In this post, I want to share a few tips on how to engage with stuff your artist friends post on instagram in order to help their content get seen on the platform.

Are you ready?

All is said in the little infographics, But if you want a little more, read on. I have details to add (when don’t I have details to add!).

Algorithms are like dogs

Algorithms… we always hear about them and try to outsmart them. But think of them as dogs. Dogs like their treats. You rise a dog by making them associate the things you want them to do with treats,

Truly, it is the same with the instagram algorithms.

What’s a treat for a social media algorithm?

Ok. so what do social media algorithms love? That is the easy part…. Social medias love engagement. They want you to create content that will keep people on their platforms.

If you show instagram that you like the pictures, read the captions, watch the videos. That is how you tell the algorithms that this artist’s content is fun, useful, and you want more of it.

Show the algorithms you love the content, and it will show you more!

How to engage with content on instagram

Here are a few tips to help content made by others try and reach people! In other words, how to « give engagement » to your favorite artists.

Here are a few tips that you might know about, or not!

Time spent

You need to spend time on the content of your favorite artists. Something that stops you while scrolling in your feed, that is engagement.

So if you spend time on a post, whether reading a caption, swiping though pictures of a carrousel or taking the time a watch a reel until the end, this will signal you are enjoying the content, and that you would like more.

Like, comment, save, share!

The next step is to actually interact with posts. Comment the posts, ask questions, share your favorites or save them for later.

This is another metric the algorithms look for.

And a post with many comments or a discussion are a good signal. And are fun for everyone, right? This is one thing I miss with recent changes on the plateform. Less exchange, less discussion.

Be a human!

Remember most of all… try to mimic a human consuming good content! lol

This sounds silly, but algorithms are designed to try and guess how the humans will enjoy the content is show them. Their only goal is to show you content you will enjoy so you will stay there…. which goes back to the treat.

Give your algorithms regular treat to raise them well!

Future editions

Future editions will cover other subjects such as:
– helping teachers on Skillshare
– helping artists with websites / blogs

Any other issue you’d be interested in?

I’m also looking for a name for this series, if any come to mind!

I’ve been thinking, talking about it, and making small steps towards the creation of this class all over the past two years, if not three. I am beyond happy to finally share it!

What is Skillshare?

Let’s start with Skillshare. Skillshare is a streaming platform for learning… skills! There are a lot of classes about art, but also all sorts of things like video editing, social media strategy or even, cooking classes! Skillshare is like a “Netflix” for learning skills.

If you want to try Skillshare, use this link for a one-month trial of Skillshare.

I’ve been using the platform myself since 2018, as a student. I’ve learned quite a lot and followed many classes from fabulous teachers. Soon to come, I will share a list of favorite classes I’ve followed.

About the class: Playful Color Swatches

A good way to understand your watercolor paints is to swatch them, meaning making a little reference card with the color painted on it so you can really see its hue as a paint, not only what is printed on the tube or pan.

That is the simplest form of swatching: the paint chip. But things can get much more interesting.

Watercolor paint properties

Watercolor paints have many properties that differ from one color to the next, depending on the pigments used and what the paint is made of, for example:

• the range of the hue,
• transparency vs opacity, 
• staining properties, 
• the ability to layer the color,
• the possibility to lift the color,
• how it behaves in water.

I will teach you what these properties mean throughout this class. 

Why learn about paint properties and swatch my colors?

If you want to explore all of your paints’ potential, color swatches can be done in a way to document all these properties. 

But technical swatching of watercolors can become tedious. And I want to show you how to approach these swatches in a playful manner.

The color swatches we will paint together

In this class, we will try many example of color swatches so you can find your favorites:

1. The simple “paintchip” swatch
2. The technical swatch
3. The color chart
4. The palette mixing swatch
5. The chaotic and playful swatch
6. The wavy pattern

In this class, I will show you that there is some space for playing and creativity while learning about your colors. 

You will learn different ways to swatch your colors AND have fun AND create little pieces of art along the way.

The project

The project from this class will be a lovely reference page of swatches for a color palette of your choosing. Like in the example below.

These are a beautiful way to document color palette, play with them and find all the colors you can make while mixing your chosen colors.

Let me know if you have any questions!

This tutorial is a pair with Simone’s tutorial for a folding sketchbook. Go read her version as well!

The 5 minutes folded paper sketchbook

For this version, it is very simple! You simply use folded papers and the cover acts a little like a “folder”, grouping your experiments.

I use this method quite often, when following a Skillshare class, or attending live sessions with other artists. I love this grouping of drawings and paintings. They stay organized and the little book is quite fast to make.

The 5 steps of this technique

• Choose your cover paper. You can choose a blank page you will fill out during the challenge or a piece of art you made in some other context.
• Choose papers you enjoy working with. Cut them to the size of your cover.
• Fold all the sheets in half.
• Measure the cover, thinking about the width of the pages it will contain.
• The top page of the cover will be a little shorter than the other pages. I love this because it gives me the opportunity to write the name of the class/challenge it is dedicated to.

The kraft paper loosely bound sketchbook

These little books are quite quick to make, and they look wonderful. I use Kraft paper to make these, especially the ones from flowers. The almost perfect squares of these make it perfect for this process.

