NAMTA Fun and Demos with Pebeo Paint Company

Was honored to attend the NAMTA Art Materials Show in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, April 30 to May 2, 1014, as a working artist representative for Pebeo Paint company (www.Pebeo.com). It was exciting to meet the owner of the company from France; Pebeo is a 3rd generation family owned company - how often do you see that these days?

Home away from home in the Pebeo Paint booth at NAMTA.

Loved spending my days making art for the curious retail art supply buyers and had a blast getting to know the high quality people who run the North American division. I learned so much from the folks there and was bursting to share that knowledge with others!

After the NAMTA show, I traveled to the Allentown & Philadelphia, PA, Blick Art Supply stores to present Pebeo product demonstrations and gave away lots of great Pebeo prizes.

Some happy prize winners at the Allentown, PA, Blick Art Supply store.

Then, it was off to Minneapolis and Edina, MN, to demonstrate and give away more prizes of fun Pebeo Fantasy paints and accessories.

Minneapolis, MN, Utrecht / Blick Art Supply Pebeo product winners.

 Attendees having fun creating their own masterpieces in Minneapolis. 

With Blick Art Supply store demonstrator, Christine, in Edina, MN.

Fortunately I then had a few days back home in Florida to do laundry before jetting off to Boston and Cambridge, MA, for 3 more Pebeo demo's. It was delightful to spend the time in Boston with Pebeo VP, Yves, who is very familiar with the town and introduced me to his favorite restaurant in Chinatown...I didn't know Boston had a Chinatown! 

Lucky winner Sarah with Pebeo Paint Co. VP, Yves, in Boston, MA.

It was a whirlwind tour, and my favorite part was meeting all the curious and talented artists who make my job so much FUN. A huge shout out to all the attendees; please post pictures of your Pebeo creations here on my blog or email me pictures at MultiMediaMaven@yahoo.com. Can't wait to see your Pebeo Paint Creations!

My next big Pebeo demonstration will be at Utrecht in Miami, FL, on May 31 from 3-5 pm during their 15 year celebration party. See you there for fun and more winners!

Happy Arting!  :D  Tristina

On The Bench - Bullseye On Liquid Art Panel

Having fun experimenting with my Bullseye paintings on Pebeo's new Liquid Art Panels. Thank you Pebeo for the panels, paint and other supplies to play with! :)

You can find all the fun mixed media Pebeo supplies on Dick Blick's website HERE. And, Pebeo has some fantastic how-to videos on their YouTube channel HERE. Enjoy!

Happy Arting!  :D  Tristina

Studio Open House Success!

A Big THANK YOU to everyone who attended the Tarpon River Art Center Studio Open House on Friday night! It takes all of you art-lovers to keep our community ALIVE. Many pieces of artwork and jewelry were sold off the walls and out of our studios. And many more are available! Just comment below or email if you would like to visit our bustling Artist cooperative in Downtown Fort Lauderdale.

Two art-lovers who won my artwork in our night's raffle. And more raffle winners!

Entrance to my studio. :)

Entrance to Joseph Regan's studio. He is a master realist and mural painter.

Hallways lined with artworks by the Tarpon River Art Center Artists.

 Sandy's studio. She specializes in wicker restoration and beautiful jewelry.

Lorraine's studio. She specializes in stone sculpture and oil abstract painting.

Frank's studio. He is a stone and wood sculptor.

Ken's studio with oil painting student works and one of his paintings in process.

Jane's studio where she specializes in glass!

 Kristina's studio where she knots away and paints in mixed media.

Beautiful weather for an Open House, yummy food, wine and drinks.
A GREAT time was enjoyed by all. :D

Hooked on Resin

As a follow up to an earlier post, here are a few paintings done with fabulous Pebeo acrylic iridescent Dyna and florescent paints after pouring Pebeo's thick viscosity Glazing Resin over the dried paint. I had so much fun with the first one, that I went ahead and resined 3 more! Now I'm hooked!!! There's nothing like the crystal clear glossy surface of a beautifully cured resin pour...ahhhhhh. :D

Florescent Black, 22in x 28in, 2014, acrylic paint, black sand texture gel, and resin on canvas.

Poppy, 12in x 12in x 2in, 2014, acrylic paint, sand texture gel, glass paint and resin on canvas.

Here's a close up of the sand texture gel with Vitrail glass paint deepening the color.

And a close up of the deep sides where I let the resin drip on purpose. Love those drips!

Reflections on a Knoll, 30in x 30in, 2014, acrylic paint with resin on canvas.

Here you really see the reflection of the resin surface.

And one final resined painting for FUN...

 Plus Blue, 8in x 8in, 2014, acrylic paints, white sand texture gel, glass paint and resin on canvas.

Revamp Your 'Old' Art

Just read an excellent article from the Jan/Feb Somerset Studio magazine by artist E'Layne Koenigsberg titled, 'The Art of the Revamp'.

In the article E'Layne speaks of her discovery of the 'process' creation method which differed from her 20 year career making 'product' driven art. "Process creating bubbles forth from a spontaneous, magical place deep within our gut, not art conceived in our mind." She began to tear up 'old' work and combine pieces with new elements with, "no rhythm or reason to my method of application. My paintbrush had a mind of it's own. I moved spontaneously with no attachment to the outcome and no judgement about liking or disliking what I was creating."

