Acrylic grounds for mixed media

It's really easy for me to fall in love with materials. These past few years I've been dating acrylics. First, it was Tri-Art's gorgeous Artist Acrylic colours that won me over, then their innovative recycled paint Sludge...then I fell madly in love with Dry Media Ground, and now I just can't get enough of Nepheline Gels (the following artwork is graphite, charcoal and pastel on Nepheline Gel Coarse, and it's published in the New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook: Materials, Techniques, and Contemporary Applications for Today's Artist mixed media chapter). Just as I'm known for charcoal, acrylics have now become synonymous with my mixed media works, blurring the line between drawing and painting. Acrylic grounds allow me to create a textured surface that is very exciting and different than just working on common surfaces. And just like paper, I can soften dry media (graphite, charcoal, pastel) to a velvet finish with a brush, and also leave crisp edges, intense with colour or value.

Dry Media Ground is simply perfect, and will always be my true love! When you apply it to a surface, the result is like a very fine sandpaper. If you have ever used a pastel paper or board, that's what I'm talking about - it's the same thing, only it's much more cost effective to buy the Dry Media Ground in a jar and then you can create your own surfaces the way you want them. You can add colour to it or even apply it on top of layers of acrylic paint, creating a new surface of possibilities! On the other hand, Nepheline Gels have a unique granular texture and appearance. It's available in a fine (which is not as fine as dry media ground), a coarse and extra coarse. Just like Dry Media Ground, Nepheline Gel can be mixed with colour or used on it's own, glazed over top of and anything else you can think of....and it's a brilliant surface for graphite, charcoal, pastel and other drawing materials.

Gesso is a common ground for sealing surfaces for painting preparation. I love drawing on Gesso with graphite or charcoal. Gesso is a very dense White, but it is also avail in Black, Burnt Umber or Canvas colours, and even better, Tri-Art recently came out with a Clear Gesso and it's absolutely fabulous for tinting.  I also find it particularly useful when I have a beautiful piece of birch that I want to prepare and yet incorporate the natural wood surface into the art itself. I use to draw right onto wood and yet have found that over time the wood gets oily and stained and dirty, and I can already see that my newer pieces will last longer simply because the wood is primed. On that note, though I am an experimental art materials pixie, I've learned that there are some rules you should follow...there will always be plenty of rules you can still break! A few rules I recommend for all artists: always use good quality materials, take the time to experiment and get to know your materials, and prepare, finish and safely store your art. 

A few secrets to relieve any fear of acrylics and mixed media:

• all acrylics and mediums are ok to mix. it's recommended to mix artist quality with artist quality/student quality with student quality and so on, but that aside don't hesitate to try new brands. Company's often has a signature colour or product, such as Tri-Art's new Artist Acrylic colour 'Golden Orange' and it's good to step out of your comfort zone even in regards to your favorite brand of paint!
• acrylics are the most versatile medium out there, and can be used on a variety of surfaces and combined with any dry or water-soluble medium....and you can really open up new worlds by exploring collage and sculptural materials. 
• Rheni Tauchid's book New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook: Materials, Techniques, and Contemporary Applications for Today's Artist will inspire and is a handy reference with detailed charts on how to prepare your surfaces, using acrylics with other mediums, media and materials.
• it's ok to fall in love with your materials ...the paint, the canvas, the brushes, the tools... and the play, the journey, the creative process ♥
  
   

 MY FAVORITE QUOTE TODAY!

Creative people are curious, flexible, persistent and independent with a tremendous spirit of adventure and a love of play. ~Henri Matisse

Musings & fantasy paintings Book Launch

So as you know, my fairy-mum Claudia Jean McCabe wrote and self-published a book recently. Just two weeks ago the orders started pouring in as the shipments of whimsy, bright, and colourfully bound Musings & fantasy paintings Hardcover books arrived. A small group of Claudia's dearest friends, the Ladybugs, acted fast to organize a private book launch for the author just days before Christmas. I really can't put into words how special this was for Claudia to be surrounded by people that love and support her, and what an honour it was for us all to share with her the overwhelming success, joy and love of Musings & fantasy paintings....LOVE is what this book was written with and it is exactly what you feel when you read it. This is definitely a book you will fall in love with. Congratulations Claudia!