The steps of this technique

• Make sure the edges of the paper are roughly square. Or rectangular, but 4 straight lines help. This makes it easier to do the folds.
• Fold the paper in half.
• And then in half again.
• Keep doing this until you’ve reached the desired size for the sketchbook.

• Poke two holes in the middle with a large needle.
• Pass a thread through the first hole, bring it back in by the other one, and tie a knot with the beginning of the thread. It doesn’t need to be pretty, just to hold the pages together.
• You will need to “make the pages“. With a palette knife, or letter opener, pull apart the papers where the pages should be separate.

• After you’ve done all of the pages, you will have a beautiful tiny sketchbook ready to fill with wonderful marks and experiment.

A few tips

• When you fold the paper, make sure to really press down with a bone folder or a ruler. It really helps with ripping the paper.
• Once your little sketchbook it done, leave it under a heavy book for a couple of days so that the main fold really holds its shape. You can also use a large paper clip.
• When you fold the paper, pay attention to ensure the tops are aligned. After a few folds, this is quite important!

A few words on the May Sketchbook Challenge

This challenge will be held between May 23rd and May 27th over on @ThatCreative.space instagram page, with my lovely friend and partner in art Simone.

In this challenge we will be exploring ways to transform our sketchbook into a safe space where we are allowed to play and experiment in whatever way we like. At the end of this challenge you will have a beautiful book with ideas that you can use as inspiration in your art practice.

During this challenge, we will also have an email companion with more information about the daily prompts. You can sign-up here to get all of the information on the challenge!

More about bookbinding and sketchbook making

The tutorials I shared today are quite simple and quick to make. Perfect for slapping together a quick little book to follow a class or dedicate to an art challenge.

But you can also learn to make amazing sketchbooks of your own through tutorials and a little practice. I’ve put together a list of my favorite bookbinding tutorials over on Pinterest. A few of them are youtube videos tutorials on bookmaking, which I find really useful when understanding stitching.

Je suis Kathryn’s sur instagram depuis un moment. Je crois l’avoir rencontré par son travail sur les encres naturelles à la base, et j’en ai peut-être achetées quelques unes! L’automne dernier, Kathryn a lancé une offre pour tester le concept qu’iel a baptisé “Bad Arty Parties”. J’étais très, très intriguée. Et depuis, j’ai assisté à 7 ou 8 de ces séances, rencontré de merveilleuses personnes, et dessiné, et joué, et fait des collages, et des choses auxquelles je n’aurais jamais pensé à intégrer dans mon processus créatif.

A flipthrough of my Bad Arty Party sketchbook

This winter, I dedicated a sketchbook to these sessions, as I wanted to keep all the explorations in one place and not lose any. So here is a little flipthrough of my sketchbook!

Cet hiver, j’ai dédié un cahier à mes explorations, pour les rassembler et ne pas les perdre! Alors voici un petit tour à travers ces explorations créatives.

What happens during a Bad Arty Party?

First rule of Bad Arty Party, don’t talk about the Bad Arty Party. Just kidding! During these sessions, Kathryn guides us in different quick paced creative exercises. There isn’t enough time to indulge in self-doubt… you need to create and cannot over think.

The sessions this winter/spring had elements themes, which added an interesting twist (yup, I did light my sketchbook on fire and spoiler, it smelled bad!).

La première règle des Bad Arty Party, ne pas parler des Bad Arty Party… C’est une blague!!! Dans ces sessions, Kathryn nous guide à travers divers exercices créatifs, avec un rythme soutenu. Ceci ne laisse pas de temps pour le doute, la critique intérieure. Pas le temps de trop réfléchir, il faut créer.

Les sessions d’hiver/printemps avaient de plus un thème lié aux éléments, ce qui a ajouté un twist intéressant (et oui, j’ai mis le feu à mon carnet… et oui, cela sentait mauvais!).

What the Bad Arty Party brought into my creative life

There are several ways these sessions have played a large role in my creative life these past few months. And I share some of these insights with you here.

Ces séances ont eu beaucoup d’impact dans ma vie créative au cours des derniers mois, et je vous partage ici de quelle façon.

Just enjoy the art parties

First and most important, these are art sessions and that in itself is wonderful. It means you made time for yourself, to play with art stuff, being guided by a wonderful creative soul…. just lean in to it and have fun.

D’abord et avant tout, ce sont des sessions d’art que vous avez pris le temps de mettre à l’agenda et en soi-même, c’est merveilleux. Laissez-vous guider par les instructions de Kathryn, une merveilleuse personne créative.

Realizing I can draw!

Oh these parties brought me so much. For one, I learned I could draw! Yup!!! How? Kathryn guides us into different “without looking” drawing exercises. And these are so interesting…. Even though you don’t look at your sheet, you still end up with something that vaguely ressembles the thing you were going for. And this amazed me. Somehow, it gave the impulsion to add more drawings in my work. It made me remember that with time and concentration, I can actually draw.

