We had an absolutely brilliant time making Teacup Collages in the studio last weekend.
I LOVE IT when adults make art with their little people, so I designed a project for all levels of confidence and attention spans.
And the feedback was just wonderful. Very special moments were had while very special art was made.
If you’d like to make this project at home (and I’ve had lots of photos sent to me of successful home sessions too!) here’s the link. It’s only $15!
With a friend and cousin we took a vote and painted the Colourful Cow from my online class, Owl, Cat and Cow.
Now, with ages 7, 8 and two 9 year olds, I would recommend spreading this activity over two or three sessions. They did a fantastic job but it’s a long time to stay still (and it makes for a better result if they are still concentrating!). And see the elbow in the paint above? Yes, best to put the paint palette up next to the water bucket!
We stopped and started the video so all four could keep up (the youngest were the speediest) and I realised that it would be good to also have photos of each stage… so I’ve just added 9 step-by-step photos to the Cow video and will add them to the Owl and the Cat over the weekend.
These were the basic supplies we used. You can get Chromacryl paints from most newsagents in Australia I think. They’re ‘student quality’ acrylics and not too expensive. They did need a bit of water to help them flow though. Oh, and definitely use aprons as acrylics are hard/impossible to get out of clothes.
We also did a few extra lines to practice how to drag the brush along, and when you bend the bristles you get a thicker line… that’s also mentioned in the video.
All in all, they were all very proud to show their paintings to parents, friends and grandparents, and we had something great to show for the effort!
At just $35 for all three painting videos, and all three need only four paints, I hope it’s a fun thing for more parents to try with their kids these holidays, and I encourage you to paint alongside your child to make some real memories!
I know. I hadn’t heard of it either.
But the lovely Ruby Slippers contacted me and asked if I’d be happy to be interviewed on her radio show on 92.9 VOICE FM on 31 January, and mentioned that this national day coincided with the interview.
So I decided it was time to get back into the swing of videos and created a FREE video series painting a FLORAL HEART in watercolour.
So click through and sign up for instant access, and I’ll see you, and your inspired heart, in my online studio.
It’s great therapy. I promise!
It’s been a while between Illustrated Recipes… but that’s not the point.
You see I was watching Nigella before Christmas and she did some very special roast potatoes with this magical ingredient.
OK. Maybe hers wasn’t from Coles.
But I tried them, and oh, they’re good.
I even showed my ‘about to leave home’ son how to make them, in case he needs to make his new housemates like him more… perhaps because he’s spent too long in the shower… stuff like that.
And it’s so easy, but if you’re dealing with kitchen newbies, a picture does help.
So I give you ‘Delish Sweet Potato Wedges‘, and you know what, it works for normal potatoes too.
The steps in photos:
Slice your sweet potatoes into wedges
Lay them out on a tray (or trays) with plenty of space around them
Bring out the magic ingredient
Pour the oil and capsicums from the bottle over your wedges – make sure every wedge gets some oil
At about the 25 minute mark, take out the tray and turn everything over (and add some green beans if you have them) – then put back in the oven for another 25 minutes
Serve in a bowl with some sea salt. Oh my.
And would you believe it? The same magic ingredient works on normal potatoes too.
Chop up your potatoes and microwave under gladwrap for 10 minutes. Then place on tray, pour over magic bottle, bake 25 minutes, turn over and bake for another 25 minutes.
Serve and increase your popularity.
And here’s your downloadable to print out for the kids. You’re welcome 🙂
I hope you’ve had a lovely start to the new year!
I’ve felt a little discombobulated to tell you the truth… I think it’s from trying to take a break, but having a whole bunch of ideas for the new year in my head at the same time… and having the kids at home is wonderful.
One thing I do want to improve this year is my drawing and composition skills, so I have taken on a project that I HOPE will be a little less daunting than a 365 project, called ‘anna fills a book’. It even has its’ own instagram account, so it really is real.
I know this mightn’t come as a huge surprise to many, but I like doing a lot of things at once. Which isn’t really conducive to starting and finishing a sketch book.
And, even since starting this on the first of January, I’ve drawn and painted in 3 different books – I’m still adjusting to having an ‘offsite studio’ I think and things aren’t always where I think they are. So now I already have three books to fill!
The beauty of a book is that it gets to be closed. It doesn’t have to be perfect or hang on a wall. I can experiment with colours, mediums and techniques and I can work on concepts and ideas that might work in future paintings, Paint Alongs or workshops.
The insta account just keeps me accountable and encourages me to paint every day. And if I miss a day or two, that’s ok. I will do my best to catch up. But the goal is to simply fill the book.
If you’d like to join in, just use the hashtag #fillabookwithanna and I’ll see you on Insta.
Here’s cheers to 2017!
We had lots of brand new painters along for Mexichica, and it was terrific to watch so many faces come to life as we built them, feature by feature.
I did save a little bit of time by pre-preparing a ‘flesh tone’ acrylic paint colour. Some Paint Alongers chose to add a little more Yellow Ochre for an olive skin tone, but it was certainly handy to have the bulk of the mixing done.
Here’s a short video detailing what that mix was made of!
