The Acrylic Diva Blog

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Thu, 14 Sep 2017 11:42:00 -0700

THIS BLOG WILL IMMEDIATELY REDIRECT

TO MY WEBSITE

Acrylic Painting Techniques: Surfaces and Grounds for Acrylic Painters Part 1

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 11:09:00 -0700

What's a surface? What's a ground?

What's the difference between a ground and a surface? What is acrylic polymer gesso? Find out in this hangout!
I'll cover three popular grounds made by Golden Artist Colors and provide some information on how to use them. Also included in some good info on paper and canvas.
Be sure to join me every Wednesday at noon PST to get your tough acrylic painting questions answered, learn some of my secrets and get a prize or two!
Have a topic you want me to cover? Send me an email! Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com.
Also join me on ❤︎Creative Flow - every Thursday night on my Acrylic Diva Workshop channel. Join here: http://bit.ly/2o57LI6
DOWNLOAD MY FREE 7 PAGE BOOKLET ON MIXING COLOR. http://www.acrylicdiva.com/free-color-wheel

No part of this video may be reproduced or distributed for any reason without written permission from me. 😎

Composition for Artists - Part 2

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Thu, 3 Aug 2017 08:52:00 -0700

Composition is an important aspect of what we do as artists. In this episode I'll talk about intention; and how to create the type of energy you want in the painting using shape, line and color.

Artists mentioned:
Brice Marden - Cold Mountain Series
Cy Twombly
Philip Guston - The Klansman Series
Elizabeth Murray
Edvard Munch - The Scream
Mary Cassatt

Every Wednesday at noon PST I host a free YouTube hangout all about acrylic painting! You'll also see a host of other topics including; composition, the business of art, tools of the trade and a lot more. Join me here: https://youtu.be/G3cKnF8STXI

Have a topic you want me to cover? Send me an email! Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com.

Also join me on ❤︎Creative Flow - every Thursday night on my Acrylic Diva Workshop channel. Join here: http://bit.ly/2o57LI6

DOWNLOAD MY FREE 7 PAGE BOOKLET ON MIXING COLOR.
http://www.acrylicdiva.com/free-color-wheel

Acrylic painting questions? Catch me on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TesiaBlackburn
Instagram: http://instagram.com/acrylicdiva
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TesiaBlackburnFineArt
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AcrylicDiva/

No part of this video may be reproduced or distributed for any reason without written permission from me. 😎

Composition for Artists - Part 1

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Thu, 27 Jul 2017 18:38:00 -0700

Composition is one of the most important things in creating paintings that work. Join me for info all about focal point, leading lines, contrast, and more! Join me every Wednesday at 12 pm PST for an hour all about acrylic paint. Ask me your tough questions. I'll share a technique or two and maybe even give away a prize! Also join me on ❤︎Creative Flow - every Thursday night on my Acrylic Diva Workshop channel. Join here: http://bit.ly/2o57LI6 DOWNLOAD MY FREE 7 PAGE BOOKLET ON MIXING COLOR. http://www.acrylicdiva.com/free-color-wheel Acrylic painting questions? Catch me on... Twitter: https://twitter.com/TesiaBlackburn Instagram: http://instagram.com/acrylicdiva Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TesiaBlackburnFineArt Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AcrylicDiva/ Artists in this video: Stuart Davis Mark Rothko Tesia Blackburn Artists mentioned in this episode: Ad Reinhardt, Joseph Albers, Helen Frankenthaler, Frank Stella. Also mentioned: "Concerning the Spiritual in Art" by Wassily Kandinsky. http://amzn.to/2ugxj8D (affiliate link) Steve McCurry video on composition: https://youtu.be/9Q8RRB1XpFI No part of this video may be reproduced or distributed for any reason without written permission from me.

Creating A Smooth Blend in Acrylic Paint

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Wed, 19 Jul 2017 18:20:00 -0700

It can be hard to get that seamless blend between two colors. Here are some tips on how to do just that.
Products I mentioned in this episode: Golden Fluids:
Quinacridone Magenta http://bit.ly/2rSkEJp
Phthalo Blue Green Shade: http://bit.ly/2rSPdyn
Hansa Yellow Medium: http://bit.ly/2sBWlMV
Titanium White: http://bit.ly/2rSfv3H
Golden Glazing Liquid: http://bit.ly/2q8PQla

Brushes:
Loew Cornell brown nylon: http://bit.ly/2rSwe6Y
Princeton 1" white nylon: http://bit.ly/2tPteoq

These are affiliate links and I make a very small commission when you purchase through these links. Thank you!

