Speaking from the heart!

Art from the soul workshops

ART FROM THE SOUL workshops are not like your typical art classes. It is important to remember that there are no rules and no expectations. There is no right or wrong! There is no judgement! It is all about reaching into your soul, about expressing your experiences, your emotions, your dreams and desires  through the paints, brushes, colours and a whole rainbow of mixed media materials. It is about enjoying it all!

"It is not because things are difficult

that we do not dare,

it is because we do not dare

that things are difficult! (Seneca)"

My aim is to encourage you to dare to paint for process and not necessarily for product.  To encourage you to tune into the magic of your soul and experiment with new materials,  new colours, new ideas. To approach your painting experience as a new and exciting adventure .......with a lot of curiosity, compassion and love.

 

Are you ready to join us? E-mail me at corina@corinastuputhomas.com

Do you need more information? Click here

For a short video promo, click here.

 

Each week of the ART FROM THE SOUL there will be a simple prompt  (a poem, a word, an emotion, an image, a quote, an experience, a short story) which are meant to be fun and also provocative. There will also be a short demonstration of a new technique, a new mixed media tool, an introduction to a new mixed media art book.

Art supplies

Here is a basic list of things you might want to bring along:

Paper:  A2 paper (it can be rice paper or poster paper or  180gsm acid free paper) There are A2 "notebooks" in Works so check this out.

Adhesive: PVA glue or Gel medium

Color: Acrylic and gouache, oil pastels, various inks if you have them available. 

Gesso : this is a primer and I use it as a primer as well as an alternative to Titanium White

Collage: bring 2 of your favourite magazines with you, wallpaper bits, dried flowers petals, buttons, twigs, any other scrapbooking materials you have at hand, tissue paper, glitter glue, an expired membership card;

Pens: juicy, colorful pens

A journal: A5 or A4 size

For more detailed recommendations, please click here. :o)

"Creativity is the quality that you bring to the activity that you are doing. It is an attitude, an inner approach - how you look at things......

Whatsoever you do, if you do it joyfully, if you do it lovingly, if your act of doing is not purely economical, then it is creative." Osho

Stay tuned for more information!

 Location: Regency Park Community Centre

Starting date: May 15th!

Advance booking would be very helpful!

See you there!

 

Don't stop

"It does not matter how slowly you go,
As long as you do not stop." Confucious

Painting for product / Painting for process

First of all let s be clear on a few things. :) There is no right or wrong just like there is no such thing as a good style or a bad style.

Also, if you paint for product does not mean that you cannot also pain for process and the other way round.

If you want to paint something pretty you can do this anytime. Help is easy to get ... on line videos, books, magazines, workshops dedicated to techniques and so much more.

But let me tell you a secret!

You definitely don't need to give up on your style in order to paint for process.

Painting for process is just like a book unfolding in front of your eyes, with characters who appear out of nowhere, telling you, the writer their stories.

What I found in my own practice is that when the rational thinking is broken, the freedom of creativity starts. This is what happened when I painted "The wild one within".

Join "Art from the soul" workshops and give yourself permission to experiment!

We are many people - a painting, a story

"To live with an open heart means that pain is no stranger, but wonder will be a constant companion." - David Oldfield

Life is a far from being linear, far from being one colour and one colour only. It's full of layers upon layers of emotions and experiences, and laughter and tears, and despair and bliss, is a rainbow of colours and people ..... There are times when I just feel the need to "write" my feelings with the paints and the brushes, to add thick layers of paint and write with the opposite end of a brush ... symbols and words and more symbols and more words.

I never know what is next ...... but there is always something when you just trust the process!

Believe in magic!

" Each one of us has a fire in our heart for something. It's our goal in life to find it and to keep it lit." - Mary Lou Retton

Every day is a new beginning. Every day is like another canvas or piece of paper waiting for your thoughts, your actions, your dreams to start taking shape. Some canvases have already old "bits" / residues on it, some helpful and some not quite, some are brand new (just like when you want to start a new activity, business, relationship....)

A year ago I dared to take a leap of faith. A year ago I dared to believe that I will be able to learn how to start a blog, learn to take pictures, build websites, exhibit... I gave myself permission to experiment with a new style of painting and just let go, listen to myself, recognise the perfectionist within and learn to deal with it, connect with amazing, brave, caring likeminded artists from all around the world .....

For all of the above and so much more .... I'm grateful!

It all started with daring to believe that I can. And, in spite of the difficulties, it felt and still feels that magic is real, magic is happening.

What would you like to believe today?

Finding your voice - a painting

Whether you are a beginner or an experienced painter, the reaction to a blank white or black paper is the same .... panic!

What do I do to help myself? I add white gesso on a non white paper or black gesso on a white one or I take a bit of charcoal (see the first photo) and add some scribbles or add bits of scrap booking paper or newspaper on the page ...... anything to get me going, anything to break the panic.