Ces séances m’ont apporté beaucoup. Par exemple, j’ai appris que je suis capable de dessiner! Oui! Comment? Kathryn nous guide dans des exercices de dessin “sans regarder”. C’est tout à fait intéressant….. Même si on ne regard pas la feuille, on finit avec un dessin vaguement ressemblant à notre sujet. Et cela m’a impressionné! De façon surprenant, cela m’a donnée une impulsion pour ajouter davantage de dessin dans mon travail. Je crois que ces exercices m’ont rappelé qu’avec du temps et de la concentration, je suis capable de dessiner.

Strengthening my practice of enjoying the process

The biggest take-away of these sessions is learning to enjoy the process of art making. To make some good art at some point, you need to make bad art. A lot of bad art. Good art comes out of being very much into your process, and often, accidents or explorations bring in an unexpected direction and you find something amazing.

Ce que vous retirerez de ces sessions, c’est d’apprendre à aimer le processus de faire de l’art. Pour réussir à faire de bonne réalisations, vous devez malheureusement passer par en faire de mauvaises. Et beaucoup de mauvaises. Les bonnes réalisation ressortent souvent d’explorations, voir même d’accidents qui se produisent lorsqu’on essaie des trucs, qui vont nous amener dans des directions inattendues et boum! On tombe sur un truc merveilleur.

Making bad art, while knowing it will be bad and internationally trying to make it bad really helps you focus on the process part of the art making and forget about the results. And it is easy to start focusing on the process, but then loose sight and get caught up thinking about the result.

And THIS is the magical part of Kathryn’s Bad Arty Parties. Their guidance is key. With the fast paced prompts (gently) thrown at you by Kathryn, you have no time to fall in the trap of overthinking your result. And you focus on the making.

This way, you know what truly focusing on the process feels like, and you can then bring this in your regular art practice. And then you come back for more sessions because, like anything, focusing on the process is something that needs to be practiced.

S’installer pour faire “du mauvais art”, en le faisant intentionnellement, en décidant à l’avance que le résultat sera nul, et bien c’est la recette parfaite pour se concentrer sur ce qui se passe sur le papier et oublie ce que le résultat sera. C’est super facile de s’installer avec cette intention, et puis quelque part en chemin, on oublie et on se met à penser au résultat.

Et c’est LÀ que la magie des ateliers Bad Arty Parties de Kathryn opère. En suivant Kathryn comme guide, qui nous lance (gentiment) des défis à temps limité, il n’y a justement pas le temps de trop réfléchir…. on fait. C’est ce qui prend toute la place dans ces ateliers.

Avec ces ateliers, vous saurez comment on se sent pour se concentrer sur le processus plutôt que le résultat, et vous pourrez plus facilement importer cela dans votre pratique artistique. Et puis vous reviendrez surement, parce que comme bien des choses, cette capacité à ne pas se concentrer sur le résultat doit s’entretenir.

Can/should I attend multiple parties?

The answer to this question is…. a very loud and affirmative YES!!! For one, they are a bunch or fun. And Kathryn works hard to find different angles, themes and prompts for each of their/her parties. But you know what? Even if the prompts were somewhat similar…. you always end up making something different.

La réponse en cours….. OUI!!!! Tellement oui, full enthousiasmé! D’abord, ils sont trop chouettes et on s’amuse bien. Et ensuite, Kathryn travaille très fort pour trouver différents angles, thèmes et défis pour chacun des ateliers. Mais vous savez quoi? Même si certains exercices étaient les mêmes, on finirait par faire un truc différent chaque fois.

To know more about the next sessions

Kathryn is holding next sessions pretty soon. I will most likely see you there!

Kathryn offre de nouvelles dates très bientôt pour d’autres sessions. Elles se déroulent en anglais, mais je crois que vous pourrez trouver cela intéressant si vous avez un niveau de base!

• See Kathryn’s website to see new dates for Bad Arty Parties
• And also do check out Kathryn’s shop for some amazing art pieces and inks

Je voulais partager avec vous un de mes outils préférés en ce moment, les “crayons” aquarellables ArtGraf. Je les utilise super souvent en ce moment parce que j’aime beaucoup les marques différentes que je peux faire avec, et les transformer en effet aquarelle après.

I discovered these pencils a little while back through my insta-friend Cindy (@ckamsterdam), another creative soul who enjoys trying out different mediums and playing. I was hooked on my first try!

J’ai découvert ces crayons il y a quelques temps par le biais de ma copine insta Cindy (@ckamsterdam), une autre âme créative toujours en quête de nouveaux médiums. J’ai aimé dès le premier coup de crayon!

What are ArtGraf Tailor Shape Pencils?

These are watersoluble “pencils”, or pigment blocks. These pencils dont make your hands as messy as using pastels. You might still end up with dirty fingers, but if you manage to keep the pencil dry, you should do ok.

Ces “crayons” sont en fait des blocs, ou des pavés de pigment. En les utilisants, ils ne rendront pas vos mains trop sales, ou du moins, pas aussi sales qu’avec des pastels! C’est un grand avantage, toutefois, veillez à ne pas trop mouiller le bloc.

Also good to know, the ones I have do not rub off the page, except the graphite one. This one would need a sealant to protect it.