Catch me every Wednesday at noon for a free live hangout! I'll show a technique, answer your acrylic painting questions and give away some paint! Join here

DOWNLOAD MY FREE 7 PAGE BOOKLET ON MIXING COLOR. http://www.acrylicdiva.com/free-color-wheel

Acrylic painting questions? Catch me on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TesiaBlackburn
Instagram: http://instagram.com/acrylicdiva
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TesiaBlackburnFineArt
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AcrylicDiva/

No part of this video may be reproduced or distributed for any reason without written permission from me.

Acrylic Painting Techniques - Color Mixing Basics Part 2

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Wed, 28 Jun 2017 08:19:00 -0700

Check out some more color mixing information!

Catch me every Wednesday at noon for a free live hangout! I'll show a technique, answer your acrylic painting questions and give away some paint! Join here

Products I mentioned in this episode: Golden Fluids:
Quinacridone Magenta http://bit.ly/2rSkEJp
Phthalo Blue Green Shade: http://bit.ly/2rSPdyn
Hansa Yellow Medium: http://bit.ly/2sBWlMV
Titanium White: http://bit.ly/2rSfv3H
Golden Glazing Liquid: http://bit.ly/2q8PQla

These are affiliate links and I make a very small commission when you purchase through these links. Thank you!

DOWNLOAD MY FREE 7 PAGE BOOKLET ON MIXING COLOR. http://www.acrylicdiva.com/free-color-wheel

Acrylic painting questions? Catch me on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TesiaBlackburn
Instagram: http://instagram.com/acrylicdiva
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TesiaBlackburnFineArt
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AcrylicDiva/

No part of this video may be reproduced or distributed for any reason without written permission from me.

Acrylic Painting Techniques - Color Mixing Basics Part 1

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Wed, 17 May 2017 18:48:00 -0700

Think you need lots of paint to create color? Think again. I'll show you how to make an astonishing array of colors with just three mixing primaries. Watch this!

Join me every Wednesday at noon PST for an hour all about acrylic paint. Ask me your tough questions. I'll share a technique or two and maybe even give away a prize!
Subscribe to my YouTube channel here: http://bit.ly/2pYT2jN

Also join me on ❤︎Creative Flow - every Thursday night on my Acrylic Diva Workshop channel. Join here: http://bit.ly/2o57LI6

Products I mentioned in this episode:
Golden Fluids: http://bit.ly/GoldenFluidsSet
Golden Glazing Liquid: http://bit.ly/2q8PQla
Golden Heavy Body: http://bit.ly/HeavyBod

I receive a small commission when you order using the links above. Thank you!

DOWNLOAD MY FREE 7 PAGE BOOKLET ON MIXING COLOR. http://www.acrylicdiva.com/free-color-wheel

Acrylic painting questions? Catch me on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TesiaBlackburn
Instagram: http://instagram.com/acrylicdiva
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TesiaBlackburnFineArt
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AcrylicDiva/

No part of this video may be reproduced or distributed for any reason without written permission from me.

Acrylic Paint - Thick and Thin

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Wed, 10 May 2017 09:54:00 -0700

Here's a look at the different viscosities of Golden acrylic paint and how to use them

Join me for a live hangout every week Wednesday at 4 pm PST on my YouTube Channel here: YouTube Live

❤︎Creative Flow is a blissful hour of music and art class every Thursday night on YouTube.

Be sure to get on the mailing list to get updates! http://eepurl.com/cKr1cv

DOWNLOAD MY FREE 7 PAGE BOOKLET ON MIXING COLOR. http://www.acrylicdiva.com/free-color-wheel

All About Gels! Acrylic Painting Tips

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Wed, 3 May 2017 17:16:00 -0700

All about gels. An overview of some of the more common uses for acrylic gels.

Join me for a live hangout every week Wednesday at 4 pm PST on my YouTube Channel here: YouTube Live

❤︎Creative Flow is a blissful hour of music and art class every Thursday night on YouTube.

Be sure to get on the mailing list to get updates! http://eepurl.com/cKr1cv

DOWNLOAD MY FREE 7 PAGE BOOKLET ON MIXING COLOR. http://www.acrylicdiva.com/free-color-wheel

Get Golden A to Z set http://bit.ly/GoldenAtoZlarge
Golden Fluid set http://bit.ly/GoldenFluidsSet

I receive a small commission when you order using the links above. Thank you!

Acrylic painting questions? Catch me on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TesiaBlackburn
Instagram: http://instagram.com/acrylicdiva
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TesiaBlackburnFineArt
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AcrylicDiva/

How to Extend Your Acrylic Paint with Gel - and save money!