There were a dozen cheers and toastings and more musings by Claudia as she dedicated the book to the special people in her life....and I am blessed to be one of them. So you know when you read the book, my nickname is ping*! and that I will forever be her magical tinkerbell fairy-child. Each Ladybug chose a Musing to share and read aloud, which inspired a few impromptu freestyle musings and silliness! Then Claudia shared with us wonderful news of plans to give $1 from every Hardcover book to Toronto's Sick Kids Hospital....and that a volume 2 is being written as we speak!

Musings & fantasy paintings is a charming treasury of captivating colour and delightfully curious verse. The book was written in honour of artists, art appreciators, collectors, all creatures great and small, and for children ages one to one-hundred. You can preview the book and buy a copy here. To see more of Claudia Jean McCabe's artwork, visit www.cjmccabe.com

Claudia surely is an inspiration, bringing joy to the world with her paintings and writing, and her love ❤

Sunshine Magazine covers Winter Fairy!

We can learn a lot from young artists starting out. I am privileged to know such talented kids who have such supportive and encouraging families.  I teach private art classes for some home schooled kids and more specifically a girl named Karoline once a week. I customize and work one-on-one with her, to discuss her artistic likes and dreams, and help her determine projects that will help her grow and reach her goals. One of our last projects of the year is her very best. Perfect for her portfolio! She created it and worked through the new parts, the hard I've never done this before parts, the I don't like this anymore parts and because of her courage and dedication, she is learning a lot quickly. The mistakes and the not every thing you do will work out but the more you do, the more will turn out reality-check is sticking, and so is the knowledge, persistence and encouragement. And encouragement and love is everything. And, I love love it when they succeed!
So this incredible piece was created by Karoline Kayser. I've been coaching her since May 2009, teaching her anatomy, portraiture, drawing, painting, colour and composition. She's only 12 years old now, and is talented, enthusiastic and dedicated. Her spirit and creativity is inspirational. I think she is remarkable, and I think this watercolour/pastel  painting 'Winter Fairy' is a masterpiece! Check out the emotion,  detail, colour, texture, story and character! I'm sooo proud to say that her mother submitted  the painting, and it was chosen to be the cover of Sunshine Magazine for the Winter edition www.sunshinemagazine.ca WOW!!! congrats Karoline! You ROCK darling girl!

Musings & fantasy paintings by Claudia Jean McCabe

My fairy-mum Claudia McCabe just wrote a book! Musings & fantasy paintings is a lovely collection of her musings (silly and sweet poetry) and brilliant paintings. I helped with the layout, but the book was already written and dreamed, and was grateful for my help to be materialized :) I'm quote honoured and delighted to be part of the process of making this dream come true! I'm very happy to share this with the world, and hope it finds itself wrapped in spectacular brightly designed wrapping paper, as a gift to those remarkable people in your life....check it out:

Musings & fant...

By claudia jean mccab...

Book Preview

Too many notes

There are just so many awesome things happening, I think I'm going to have to break out the bullets!

• Shared Palette has a new artist on board! International artist Claudia Jean McCabe debuted for a Showmakers Preview at the Toronto Congress Centre on Sept 30th 2009. We are a brilliant team, and I am so happy! The theme was 'Winter in the City' and the clients loved the concept, resulting in a magnificent painting work of art. Pictures of the Shared Palette team and the finished painting can be seem on my Flickr site here.
• Claudia and I are working on her new book of MUSINGS....you can read one of them featured on her website www.cjmccabe.com. We'll be sure to announce the book publication and CD soon!
• I am in a group show, opening this Wednesday at the Steam Whistle Gallery. I'm super excited about sharing my personal artwork, especially with artists Paul Savard and Jim Lasby. I suppose it's part of who I am...I am happiest in the company of friends and artists. We are all unique from one another, so the variety of work will be interesting. Maybe I'll see you at the opening!
  
• Visual Arts Mississauga hired me to teach a Teen Portfolio Class Sept 28-Nov 23rd. I love teaching kids, and after the first class, I realized the magnitude of this opportunity and what awesome stuff I can pass on that may just be the midas touch for their own opportunities. Life, and all the little things, is really is what you make it.
• Claudia just opened an Etsy store: www.CJMCCABE.etsy.com
  Beautiful work, perfect for gifts (are you thinking about Christmas yet....)
  