Aussi bon à savoir, les couleurs que j’ai testées restent sur la page et n’ont pas besoin d’être fixée à la page comme des pastels…. sauf la couleur graphite. Celle-ci bouge si on la frotte.

On some papers, the mark of the drawing will stay behind. This is a good thing, or a bad thing depending on the effect you are trying to make. But it can be a lovely effect to have the drawing staying behind with a wash of color. But if you don’t like this, you can wet your paper and drop some color on it…. and watch as the pigment travels on the page, it is a little like magic!!!

Sur certains papiers, la marque du dessin restera visible, même après avoir ajouté de l’eau. C’est une bonne ou une mauvaise chose, selon l’effet que vous recherchez. Mais cela peut donner un style très intéressant avec un dessin qui reste, sous une couche de couleur aquarelle. Mais si vous préférez, vous pouvez mouiller le papier et dessiner avec le bloc dessus… et regarder le pigment se promener sur la page. C’est magique!

Swatching ArtGraf pencils

I made a short video while swatching these on a page of a new sketchbook. Don’t mind the missing corner of the sanguine, I dropped it on the floor just before filming this! And youppi!! This is my first YouTube video!

J’ai préparé un court vidéo pendant que j’ai swatché les différentes couleurs dans un nouveau carnet. Ne vous inquiétez pas du coin manquant de mon pavé sanguine, je l’ai fait tombé juste avant de filmer! Et ouiiiiii! C’est mon premier vidéo YouTube!

Examples in landscapes

I had lots of fun using these in a series of landscapes, where I mixed the ArtGraf pencils to make a base layer with oil pastels, then mixed with some watercolors to complete the landscapes. And…. well a touch of gold foil after. The ArtGraf pencils provided for dramatic color and precise application.

J’ai eu beaucoup de plaisir à utiliser les ArtGraf dans cette série de paysages. Ils ont servi dans la première couche avec des pastels à l’huile. J’y ai ensuite mélangé des aquarelles pour compléter les paysages… et une touche de dorure. Les ArtGrad m’ont permis un effect dramatique de couleur et une application précise.

More info

This video from Jackson’s Art supplies, featuring José Émidio, shows a bit more about all you can do with it. Beautiful portraits in this video!

Ce vidéo de Jackson’s Art supplies, montre l’artiste José Émidio utiliser cet outil pour dessiner de merveilleuses choses. De magnifiques portraits prennent vie dans ce vidéo.

Where to buy

I’m sure you can probably find them in you local art supply store…. I’m having trouble locally though. I got the ones I have from Jackson’s Art Supply Store.

I will give you the links directly to the products here, these are affiliate links. I will earn a small commission if you purchase through these links, at no cost to you. If it is your first order from Jackson’s, you will get a 10% discount!

Vous pouvez probablement les trouver dans vos magasins locaux, mais je ne les trouve pas moi-même au Québec. J’ai acheté les miens chez Jackson’s Art Supply Store.

Je vous mets ici les liens directement vers Jacskson’s. Ce sont des liens d’affiliation. Si vous commander par-là, je gagnerai une petite commission, sans aucun coût pour vous. Par ailleurs, s’il s’agit de votre première commande, vous aurez un rabais de 10 %!

Jackson’s links / Liens vers Jackson’s

• ArtGraf products
• ArtGraf Sanguine
• ArtGraf White
• ArtGraf Black Carbon
• ArtGraf Graphite
• ArtGraf Palette of three monochrome colors
• ArtGraf Watersoluble graphite 6B pencil

Today, I bring you a short review of the watercolor papers from Jackson’s Art Supplies. In short, the papers are quite amazing for their price. I truly, truly enjoy them and have ordered more since my first order to try them this fall.

I also have a few brushes I like a lot from Jackson’s, so I added these in here. The order I have placed in January hasn’t reached me yet, but I’ll eventually add info on the new brushes I ordered as soon as I try them.

Finally, I have ordered with five other lovely ladies a sample of all of the artist pigment from Jackson…. so at some point, there will be a review on these as well. But heck, as you all know, I have too many projects going on.

To the reviews!

Aujourd’hui, je vous donne mon opinion sur les papiers aquarelle de Jackson’s Art Supplies. En bref, ils sont super pour le prix. Je les aime vraiment et j’en ai déjà recommandé depuis mon premier essai cet automne.

J’ai aussi quelques pinceaux de Jackson’s, alors je vous laisse mes impressions ici. J’en ai commandé quelques autres, dès que je les reçois et que j’ai l’occasion de les tester, je vais les rajouter ici.

Finalement, avec cinq femmes formidables, j’ai commandé un échantillon de tous les pigments d’artistes de Jackson…. alors à un moment donné, je vous en reparlerai également. Mais bon…. tant de projets!

(toute la traduction n’est pas encore là, mais je l’ajoute, promis)

What is Jackson’s Art supplies?

Jackson’s Art Supplies is a UK-based retailer, with a huge selection of art supplies across many art practices : painting, engraving, drawing… they have so many things! Some I need to order online on Jackson’s art’s website because the are not offered locally (I am in Quebec, Canada).