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Wed, 26 Apr 2017 17:16:00 -0700

Stretch Your Acrylic Paint with a Gel Extension and save money!

Join me for a live hangout every week Wednesday at 4 pm PST on my YouTube Channel here: YouTube Live

❤︎Creative Flow is a blissful hour of music and art class every Thursday night on YouTube.

Be sure to get on the mailing list to get updates! http://eepurl.com/cKr1cv

DOWNLOAD MY FREE 7 PAGE BOOKLET ON MIXING COLOR. http://www.acrylicdiva.com/free-color-wheel

Get Golden A to Z set http://bit.ly/GoldenAtoZlarge
Golden Fluid set http://bit.ly/GoldenFluidsSet

I receive a small commission when you order using the links above. Thank you!

Acrylic painting questions? Catch me on...

Twitter: https://twitter.com/TesiaBlackburn
Instagram: http://instagram.com/acrylicdiva
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TesiaBlackburnFineArt
Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/AcrylicDiva/

Paint Like Monet

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Sun, 5 Mar 2017 10:44:00 -0800

One of my students asked me to show her how to paint like Monet. Now if you know me or my work, you know that I am an abstract painter. But did you know I was classically trained? Yep. Tiny brushes, oil paint, shading, chirascuro and all that cool Renaissance style painting. So I went back into my bag of tricks and made an introductory video on Impressionist style painting. Below is just a teaser to the full 20 minute video. For the complete video, check it out in my online school. It's a FREE class. Yep, I said FREE! It felt great to get back to my "roots" so to speak. Look for a full course on this topic later this year.

Shoot Great Photos of your Artwork!

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Tue, 21 Feb 2017 05:00:00 -0800

TIPS FOR SHOOTING YOUR ARTWORK WITH YOUR IPHONE

Place the artwork near a window on a sunny day to get even lighting.

For quick reference shots, using your smartphone can be just the ticket. For archival images and professional reproductions of my artwork, I always use a qualified photographer. But for simple things like blog posts, social media posts or just to send an image to someone via email, smartphone shots can do the job.

Choose a neutral background

I will sometimes shoot an image on my living room carpet. It’s a neutral off-white background and I shoot from above, if the image is small enough. Easy to crop out the carpet from the photograph.

Shot from overhead using an iPhone 6 (no filters or added lens).

Square up your image

Most smartphone cameras come with a grid for squaring up the image. Use it! If you have a really hard time squaring up the image, get at least one side of your painting lined up flush with a gridline. You can then crop it to square in the resulting photograph.

Light and Shadow

I’ve found natural light to work the best. Often I will shoot an image inside, in my living room with the image lying flat under the window. This results in less glare and more even lighting. The best times to shoot in natural light are between 10 am and 2 pm. The sun is the highest in the sky and won’t put a warm sunset/sunrise glow on your painting.

If you are shooting outside, pick a sunny day and put the painting in the shade. The bounce light from the bright sun will bathe the painting in even light and result in a relatively glare-free photograph.

Editing

Most smartphones now have editing capabilities that are on par with software online but if you want to edit further these are good options.

Picmonkey - free and pretty good online editor.
Photoshop - of course the best, paid app.

After cropping the above image.

Read an entire article here on photo editors.

Resizing your photos

Don’t want to bother with how many pixels per inch or DPI? Just resize your image online. There are plenty of places online you can resize your photos.

Take reasonably good pictures and learn to edit them yourself. You’ll save yourself time and money!

It's not plagiarism. It's called "teaching".

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:54:00 -0800

Tesia Blackburn
"Untitled"
Acrylic on Paper

Recently I stumbled across a blog post by a printmaker who was pretty angry about one of her students working in a similar fashion to the way she worked. She refers to students making copies of "her" work using the techniques she uses. Now mind you, this is after she taught them to do it. The students paid her for her expertise and she agreed to teach them how to make prints, in the same way she makes prints. This is printmaking, not painting. In printmaking the processes go back hundreds, if not thousands of years. Granted, you can use fancy materials or innovative cutting techniques. Maybe even come up with a cool new way to etch without using toxic chemicals (see Keith Howard's innovative techniques for non-toxic etching). But the bottom line is, you are working on some sort of "plate" (whether you are cutting it, etching it, painting it) and transferring the image to some sort of surface like paper, cloth, aluminum, plastic and so on.

Pretty basic concept, right? Why is this printmaker going on about being "plagiarized"? Is it because the students used the same color of ink? Maybe the images are similar? I'm not sure I entirely understand the problem.