In my Fearless Art Journaling classes I ask my students to leave any preconceived notions of what ART is outside the room, relax and have FUN. I then guide them through exercises in letting go of expectations and just going with the flow...and if they have trouble moving ahead, usually when I see them "thinking" too much, I'm there to gently suggest the next step.

If you are looking to develop your creative artistic muscle and let loose a little, I suggest you find a local or online Art Journaling class. Approach the class (or if you're adventurous, classes!) with an open mind and dive in with both feet. Go with the flow of the ideas and projects presented and imagine how far out of your comfort zone you can take it. Then, attend regularly.

I think you'll be surprised how much improved your art-making will become in a very short time. Remember, Art Journaling is for you! Take a deep breath and enjoy the PROCESS!

Happy Arting! :D   Tristina

Encaustic Workshop Adventure

It's so much fun to walk into a room of artists, both experienced and beginners alike, eager to play and learn about hot Encaustic Wax painting. These workshops are always MAGICAL! Thank you Sonia Hidalgo from Romero Hidalgo Artists' Studios in the Red Road Art District, Miami, for inviting me to share my passion for hot wax with your wonderful students!

Encaustic Wax Collage & Transfer Adventure Workshop

If you would like to request I travel to your location to give an encaustic wax or mixed media workshop, just fill out the contact form on the left side of this blog's page to send me an email.

Happy Arting! :)  Tristina

On The Bench - Playing with Pebeo Paints

Since being introduced to Pebeo Fantasy Paints and Resins by my local Utrecht Art Supply store, I have been obsessed about using them! There's something about the acrylic binder (they call Bindex) that's sensuous, like a thin and silky slick hand cream. The mica enhanced Dyna paints are radiant like no other acrylic paints I've ever used - the turquoise and green are my favorites. And, the florescents are translucent pops of color that really grab attention. 

My latest painting includes the bright and soft of the Pebeo acrylic florescent paints and the hard of their black sand medium. I wanted to give the organically shaped sand medium a sharp edge, so below I can be seen removing the painter's tape I used on the dry florescent paint to create the center rectangle.

Here's the painting after the tape is removed. The radiant colors of the florescent paints look many times magnified when you view the painting in person! 

Next step, I'm going to pour the Pebeo Glaze Resin over the colored part and see what happens! I'll let you know how the resin pour goes later...

HAPPY  ARTING!

Tristina :)

Slipped and Fell In Love with Oil

I HATE TO WAIT FOR PAINT TO DRY! In the past, I always shied away from painting with oils in lieu of faster drying water based mediums like acrylic paints and all the fabulous water soluble products on the market today like Gelato's (from craft stores) and InkTense blocks or NeoColor II wax crayons (from art supply stores). Since I like to heavily layer my work, to me painting with oil was excruciating as I set my work aside for sometimes weeks before the paintings were dry enough to work over.

Well! In come Gamblin Paint Co's FastMatte fast drying oil paints...

My Gamblin FastMatte Oil Paints stash!

These beautifully pigmented oil paints contain just enough alkyd resin to dry for the most part overnight, or when I use them more thickly, then in 2-3 days. I always like to attack my canvas or wood boards with color by making an underpainting (giving me a running start to my artworks) and the FastMatte paints do the trick to move me forward with my paintings lickety split.

Some of my FastMatte oil underpaintings on canvas pads.

Plus, the FastMatte paint is tacky enough when freshly applied to the work surface to take one of my favorite mixed media items, transfer foil! Been luvin' on the Pebeo Mirror Foil lately. Here is one of my recent paintings, "Mangoes", made with all Gamblin FastMatte paints and mirror foil. The background was already dry when I painted the mangoes and leaves on a Monday...and submitted the dry painting to a show that same week Saturday!

'Mangoes', Oil Paint on Wood Panel, 12in x 12in, 2014

Gamblin also has deliciously smooth oil painting mediums which help to speed drying time that I have been experimenting with this year. Because I'm a "texture" girl, my favorites are Galkyd Gel (they like to call it G-Gel) and Cold Wax Medium. The G-Gel gives a smooth, somewhat shiny, textured surface finish and the Cold Wax Medium gives a stiffer matte finish, both of which cause the oil paints to dry faster than oil paint alone and still maintain a robust final paint film. 

Now I feel EMPOWERED to PAINT IN OIL and use the luscious tube oil paints and R&F Oil Pigment Sticks that have been hanging 'round my studio calling out my name!

Check out your local art supply store or online for Gamblin FastMatte oil paints and oil mediums. And, leave a message below if you would like a private or group lesson in Fast Painting with Oils!

HAPPY  ARTING!  Tristina :D

Journal Pages with Self Portrait

In my last post I mentioned about being obsessed with drawing faces and grabbed a mirror to do a self-portrait. That self-portrait has since been scanned into my computer, so now I can print the image on all different types of paper and in various sizes! Here are a few Art Journal pages including the image made in the last 2 weeks...

Perusing the Somerset Place blog for the Somerset Studio mixed media magazine, I found an article where 8 well known Artists describe their favorite Art Journaling supplies. Some of the Artists even give free links to their journal page making instructions. The article is a quick read. Find it HERE. Enjoy!

HAPPY ARTING!   Tristina