The few times I personally have had to contact the customer service at Jackson’s, I’ve always found them quite helpful. Despite the time differences and some pressure with added online orders and all, truly, I’m happy.

Jackson’s Art Supplies est un magasin de matériel d’artiste basé au Royaume-Uni avec une sélection impressionnante d’articles pour une multitude de pratiques : la peinture, la gravure, le dessin…. ils ont tellement de choix! Certaines choses, je dois les commander via Jackson’s parce qu’elles ne sont pas offertes localement (je suis au Québec, Canada).

Les quelques fois où j’ai eu affaire avec le service à la clientèle, je les ai toujours trouvés serviables. Et ce, malgré les différences de fuseau horaire et la pression additionnelle des commandes en-ligne. Les délais ne sont évidemment plus ceux “d’avant”, mais cela est très respectable.

affiliate links

MOST of the links in this article are affiliate links, they are identified throughout the post. This means I will earn a small commission on each order, at no extra cost to you. 

However, if you would rather not support me and look for the products without going though my affiliate links, no hard feelings. Just go to the Jackson’s supplies website (no affiliate) and search for the product by name.

However, if you would rather not support me and look for the products without going though my affiliate links, no hard feelings. Just go to the Jackson’s supplies website (no affiliate) and search for the product by name.

10% off your first order at Jackson’s art supplies

If you are a new customer to Jackson’s and order through one of my affiliate links, you will have a one time discount of 10% on your first order!

Si vous êtes un nouveau client chez Jacskon’s, et que vous commandez via un des liens de cet article, vous obtiendrez un rabais de 10 % sur cette première commande.

Jackson’s watercolor papers

Jackson’s watercolor papers are made of tree fibers, and not cotton. However, these papers perform very well. Even with quite a bit of water. I really enjoy using them.

• The texture of the papers is very smooth and soft
• On the cold press and rough papers especially, the water is absorbed and doesn’t stay too long on the paper (a plus for me!)
• On the hot press paper, easy to make several washes of paint, very smooth to add line work
• And most cool of all features : they come in blocks!
• The blocks are offered in so many sizes!!!

Yup. The coolest feature is that they come into blocks. This means that the paper is glued on four sides. There is a small space t the top of the block in which you insert a spatula or some flat tool to detach the page.

The advantage of the sheets being glued like this is that the paper is less prone to bucking when painting on it. No need to tape it down. This is a feature you often see on cotton and high end papers, rarely on cellulose paper (in fact, I can’t think of one).

I’ve been using these papers a lot lately. I really need for the post to bring me my next order though…. ’cause I’m running low!!!

• Jackson’s watercolor paper blocks

Jackson’s synthetic brushes

Jackson’s also carries a wide range of synthetic hair brushes. The Studio synthetic line, and Raven brushes are 100% synthetic hair. Do be mindful that the Icon line is a mix of real sable hair and synthetic hair. If you want to be 100% synthetic, do be careful.

I’ve not done a very very serious testing of these brushes, but I reach for them the most often. Thanks to these relatively abordable brushes, I’ve been able to identify I am most comfortable with the synthetic sable hair brushes, rather than the synthetic squirrel hair brushes. They are more stiff, and better for detailed work.

The two icon brushes (synthetic mix) have been with me for a while and I paint almost daily with them. Their point is still very good and I truly love them.

• Jackson’s Studio line brushes – Synthetic hair
• Jackson’s Synthetic Sable and Synthetic mix sable brushes (at the time of writing this, synthetic hair only on the quills and mottler brushes, mix with natural hair in the others)
• Jackson’s Synthetic squirrel brushes

Also, if you buy brushes online, do look up the the detailed info on the sizes. Jackson’s has nice pictures with a ruler to show the sizes of the brushes.

Look in my picture below, a Raven size 6 (the very large one!) and the icon pointed round size 6 (just about the Quill 4) have little in common in terms of size. And I learned that the hard way! I hadn’t looked at the nice sizing charts….

In conclusion

All the products I tested from the Jackson’s brand, I enjoyed very much. I do not have 20 years of painting in me, but I have painted almost daily for the last 2 years and these brushes have played a very large part in this practice.

If ever your experience with these is different than mine, let me know! I always love to hear all point of views.

Remember that if you are a new customer to Jackson’s and order through one of my affiliate links, you will have a one time discount of 10% on your first order!

Rappelez-vous que si vous êtes un nouveau client chez Jacskon’s, et que vous commandez via un des liens de cet article, vous obtiendrez un rabais de 10 % sur cette première commande.

Voici quelques trucs qui ont croisé ma route ces derniers jours, et que je crois être super intéressants pour vous. Ils rejoignent vraiment l’esprit du Paint Yourself Happy Challenge!

A Josie Lewis Ted talk

You might have already stumbled upon Josie’s art on Instagram, full of rainbowy colors and lots of color being used. She is often accused of wasting paint by very angry haters.

In this TED talk, she compares haters to our inner critic, which I found fascinating. And her explanation of the concept of flow is sooooo insightful. And it might explain a lot in my art journey, currently connecting deeply with my human journey in ways I had not envisoned two years ago.