Medieval Guilds

Students emulating their masters is a long and honored tradition. In the Middle Ages, students or apprentices, would work in a guild under the knowledgable eye of the master, gaining skill and experience with their craft. It took many years to become a master and not until the apprentice could recreate the master's work perfectly, would they be allowed to move into that honored role. So we now have works "from the school of..." in museums. Remember in the Middle Ages, artisans were mostly anonymous. There were no big artist egos...yet.

Fast forward to the Renaissance and the Artist with a capital "A" is born. Michelangelo, Leonardo, Caravaggio - we refer to them with one name - like rock stars. And indeed, they were the rock stars of their time. Stories even refer to Leonardo wearing purple tights. Sounds like Mick Jagger to me.

At any rate, I'm still wondering why the above-mentioned printmaker was so upset. As a teacher for many, many years I've seen lots of students copy my work. Some of them have even become fairly successful at selling work that resembles mine from a particular period in my career. I can pick up just about any big glossy art magazine, turn to a given page on a "famous" artist, and find a painting that resembles something one of my students had done. In fact, I recently gave a "blind test" to my advanced painting students. I put two paintings side by side and asked which one was the million dollar painting and which was the one selling online for four hundred bucks. About half of the class got it wrong. They simply couldn't tell the difference between an art superstar and a regular working artist.

I love teaching. I love interacting with the students and watching them grow. I love how it impacts my own work - keeps me on my toes technically. I love it when my students are successful and have shows and send me flowers to thank me for helping them. It brings tears to my eyes when I see the light go on for a new student. That a ha! moment when they really get it.

So what's the moral of this story? I'm not sure. But maybe, just maybe, if you are a teacher and you don't want people to copy your work then perhaps you shouldn't teach them how to do it.

By the way, that image up there? That's one of my paintings. Why don't you make a copy of it?

Don't teach people to do what you do if you don't want them to do it.

Create a Gallery Wall in Your Studio

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Wed, 7 Sep 2016 09:07:00 -0700

One of the hottest trends in home decor right now is the "gallery wall." What's a gallery wall? It's a collection of prints and paintings all hung on the same wall to create a "gallery" look. Think of the old salon style way of hanging art and you'll get the idea. I remember seeing pictures of Gertrude Stein's home in Paris with the typical nineteenth century salon style gallery wall. Yeah, a few Picassos and a couple of Matisses will do nicely, thank you.

Many years ago I sold a framed pastel painting to a wonderful collector here in San Francisco. He asked me to deliver the piece to his home the following day. I arrived at his home at the top of Twin Peaks and entered the expansive living room filled with light from the huge windows overlooking San Francisco Bay. On the largest wall in the room there was a gallery wall collection of framed pieces by artists the like of Lichtenstein, Hockney, Picasso and Thiebaud. A framed Picasso print was resting on the floor, leaving a blank spot on the wall. The collector looked at me and said, "I thought this would be a good spot for your piece, what do you think?" "Oh, yes, that's perfect," I stammered, looking at the Picasso print that my work had just upstaged. Take that Pablo!

My beloved dog, Soxx, in the studio circa 2014.

I often set up a gallery wall in my studio for visits from art consultants, potential buyers and during Open Studio sales. It can greatly enhance the way your work is seen and in fact, can generate sales. Framing and presentation of the work is often seen by the artist as the sole responsibility of the buyer. You could be missing out on sales by overlooking presentation.

Gallery style wall for a visiting art consultant.

At the left is a typical gallery wall setup that I use for a visiting art consultant. There's a school of thought that says you should not offer the buyer more than three choices. I don't think that's the case with wholesale buyers and art consultants fall into that category. That idea may be true for the single-purchase buyer, but in my experience, a gallery wall presentation works great for art consultants.

By the way, I sold six paintings that day.

And let's not forget online presentation. So many artists are selling online it's difficult to stand out in the crowd. You can take advantage of presentation and staging to sell work online too. Check out one of my typical online listings here. You'll see that I show the work installed in a typical home setting. I use Adobe Stock Images to create images for presentation.

Whether it's a gallery wall or a stock photo, use every tool available to present your work in the best fashion. After all, the work deserves it, right?

My Top Three Rules for Abstract Painting

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Fri, 26 Aug 2016 11:42:00 -0700

"Lovers on the Sun" Tesia Blackburn 2016
36" x 54" Acrylic on Canvas

When I'm painting, I have one goal in mind - to create an experience for the viewer. By the way, the viewer is me first and everyone else second. I'm basically painting to make myself happy. If everyone else likes it, cool, but my first goal is to paint for myself. So before I ever start a painting, I decide what my intention is - what I want the painting to "say." Now this may seem like so much new age gobbly gook but it's not. It's an actual, action-oriented way of painting that narrows down my focus so I don't get distracted. I stay focused, the painting stays focused and I can accomplish something.