What is next? Sometimes another layer of random paint, sometimes I follow Dina's Wakley's technique ... filling in the spaces with acrylic paint or oil pastel or chalk ...(photo 2) .... the rest is just imagination and patience ..... and experimentation!

Have a go! Get your paints out from your cupboard, grab a glass of Cava and start playing now!

Did you know that paint heals?

Dress in style with "Designer Notes"

If you like designer labels at affordable prices "Designer Notes", the only designer dress agency in Eastbourne, is the place for you.

Versace, Gucci, Channel, Paloma Picasso? Yes, Pat always has something to show you! South African by birth and with a touch of Sicilian blood in her veins Pat is not only the owner or a chic shop, with a good eye for great clothes, handbags, accessorise and shoes but also a very talented painter.

Somehow they go hand in hand. Ask her about what is trendy in this season and you will get the latest piece of news from London. By the way! Orange is what you should be looking for this summer. Ask her to tell you about why she likes colours and I bet you will fall in love with them as well.

If you are in Eastbourne for the day or you live here and haven't been to her shop yet, don't wait any longer. Just go! Where? 1 Carlisle Buildings, Carlisle Road.

Enjoy the experience!

Amazonian forest - a mixed media painting

In 1912, Picasso added paper to his oil paintings and the art world entered into a new era!

Although 8 years ago I started painting for the first time and played with acrylics, watercolours and gouache, the idea of combining them and adding so much more to the mix was revealed to me about 18 months ago only! It was my .......Eureka moment and I never looked back!

.... why am I a mixed media artist?... because i can paint again and again and again, one layer on top of the other, creating more texture, more richness .... telling more stories....

The other day I felt the need to add bits of scrap booking paper on an A2, 180gr paper, cover it with a layer of white gesso and ....with a cup of tea in one hand and some oil pastels in the other I started to make all sorts of marks, simply playing without any specific idea in my head ... waiting, listening to my soul ... relaxing, having fun!

A few cups of tea later..... oil pastels were followed by acrylic paints and of course my very best friend the glitter glue.....more layers, more texture.

I've ended up with the concept of an Amazonian forest! Why? Who knows? Where from? From the depth of my soul!

Nature inspires us

Our mind stores images, smells, textures, shapes.....
When one paints from the soul, one connects with all of these and so, so, so much more!

Yellow and orange

We re still waiting for the sun to visit us again in England. In days and weeks like that one feels the need to rush to the travel agents, get a couple of colourful and bright brochure and dream about the beaches in CapeTown, busy traditional markets in Marrakech, lazy days in Bangkok ..... with a book in one s hand and a cool drink in the other ....

A good (!!!!!) alternative is taking pictures of yellow and orange flowers .... in an attempt to feed the body with the energy of these colours!

.....still waiting for the sun!

Magical art supplies and "Art from the soul"

"One never goes so far as when one doesn't know where one is going" - Goethe

Are you prepared to enter into a new world? Are you prepared to discover the pound shops, the art shops? Are you prepared to have a look at a fork, tissue paper, kitchen sponges and ask yourself ...... hmmmmmm I wonder how can I use them in my creative processes? Wonderful!

You know why? Because  .... we are all creative! ....... and we can make art anytime, anyplace.

If you took the decision to reconnect with your creative self,  to experience  "Art from the soul"  workshops (first one starts on  May 15th and will continue for 10 consecutive week),  I can only say ..... WELCOME!

So the next questions is ...... what shall I bring along?

Here are a few suggestions but first of all let me remind you that "Art from the soul" is mainly about the process. The materials are just tools, necessary tools that allow us to express ourselves.  

Acrylic paints: I love them and use them all the time. Why? Because they allow you to be bold, because they are very permissive and you can paint various layers, one on top of the other and the result is oh so much richer! You can see a few brands of acrylic paints in the photo.

Paintbrushes: There are so so many on the market! You will definitely need a mixture of brushes, but you do not need to break the bank. You have a few examples in the photo as well.

Oil pastels: definitely great to work with. You can find some very cheap in Works in Eastbourne or in the Range.

Paper and a journal: A2, 180 grams is really good. The A2 sugar paper is fine as well.  As for the journal, I would suggest anything in between an A5 size and A4. It's up to you really! :o)

Sponges: I find them quite fun to work with and do suggest you to think about investing in them. It's not mandatory!

Glitter and PVA glue: yes yes yes, I love glitter and I think that you will love it as well! It can be glitter paint, glitter glue or glitter dust. It always, always cheers me up so I highly recommend them. When one is stuck and does not know where to go next a bit of glitter always helps. :o)

Paint rag: Any old kitchen towel will do.

Old magazines/tissue papers/ scrapbooking paper: I love using the as a base (I glue them) It serves multiple purposes: it helps your logical mind relax and, it allows you to play, be a child but also it will give a lovely texture to the end product.

Expired credit cards/club cards: one can do so much with them. Definitely bring one along!

See you soon!