• In 2 weeks, Rheni Tauchid and I fly out to Pasadena, CA for the Learning & Product Expo: ART! show representing Tri-Art Acrylic Paints and Mediums www.tri-art.ca.
  I will be assisting Rheni for her workshops and teaching one of my own, as well as giving a free demo...more info here at Rheni's Blog (which you should follow, I love her posts!)
• Oct 19th is the MARTYS. It's a celebration of arts in Mississauga, and now that I live in a quiet part of the city, I humbly share with you that I have been nominated and chosen as a finalist. So......in a few weeks I'll attend the Awards night, party, and support the local talent, and with a little luck I'll win. I already feel like a winner though ♡
  

New Acrylics Books: FIRST REVIEW!

Here's Rheni Tauchid's first review of her second book, released today! Please take a moment to read it, it's a 5-star review and says it all ~ I will just add that the book itself (tech info, writing, focus) rocks soooooo much, I truly am honored that 3 of my personal artworks were featured in the mixed media chapter!

Click here to read the New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook by Rhéni Tauchid: FIRST REVIEW!
by Marion Boddy-Evans, About.com Guide to Painting since 2002

Tri-Art and The New Acrylics books by Rhéni Tauchid

CALLING ALL ARTISTS! Have you been loving Rhéni's first book 'The New Acrylics'? Check out her call for reviews and testimonials here:
New Acrylics Books: Reviews, Testimonials...Bring it on!

I just got back from Kingston, ON where I was invited for a tour and to train at the Tri-Art paint factory, and with my enriched acrylic knowledge I'm now teaching for their Acrylic Educational Program along with Donna DeVries Buchan, who works at North Art Supplies in Huntsville. And well I just adore those that are cranking the wheels behind the scenes of Tri-Art Manfacturing :: Owner and operator Steve Ginsberg is most adorable in his life-long passion and respect for paint. Rhéni Tauchid, Artist and Author, is smart, gorgeous, so cool and down-to-earth...and the biggest paint geek I know next to Steve...and they are incredibly perfect for each other ♥. Connie Morris, Artist and the Co-Ordinator of Tri-Art's Acrylic Educational Program, has super powers (I'm sure of it!) with the sweetest personality and a smile that could melt the arctic. (more about Tri-Art here). Working with these wonderful and genuine people have reminded me of many happy moments in my life...thinking all the way back to my sunshiny days in Ottawa working with John Wallack and crew at Wallack's Art Store.
So this is an amazing opportunity for me that has added an extra sparkle or two (or three) in my eyes!!! I'm so excited, and working on class/workshop concepts as we speak - I'll post details soon....

For more news and musings relating to The New Acrylics books (noting the highly anticipated release of the second one!) published by Watson-Guptill/Random House and written by Rhéni Tauchid
visit www.newacrylicsbooks.blogspot.com

New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook

Rheni Tauchid’s bestseller The New Acrylics was an overview of modern acrylics. Her New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook is a more in-depth resource for today’s working acrylic artist.

Her new book, (release date : July 14 2009) New Acrylics Essential Sourcebook’s main focus is on the vast array of paints and paint mediums that are available today. It places special emphasis on documenting a variety of paint and medium combinations, showing in side-by-side comparisons how such “recipes” can alter and affect the final result. Because acrylic paints are available in so many formulas, ranging in consistency from liquid to high viscosity, the range of effects and painting styles is virtually infinite. The choice in mediums is even greater, and can be used to create glazes, build texture, and work as gluing agents for collage. Through the author’s own artwork and that of leading acrylic artists, each effect is gorgeously illustrated.

Why am I excited for this book release?
Rheni steps it up a notch by offering serious technical information for all artists, and in a way she challenges us all to be involved in what is happening now...the history of acylics in the making. Let's be curious, experiment and document our work for future generations. Learn, specialize and share our discoveries!
I've submitted art work to this book as well, and worked specifically with Rheni to create new work that supported her discussion of dry media on acrylic grounds. Look out for my contribution in that chapter :)

About the Author
RHENI TAUCHID is the head of product development at Tri-Art, a manufacturer of acrylic artist paints and mediums. An accomplished artist, she conducts workshops and lectures on acrylics throughout the United States and Canada.