I often hear students stay, when I ask them why they did something in the painting "I don't know, it just happened." This really irritates me. First of all, unless you have magic painting fairies in your pocket YOU painted this. Take responsibility for it. Take responsibility for the good and the bad. It's your painting. You did it.

So the first rule is - own it.

Next, even if you are a beginner, have a point of view. Be able to answer the question, "what do I want the painting to say?" Can you describe the feeling you want to create in one or two words? No? Then you will have a heck of a time getting anywhere because you will have no focus. Do you want an energetic painting? Somber? Funny? All of these words are descriptive and there are hard and fast design rules about what is and isn't funny, or moody, or heavenly. Look at El Greco. Are his paintings funny? No. Why not? Explain a painting or two to yourself using words like color, shape and texture and you will soon see that you know the answer. (Hint: it has a lot to do with dark colors). Look at Mark Rothko. Are his paintings moody? Why or why not? Spend some time with artists you like and want to emulate. Reverse engineer their paintings in your head. You'll soon discover that you know what you want in a painting. Start with a particular point of view and paint a few paintings with that in mind. You can always move on later to anther topic. But at first, one topic will do.

So the second rule is - have a point of view.

And that brings me to my third and probably most important rule. Keep it simple. I am continually amazed by the plethora of ideas that artists bring to class. One good idea will keep you working for years. Look at Sean Scully. One great idea, hundreds of great paintings. Or Joan Mitchell. Laser focus. One great idea. Many, many great paintings. It may take some time to find your one great idea, but hang in there. Try out a few ideas, but don't get crazy! Stay focused and give yourself some limits. Of course you can paint one thing one day and something else the next day, but you'll never know the joy of digging deep into a topic, an idea, and creating a relationship with an idea that will last for years. It's like a great love affair. The longer you are with that one person, the greater the love becomes.

The third rule? - Keep it simple.

So those are the three big ones for me. What's your take on it?

StencilGirl Stencil Resist

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Thu, 4 Aug 2016 12:25:00 -0700

I'm guest posting over on StencilGirl Talk today. Here's the video in case you missed it. Enjoy!

The True Story of How to Clean Your Acrylic Paint Brushes

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Wed, 6 Jul 2016 12:24:00 -0700

There's a lot of information out there on the Internet highway, some good, some bad, some so-so. But I don't recall ever seeing The True Story of How to Clean Your Acrylic Paint Brushes. I thought I'd relay it here and put to rest some of the rumors around this ancient myth.

First my pet peeve is the rumor that you should clean your paintbrushes in the palm of your hand. What? NEVER CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND! Why? Because you are embedding pigment into your skin. Duh. I see this over and over again. Please don't do this. I believe there was an entire tribe of Ancient Artists who lost the ability to sing falsetto because they intentionally cleaned their paintbrushes in the palm of their hands. But this could be another false rumor.

It is a well known fact that cleaning your paintbrushes under running water will send the Muse screaming from your studio for at least two weeks. She's really fussy about this one. So beware! NEVER CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES UNDER RUNNING WATER! Why again? Because you are sending paint solids down the drain. Bad for the fishies, bad for your plumbing.

So, how should you clean your brushes? Read on my darlings. This is ancient knowledge, handed down over the generations. Guard it carefully!

First of all, regard your paintbrushes as the friends and helpers that they are. They are kind and willing to work for you, don't abuse them! Don't beat them up! What did they ever do to you except help you make fabulous art? Love them and they will serve you well. Until you leave the studio and then they use up all of your cell data and order pizza. But I digress....

Okay, but really....

Number one: Don't let acrylic paint dry on your brush. If you do, kiss the brush goodbye and make a sculpture with it. And feel really, really guilty about killing a paintbrush. They scream you know.

Next, put aside the time to clean your brushes when you paint. Don't just stand them in the water and haul ass out of the door to meet someone at Starbuck's. When you come back your paintbrushes will be a limp, soggy shadow of their former selves and perhaps will be going bald (losing bristles). The bristles of the brush will wick up the water into the ferrule (that metal thingie that holds the bristles in place) and loosen the glue that is also holding the bristles. Then the paintbrush will lose its hair. Really embarrassing for a paintbrush. Don't put them through this. Their paintbrush friends will point and laugh.

