUNTDOWN TO CHRISTMAS! I am so excited because we have so many fun freebies scheduled for you all! I just can't wait!
To begin our countdown, we will be sharing a free video from one of our best selling classes this year, A BIRD SONG by artist and community favorite, Angela Kennedy! The lesson that we are sharing with you all will give you a peek into Angela's techniques for sketching a portrait, mixing paints, drawing and painting hair, and more! If you enjoy this lesson, you can purchase the course this week for 40% off!!
This video, along with all coming days, will be available through December 25th!
Hugs!
Kara
You will be creating a watercolor portrait from start to finish. We will be sketching, mixing colors and painting the skin the first of three ways.
Course Supplies
Below is a list of the supplies that I will be using for the projects in this course. However, you are always encouraged to use what you have on hand.
Substrate
Paints
- Windsor and Newton professional watercolor
Paintbrushes
- Princeton velvetouch watercolor brushes
- Flat brush
- #6 round
- #2 round
- #2 long round
- #8 round
Other
- Prismacolor Premier colored pencil – light aqua
- Black and white gesso (I use liquitex and golden)
- Posca pens – black, white, aqua green
- Micron pens – 02, 03 black
- .5 HB mechanical pencil (any is fine)
- Blending stump
- Some sort of ceramic plate or pallet for mixing colors
***Reference photos are included with purchased courses. Also, all purchased course come with lifetime access and downloadable videos and photos.
LESSON 1 - PART 1
LESSON 1 - PART 2
LESSON 1 - PART 3
LESSON 1 - PART 4
I sure hope you enjoyed this lesson with Angela! If you did, this course along with all other courses are on sale this week for 40% off! The courses below are suggestions based off of Angela's class, but we have many others to choose from as well! Let us know if you need any help choosing a course to take! See you tomorrow for Day 2!
THESE CLASSES ON SALE!