A beautiful TED talk to watch (though you might get a little emotional watching it… I know I did, so tiny warning!). Thank you so much to my friend @Freubelding for sharing this with us.

Vous probablement déjà croisé les créations de Josie Lewis sur Instagram, pleines de couleurs, de motifs et de bonheur. Elle est souvent accusée par des critiques (cela vient avec le succès!) de gaspiller la peinture, et ces gens sont souvent très en colère!

Dans ce TED talk, (les sous-titres en français sont disponibles!!), elle compare ces “haters” à notre critique intérieur, et j’ai trouvé cela fascinant. Le focus de la conférence est également sur l’état de “flow” qu’on atteint parfois. Et son explication est fascinante. Et explique bien des choses que je vis ces derniers temps.

Un TED talk que je vous recommande chaudement (mais je vous avertis…. vous aurez p’te quelques émotions en le regardant, moi, cela m’est arrivée!). Merci beaucoup à @Freubelding pour la recommandation.

• Josie Lewis Ted Talk – A Grieving artist goes viral finding flow (avec sous-titres en français)

Bad Arty Parties with Kathryn

During Autumn, Kathryn made a trial run of these parties. They are so wonderful. I was a little “worried” at first because, well, zoom with strangers! But every single one of these events was a blast.

Kathryn gives a short meditation a reflection at the beginning of the class then guides us through a few timed exercises that are always so amazing. Like, I had no clue I could draw a portrait! Without looking at my page to top it off!

These short sessions have been such a wonderful moment in my autumn and I’m realizing, looking back, they had a huge impact on making me see the potential in my artistic journey.

She is offering these again starting on February 11th. Will I see you there?

Kathryn offre de super ateliers zoom live. D’inspirantes méditations pour commencer les sessions et ensuite, quelques exercices guidés, parfaits pour explorer et étirer notre zone de confort. Offerts en anglais.

• Bad Arty Parties by @_kathrynjohn (they start on the 11th of February)
• Examples of what I’ve made in the past here and Kathryn’s highlight stories for more info

A free Laura Horn video class

Ahhhhh…. Laura Horn. Laura is always offering great content, whether through her classes, her podcast (latest two episodes on tips for working in skectchbooks!) or her instagram posts.

She is offering a free class starting tomorrow on how to build a library of elements to use in your work. I have to remind myself I decided on my prompt idea for week 2 of the Paint Yourself Happy Challenge back in January, and can’t believe the amazingness of this class releasing during my the week of my prompt!

Often times, I tell people I love Laura’s classes. But in reality, I’ve never actually finished one. They always propel me in new directions with my art, and I chose to follow this direction. For this reason, I consider them, a great investment. I might do a post on these soon if you guys would like to know more about this!

Les cours de Laura Horn sont toujours fabuleux. Chaque fois, les cours m’ont tellement propulsée dans de nouvelles directions et inspirée, que je n’en ai jamais terminé un!! Ils m’ont tellement fait grandir, que je considère tout de même qu’ils valent vraiment la peine.

Laura sot un nouveau cours/challenge video cette semaine, et le thème tombe pile poil avec le thème de ma semaine du défi Paint Yourself Happy.

• Free Creative Elements Challenge – Free video class by Laura Horn

Coucou! Ce billet rassemble les questions fréquemment posées à propos du challenge. Si nous en avons oubliée une, posez-là en commentaires à la fin du post.

Hola! Acqui son les respuestas a las preguntas sobre el desafio. Si hay uno que olvidamos, deje un comentario al final de la publicación.

The FIRST rule of the challenge

Have fun!!! This is not meant to be another item on your to do list. This is more of a challenge to daily make space for a few minutes of self-care. With gentle prompts to guide your explorations to remove the blank page syndrome and make the most out of your 5 minutes.

• 9 tips for long challenges

La première règle du challenge. Ayez du plaisir! On ne veut pas ajouter un autre item sur une to-do list déjà longue. C’est plutôt un challenge pour se créer un espace de quelques minutes dans la journée pour se détendre et prendre soin de soi. Avec quelques idées de défis pour vous guider dans une exploration et retirer la crainte de la page blanche et faire en sorte que vous profitiez à fond de vos 5 minutes

• 9 astuces pour les challenges longs

La regla más importante del reto. Diviértete!! El objetivo de este reto no es añadir una tarea más a tu lista de cosas que hacer. Es un reto para ayudarte a hacer tiempo para tí y pintar cada día, aunque sea durante unos pocos minutos. Propondremos ejercicios tranquilos para guiar tus exploraciones, evitando así el síndrome del folio en blanco y pudiendo aprovechar al máximo tus 5 minutos.

• 9 consejos y trucos para unirse a un desafío de pintura a largo plazo

Do I NEED to post every day?

No. The goal is to paint every day, for a few minutes. To play. To have fun. You may do the exercises without showing any of them if you prefer. The requirement to post daily (stories or posts) is only for the prizes portion of the challenge. If you only post to stories, please make sure to have a story highlight with all of your 28 entries so we can find it quickly!