Proper cleaning of your paintbrush:
1. Wipe off all of the paint solids possible from the brush. Use old telephone books (do they still make those?) paper towels, old rags, whatever. Don't be lazy, really get all of the paint off of the brush. No, that's not enough, do it again.

2. Next, rinse the brush in a BUCKET of water. We will refer to this as Bucket #2. You may want to write this down. You have to keep track of your buckets, you know. You will have two to three buckets of water so get prepared.

3. Now get a bar of artist's soap like The Masters Hand Soap-4.5 Ounces and rub the brush across that a couple of times. The brush really loves this! If you listen closely you can hear the brush giggle when you do this.

4. Now swish the brush back in the water (Bucket #2) a few times. LOL, swish.

5. Back across the soap. Swish again. Brushes love to swish. They're natural born swishers. It comes from being bunched up in that old peanut butter jar on the studio table. Once they get outta there they swish like crazy!

6. The brush should be fairly clean now. You can examine it with your fingers, but be polite!

7. Now gently lay your brush down on a clean paper towel or bath towel. Perhaps one with the brush's name embroidered on it. Never leave your damp brushes standing upright to dry. It really wrecks their hair! And again, they could lose bristles from the water going down into the ferrule and loosening the glue. It's a lotta work being a paintbrush!

8. Put aside Bucket #2. It may be slightly soapy. That's okay. Use it the next time you clean your brushes. Once it gets all gunky with paint, pour it off into Bucket #3 that will be reserved for "dirty water". Let this water evaporate. Yes it will take days to evaporate, maybe weeks. But you don't have to stand there and watch it! Go paint something! When the water is all gone, wipe up the sludge that is left behind and put it in the trash.

9. No paint down the sink and no fishies turning Quinacridone Magenta!

10. Keep a bucket of clean water as your first brush "dunking" station. This is Bucket #1.

11. Once Bucket #1 gets too dirty, pour it into Bucket #3 the dreaded "dirty water" bucket. Don't wash your brushes in there! It's for pouroff only! Stories abound among the older brushes about young brushes that mistakenly fell into Bucket #3, never to be seen again. Then came time to clean out the sludge. And there, laying in the bottom of Bucket #3, the young, foolish, brush - bristles all gunky, paint chipped off the handle, name no longer readable. Oh the horror!

So Bucket #1 becomes Bucket #2 and Bucket #2 goes into Bucket #3. And then Bucket #2 becomes Bucket #1 - follow? No? Well find an old paintbrush that knows the ropes and have it show you the way.

That's the story the way I heard it. But granted, it was an Ancient Paintbrush that related this tale to me. She had a bit of Matte Medium stuck to her so her memory could have been cloudy. That paintbrush has passed on into the other world, where paintbrushes are always young and clean.

Sometimes, when I'm leaving the studio, after I turn out the lights, I stop at the door and listen. I can hear the brushes singing their Ancient song, summoning the Muse to my studio for the next day.

They can only sing when they're clean you know.

Bridget Riley at John Berggruen

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Fri, 29 Apr 2016 08:40:00 -0700

Bridget Riley at John Berggruen .

One of my favorite artists. I can't wait to see this show!

"Bridget Riley (b. 1931) is one of the foremost exponents of Op Art, a style that plays with human perception to produce optically illusionistic works of art. The English painter studied art at Goldsmiths College (1949-1952) and at the Royal College of Art (1952-1955). Her early work was executed in a semi-Impressionist manner, in the late 1950s, she adopted a pointillist technique. A 1958 exhibition of Jackson Pollock’s work at Whitechapel Gallery had a major impact on the young artist, but it wasn’t until the early 1960s that Riley began to develop her signature Op Art style consisting of black and white illusionistic patterns. She explored the dynamism of sight through her art, often producing a disorienting perceptual effect and deceiving the viewer’s eye. Riley began incorporating her characteristic bold, vivid colors in her work from the late 1960s onwards. The celebrated artist has been honored with the Sikkens Prize (2012), Rubens Prize (2012), Praeminum Imperiale for Painting (2003), and the International Prize at the 1969 Venice Biennale, among numerous others. Riley’s works have been highlighted in solo exhibitions around the world, including at the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago (2014); Stadtische Galerie, Schwenningen (2013); and National Gallery, London (2010).

Chuck Close is my hero.

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Mon, 18 Apr 2016 05:00:00 -0700

Whenever I start feeling sorry for myself, like I've had a hard day, or I'm tired but I can't stop working yet, I think of Chuck Close. He's an amazing artist that has been through a very challenging event in this life.

