Blending Abstract

A Beginner's Guide to Mixed Media Tools and Art Play

“What happens if I do this?” There is a certain kind of magic that happens when we embrace that way of thinking while we create; trying out new things and ways to use them solo or mixed(media) with other tools.

In the spring of 2020, I embarked on my fourth year of The 100 Day Project. I chose to create messy abstracts on paper and decided to use a lot of my supplies. I wanted to experiment and find new ways of using them.

I ended up using soft pastels with water, which is so not the traditional way of using them. I became familiar with pastels years ago, but quickly rejected the powdery mess they left on my fingers.

What fun it was...they are like a chalky watercolor. Instant coffee, crayons, pencils, gesso and watercolor joined the art party and I was off and running.

Curious minds began asking me about how I was using the pastels. “You can use them with water?” they asked. Yep and there isn’t a mess!!

More questions poured in about how I was creating my messy paper paintings and what I was doing with them.

Say hello to Blending Abstract!

A beginner’s course for learning how to use different tools and mediums, blending them together into colorful and messy abstracts!

This is a bit of a departure and change from what I normally teach, but sometimes getting back to basics is necessary!

Join me in learning how to put your supplies together to create your own unique expression of mixed media.