Dois-je absolument poster tous les jours? Non. L’objectif est de peindre tous les jours, pendant quelques minutes. Pour jouer, s’amuser. Vous pouvez faire les exercices tous les jours sans les montrer si vous préférez. L’exigence de poster tous les jours (en story ou en publication) n’est là que si vous souhaitez être admissible à l’attribution de prix à la fin du challenge. Si vous postez seulement en stories, assurez-vous que vous avez une story à la une qui rassemble vos 28 cérations pour que nous puissions les retrouver rapidement.

Es obligatorio de publicar cada dia? No. El objetivo es pintar todos los días un rato. Para jugar y experimentar. Para divertirse. Puedes hacer los ejercicios sin enseñarlos a nadie si lo prefieres. El requisito de publicar diariamente (en tus historias o posts) es sólo para participar en el concurso y ganar los premios del reto. Si planeas publicarlo únicamente en tus historias, por favor asegúrate de tener un destacado para guardar tus 28 pinturas y que lo podamos encontrar fácilmente!

Is there a time limit/minimum time to creating daily?

No! If you only have 5 minutes, that is perfect. If some days you have two hours, go for it!

Il y a une limite de temps à respecter? Non! Si vous n’avez que 5 minutes, parfait! Si certains jours vous avez deux heures? Allez-y!

Minimum/maximum tiempo para pintar cada dia? No! Tanto si tienes 5 minutos como si tienes 2 horas, a por ello!! 

Do I have to follow all the hosts?

No. We don’t like these sorts of rules. If you like our work, of course we would be happy to welcome you in our communities. If not, it’s ok. You may still participate in the challenge, follow the prompts, share your work while tagging the challenge and hosts if you wish.

Dois-je suivre toutes les organisatrices? Non. Nous n’aimons pas ce genre de règles. Évidemment, si vous aimez notre travail, chacune de nous sera heureuse de vous voir vous joindre à notre communauté. Mais sinon, pas de souci! Vous pouvez tout de même participer au challenge, partagez vos créations tout en tagguant le challenge et les organisatrices.

Es necessario de seguir todas las organizadoras des desafio? No, no nos gustan ese tipo de reglas. Si te gusta nuestro trabajo, por supuesto estaremos felices de darte la bienvenida en nuestras comunidades respectivamente. Si no es el caso, no hay ningún problema. Podéis aún así participar en el reto, seguir los ejercicios propuestos, compartir vuestro trabajo etiquetándonos y añadiendo el hashtag si lo deseas.

What will be the prompts?

Well…. can’t give you this year’s prompts, but you can go to Simone’s profile for last year’s prompts!   She made a guide with the 2020 PYH prompts.

Des exemples des défis? pas ceux de cette année! mais allez faire un tour sur le profil de Simone pour voir les défis de l’an dernier!   Elle a fait un guide instagram avec les défis de 2020.

Ejemplos de ejercicios? no puedo decírtelos! pero puedes ver el perfil de Simone para ver los del año pasado! Ella ha creado una guía recopilando los ejercicios del año pasado.

Only watercolors? What about inks?

The challenge is based on watercolors mainly, but do what makes you happy! And if you stay until the last week….

Juste aquarelle? Encre noire et autres permises? Principalement l’aquarelle, mais tout est permis si cela vous rend heureuse! Et si vous restez jusqu’à la dernière semaine…

Solamente acuarelas, o podemos utilizar tintas u otras? Principalmente acuarelas, pero cualquier medio está permitido si te hace feliz! y si aguantáis hasta la última semana …

Why do we have to wait to have the prompts?

It will be worth it! And remember, the objectif is play, no overthinking and planning to make the best piece possible for each prompt.

Pourquoi attendre pour donner les défis? Cela vaudra la peine! Et rappelez-vous, l’objectif est de jouer, et non pas de trop penser à comment faire la meilleure réalisation possible!

Valdrá la pena la espera!! Y recordad que el objetivo es divertirse y no pensar demasiado en crear la mejor obra de arte para cada ejercicio.

List of 2021 prompts

soon….

bientôt…

pronto…

How it all began

In the beginning of January, I started to explore working with Chinese ink. I’ve always loved inks, but Isa Cienfuegos‘ latest Skillshare class, Lose your fear with ink, really threw me in an exploratory mode.

I have made many many pieces. They are not all completed of course… But this idea of the white pastel to strengthen the white from the paper kept coming back in my head.

So one evening, I finally pulled out an oil pastel Sennelier set I have bought used from an insta friend and experimented…. and fell in love.

Oil pastel added to an ink piece

So my first try was to add white to add contrast to the white of the paper that was left white. I wanted it to pop more. As I added the pastel though, I felt it was too thick, so I started to “smoosh it” into the paper with a piece of cloth.

Oh my…. the magnificent blends. I had read about how beautifully pastels mix together on paper, but I wasn’t exactly prepared for the beauty of it mixed into the ink…. it really makes a beautiful effect. And my test page quickly got a number of colors on it to see what would happen. The colors mix together and can even show over the black ink (tests on the bottom).

But my most favorite thing is the way you can blend the over the black ink. I will try making some galaxies of sorts on some of the pieces I have prepared, because the textures are soooo beautiful.

How to make the blends?