In 1988 at the so-called height of his career, Close suffered a spinal cord aneurysm that has left him wheelchair bound, a paraplegic. Add to that the fact that he suffers from prosopagnosia. Sometimes known as “face blindness”, prosopagnosia is a disorder where the ability to recognize faces is impaired. The pre-eminent portrait artist in America, or perhaps the world, cannot recognize people's faces.

Ironic isn't it?

So whenever I start to feel sorry for myself. I think of Chuck Close. Working hard, every day, staying true to his own vision and creating art while surmounting not tremendous obstacles.

Check out the Chuck Close page on Artsy for some great information.

Here's a documentary worth watching.

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Fri, 15 Apr 2016 12:02:00 -0700

Here's a short video on using Google Image Search. I think it's a spectacular tool that all artists should take advantage of!

The 20 Minute Artist and Tracey Emin

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Mon, 4 Apr 2016 05:00:00 -0700

I came across a video the other day on Youtube entitled "What Do Artists Do All Day?" It's fascinating because it gives a glimpse inside a high profile artist's typical day. And, as I've known for some time, it's not all about painting.

So we see Tracey in her four story studio in London, painting, meeting with studio assistants, accountants and so on. We see her putting up a show, eating lunch, and a myriad of other activities. What we don't see is several hours of her painting or drawing. Of course not. It takes a lot more than painting and drawing to run a studio.

My point here is that the creative part of making art is not one long, uninterrupted span of several hours. It happens in the spaces in between.

You can have a meaningful relationship to making art in twenty minutes a day.

I want to show you how.

Oh..and my master plan? Turn everyone into an artist and take over the world.

Are you with me?

Sign up for information at The 20 Minute Artist.

Taking a break is okay

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Mon, 23 Nov 2015 05:49:00 -0800

Me and my best pal, Soxx the Wonder Dog

THIS POST WAS ORIGINALLY WRITTEN ON November 23, 2015 and never posted. I could not bring myself to make it public. But time has passed and I can read it now without tears.

If you follow me on social media, you will know that about seven or eight weeks ago my beloved dog, Soxx, died. After 15 years of fuzzy warm companionship, there is a huge, gaping void. Where once there was a wet nose and furry ears, there is emptiness.

I can't paint. I don't even want to go to the studio.

It's true, Soxx wasn't with me much the last year at the studio because he couldn't get up the stairs. But his water dish and bed are still at the studio. His furry little puff balls of hair are still peeking out from under the tables now and then.

Every time I get in the car, I inadvertently look for him laying on his big dog bed, waiting for me to start the car so we can go on another adventure.

I can't bear to take his traveling dog bed out of my car.

It's okay for me to take a break from the studio. No matter what the muse is asking me to do, no matter what I am "supposed" to do as an artist. I'm taking a break. I'm mourning the loss of my dear friend and companion.

I'm writing this post as much to myself as to you. Allow yourself the time you need, when you need it.

Maybe there's a new baby in the family and you want to go for a visit - every day for a week. Go ahead!

Or perhaps you want to catch up on your reading and spend the next week in a big comfy chair with a good book. Fine by me!

My point here is that taking a break is okay. Get back to work when you're ready - but do get back to work eventually.

The flow of creativity has no beginning and no end.

I don't believe in artists' blocks.

I just believe in taking breaks to honor my friend.

Permission To Be Passionate - Teaching in The Atelier Method

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Mon, 9 Nov 2015 05:00:00 -0800

"The virtue of an atelier school is its complete authenticity, its appropriateness to the purpose it serves. There is no compromise. For the study of art, it provides an artist’s domain and involves the focus on work which is an artist’s way of life. " I recently ran across this article on Frank Hobb's blog and found it amazingly readable and worthy.

I'm sure my thoughts will be a pale comparison to what Mercedes said but here goes.


One of my painting trips with students to Ghost Ranch in New Mexico

Teaching for me, as an artist, is about learning. I learn from my students as much as I impart to them, maybe more. It also keeps me on my game in my own work. After all, how can I blather on about composition in front of my students if I'm not thinking about it in my own work?

Secondly, or maybe firstly, many of my students are people who are coming to art after another career or in conjunction with another career. There is a certain stigma attached to being "of a certain age" and starting an art career, especially at an art school. If you are amongst a group of 20-30 year olds, it can start to feel like you're out of the loop and can hamper your joy with making art. Let's face it, we all want to belong to the group, right?

But what if you are really passionate, longing, craving to make art? You have a full time job or maybe some kids still at home. Where will you find the time? How can you make "real" art if you don't have an art degree?

You just start. Twenty minutes here, thirty minutes there. I wrote an entire book about it.

