Willowing Arts: Mastering Mixed Media 2026 (Inspired by Lessons 22-31)

I've slowly been working through these 41 lessons to "master mixed media."  Sometimes I'm so pleased with the result... Sometimes I enjoy the process... Sometimes I'm comfortable, and sometimes I'm trying to use some technique or material I've never used before... Sometimes I think the instructor just likes playing with art supplies but doesn't quite have the whole plan together. 

I love it either way.

But... Now, i think it's time to get back to my oil painting.  Yay!

*** (Want to know something???  I sold 19 oil paintings last weekend!  19!!  That's huge! It's so fun to watch a person's face when they spy the painting that "speaks" to them.  It's so interesting to see which painting they pick and hear why they want it for their own.  I hope each one is hanging proudly in its new forever home now.)

(Collage papers, gesso, ink applied through pipettes, colored pencil)
I've learned to trust the process.  When it looks like a complete mess
and waste of paper, paint, and time... just keep going.

(Doodling on dot paper with pen & colored pencil)
I felt like all my cool quilt-creating friends with this one!

(Craft paint, oil pastels)
A weird thing happened with this one.  Because it was "chalky," 
I knew it would smear inside my art journal. 
When I sprayed it with hairspray to affix it, it immediately changed colors.
It was like the hairspray just gobbled up the colors it didn't like. Weird...

(Graphite on watercolor-stained paper, colored pencils)
I'd never have imagined 2 years ago that I could enjoy the process of drawing a face,
but here we are.  Maybe not realistic, but awfully fun.

(Collage book pages & tissue paper, stenciling, gesso, acrylic ink)
I've done several pieces with this particular teacher.  I enjoy her so much. 
A hard part for me is with the layering, I have to cover up things I did and liked.

(Paint smears with big brush, mark making with little brush, embellishment with Posca pens)
I was not excited about this lesson, but I'm thrilled with the end result.
It just started out as three big pages of blobby mess. The doodles brought it to life.
Then cutting the big sheets down gave me the idea to make them into notecards. 
love! Love!! LOVE!!!

(Watercolor pencils, splatter, pen)
i think I needed my paper to be wetter so that my
splatters would have dispersed and faded  better.

(Acrylic inks, run together, splattered, blown through a straw, magazine collage)
The lesson called for using alcohol markers and alcohol drops... I did...
It did not work for me. I scrapped it and started over with other materials.
Although the process didn't work, I like the end result.

(Masking tape, medical tape, alcohol markers, drawing pen, collage paper)
Funny little picture; good lesson on perspective. 
The think I love most about this is that two years ago, I would have said,
"I can't draw a house or cat free hand, I'll need to trace."
Nope, not any more,  I just whip it out! 
Huh... who'd have known that practice makes perfect pretty good!
** Also... I still am not sure why I was to put down random strips of tape before drawing.

(Lace, fabric, photo, stickers, dripped ink, colored pencil, crepe paper)
Yeah... I know... What's this? Kind of just glue everything you can find.
It was a real lesson... she demonstrated for 40 minutes...
So... you be the judge... No... Don't be.