So the technique is pretty simple. You put a bit of the color from the oil pastel on your drawing, then you sort of rub it in the paper until you are satisfied. I love smooth blends, but you could also leave much more texture.

You can also rub the oil pastel in with a little less zeal. And then, you get more of the “oil painting” texture left on the page. It is truly amazing the range of feel you can get from these.

And then yupo and oil pastels

And then, for some inexplicable reason, I wanted to try on Yupo paper. The pieces I prepped for pastel and ink went a little weird though, I’ll have to come back to these.

So I decided to pull out a new sheet of yupo heavy and try a little “drawing”, but leaving all the marks on there and mixing a bit the colors. I was left with an abstract landscape of sorts…. It is soooo cool. And the textures. Wonderful.

Don’t these textures make you want to jump in? I really cant wait to explore these two mediums together.

Materials used in this article

I will receive a commission if you purchase these materials from these links over at Jackson’s Art Supplies, at no extra cost to you. If you are a new customer, you will receive a 10% discount on your first order at Jackson’s by using this link or any of the following.

• Set of 24 creamy oil pastels from Sennelier
• Arches hotpress watercolor paper
• Yupo heavy from the little pads (I order these often, they are such fun pads!)
• Traditional Chinese Ink Ultra Black from Yaustomo (available at Kama Pigments)
• I also made many experiments with this ink on Hahnemuhle Bamboo Mixed media paper, one of my favorite ever paper

affiliate links

MOST of the links in this article are affiliate links, they are identified throughout the post. This means I will earn a small commission on each order, at no extra cost to you. I you are a new customer to Jackson’s and order through one of my affiliate links, you will have a one time discount of 10% on your first order!

However, if you would rather not support me and look for the products without going though my affiliate links, no hard feelings. Just go to the Jackson’s supplies website (no affiliate) and search for the product by name.

favorite products: the samples!!

One of my favorite things to order are the sample packs. Good professional quality paints and papers are expensive. And how much we enjoy different papers and paints often depends on personal preference. Because, yes, Arches paper might be great for a lot of people, but you might not like it.

So instead of splurging for a page or a pack of sheets and being frustrated by the cost if you dont like them, Jackson’s offer a wider array of sample pack you can get for very affordable prices. I order some of those each time I order something over at Jackson’s.

(affiliate link) Various test packs and samples

paper favorites and must trys

12 quarter sheets cold press cotton paper pack

My absolute favorite thing to buy at Jackson’s for paper is (affiliate link) this pack of 12 different artist cold press cotton quarter sheets. In there are 12 quarter sheets (so 11 x 15 inches) of different weights of paper from Arches, Fabriano Artistico, Saunders, Jackson’s and Milford. A great way to have a nice size of paper to try out.

Stonehenge paper pads

I love Stonehenge papers. And I especially love the tiny paper pads. These paper are difficult to find in my local retailers (if you have suggestions, I’d love to hear them!), so I need to order them online. And if using vegan or cruelty-free supplies is important for you, Stonehenge papers are vegan.

(affiliate link) all of the Stonehenge paper pads at Jacksons

Unfortunately, as I am writing this, Stonehenge paper is mostly in “awaiting stock mode”. Hopefully they do come back in stock before the sale is over. Fingers crossed!

The little test pads are an affordable way to test out different papers. Even tough some are not watercolor papers per say, some of the papers such as Lenox cotton and Stonehenge white give amazing results when use with no too much water. They are also totally amazing with technique such as monoprinting.

The tiny pads are available on their own, but also as packs. The tiny packs are a very affordable way to test out the papers, and a very fun way to make small art without worrying about cutting the paper to the exact size you want (I’m not yet equipped with something to make perfect cuts). The only down side is that you are allowed one of each with each order! So personally, I stock up on all of them each time!

quick list of Stonehenge papers I really enjoy (affiliate links):

• Stonehenge Aqua watercolor sample pack with 3 mini pads each of cold press, cold press heavy, hot press and black cold press.
• Stonehenge paper pad sample of 10 with sample pads of the “lighter” artist papers, perfect for drawing or monoprinting or light watercolors (with not too much water).
• Yupo test sample pack of 12 with 4 pads of each yupo papers : translucent, medium and heavy. These are amazing papers to work with liquid mediums and alcohol inks. I’ve had such fun with these!!!
• All of the samples from Stonehenge if you want to take a look at individual pads in sample size (and you can add them to a sample pack too!!!

Hahnemuhle Bamboo multimedia paper

It is Simone who introduced me to this paper in a Patreon post. It is a mixed media paper, but it has a very nice and soft texture and handles water pretty well. It is perfect for swatching and studies. .

• Hanhnemuhle bamboo multimedia block a 265 gsm paper that is also vegan and cruelty free.

I actually made myself a beautiful swatch book with this paper. It is a pretty good budget paper. I would not use it for very wet projects though.

Other papers

Jackson’s has an amazing range of papers, from watercolors to printmaking papers, so many beautiful options. You should be able to find the one for you! Look at (affiliate link) watercolor pads on Jackson’s supplies website.

Until the 11th of Septembre, Jackson’s is have a sale on paper (about 10-15% from the ones I looked at). Go check it out!