Many of my students, most in fact, don't have art degrees and make beautiful, moving, authentic work. They have shows and sell their paintings. They take classes with me, either in the studio or online. They come every week, sometimes for years. They want to know color, shape, texture, paint chemistry and much more.

And I can help them. Do you have any idea how good that feels? It's the highest high. It literally makes my eyes fill up with emotion. When a student sees the painting come together and gets that immense feeling of satisfaction, I get to witness it! That's my job!?!

In small studio classes, in the old "atelier" method - outside of the mainstream of academia, I teach people to paint.

But what I'm really doing is giving them permission to be passionate.

Make Cool Paintings with Clear Tar Gel!

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Mon, 2 Nov 2015 05:00:00 -0800

In this short video, I'll give you an overview of how to create a really nifty surface with Clear Tar Gel from Golden. Wahooo!!!

Saying Goodbye to a Beloved Friend

Tesia@AcrylicDiva.com (Tesia Blackburn) — Sun, 25 Oct 2015 12:59:00 -0700


Sweet Angel Soxx RIP October 4, 2015

I can write this blog post now. It's been almost a month since my darling boy, Soxx the Wonderdog, left us. I cried again last night. I'll cry again tonight. I'll keep crying until I don't cry whenever his face comes across my mind. I don't know when that will be.

Soxx was my dog for 15 glorious years. We went everywhere together. He was my muse at the studio and my companion on car trips. He was the star of many, many Facebook posts and had a band of followers.

He started slowing down about a year ago. He'd had a bout of cancer about three years ago and went through chemo and radiation. It was horrible but he seemed to come through it relatively well. But in the past six months he had been losing traction in his back legs. We started him on water therapy and that seemed to help a little.

A pretty serious family medical situation intervened and we had to stop water therapy.

Circa 2009 being silly.

Through all of this I continued teaching and had to be gone from home for ten days.

The night I came home, Soxx did not get up to greet me. My heart sank. We valiantly hoisted him up to go outside. He promptly fell onto the ground. I called my son who has been a vet tech for 15 years. He told me what I knew was true. It was time. Soxx had just waited for me to get home so he could say goodbye.

I made the hardest phone call I've ever made.

2013 Finished Chemo!

Surrounded by love, at home with his favorite toys, Soxx left us two days later.

I now know that it is possible to live with a broken heart.

Soxx taught me something very important. He taught me the meaning of living in the present. Dogs don't know time like we do. Every time I went out the door without him, he looked at me with an expression of bewilderment. When would I be home? What if I never came home? He always looked a little worried when I left the house. I made sure to pat his head and tell him what time I'd be home. "Well, okay," he'd say. "But just this once." At least that's what I heard in my head.

And when I came home? Oh my gosh. He kissed me, he wagged his stubby tail, he circled me and sniffed me and pawed at my purse. "Where ya been? Who'd ya see? Tell me all about it. You are the center of my world, Mom, and I've been waiting all day just to see your face." He would follow me from room to room while I unloaded the groceries, changed clothes, made dinner.

Have you ever received that kind of unwavering attention at the end of a long day? It's like manna from heaven. It heals the soul.

So I would tell him about my day. How much I missed him now that he couldn't climb the stairs to the studio anymore. How hard it was to be in the studio all day without his friendly, fuzzy face next to me.

I started going to the studio less often. Yes, the work suffered but who cares? I wanted to be with my pal, my buddy, my best friend.

He never expected anything from me. He was well fed and loved dearly but every time I fed him he looked overjoyed, as if it was completely unexpected. Wow! That's for me? He was delighted every time. He never pushed his food away and acted uninterested. It was the same thing day in and day out, but he was excited about it nonetheless.

I wish more people were like dogs.

Can't you imagine it? If every time you saw someone, stranger or friend, you ran up to them and greeted them with a big hug and kiss? Okay, okay, we can skip the sniffing the butt part - but seriously, what if we all just greeted each other like we were dogs? Excited, friendly, interested? I know there are some mean dogs out there, and they don't greet nicely, but I don't think that's the dogs' fault. Don't get me started on that.

At any rate, I'm going to try to be more dog-like from now on. I may not run up to strangers and hug and kiss them, but I am definitely going to try to be more present in the here and now.

Soxx the Wonderdog Christmas 2014

And more focused on the people I'm with, right here, right now. Not texting, not surfing the Internet, not pretending to listen just so I can talk next. I'm working on being laser beam focused. "What did you do today? Who did you see? What's on your mind?"

I'm going to try to live in "dog time."

And for a little while longer, I'm going to cry.