Is Copying Other Artists Cheating?

I often flip through favorite artists' books for inspiration, and sometimes find a page so inspiring, I want to learn how the original artist created the painting.

That's the case with the page above from Erin O'Toole's book Create Your Own Artist's Journal.

Hungry for the beauty of spring flowers, and admiring Erin's beautiful work, I copied part of her painting, adding my own twist.

I learned new ways of composing paintings of flowers, and discovered how lovely it is to have a light, soft wash of color behind more distinct, defined features of that same color.

That's the beauty of copying other artists -- you learn their techniques. As long as you don't present the painting as your original work, it's not cheating to copy another artist's painting.  It's a great way to learn!

Happy Creating!

What If? Little Free Library Update

What if you loved making painted bookmarks and secretly giving them away?  

You could find interesting novels in Little Free Libraries and tuck your bookmarks in the pages for the next reader to enjoy.

You could even get the help of someone who knew where all the little Free Libraries were in a neighborhood. 

Perhaps enjoy an evening stroll & chat together, slipping decorated bookmarks into books all around the neighborhood.

You could enjoy the artistry of the little Free Libraries themselves

Wouldn't that be fun?

I hope you take time this week to play with your art supplies, and share what you make with someone else.

Happy Creating!

Copyright Betsy Bangley 2024.  All rights reserved.

Watercolor Flowers Class: The Power of Play

 

The sight of fresh, colorful blooms and foliage inspired my students & me in my Watercolor Spring Flowers class at the Community College of Beaver County. 

We began the class by playing with our new watercolor supplies.

The painting above is a demo I made in class, to show how to pick up paints and lay them down, how to create the background after the first washes had dried, and to show the power of putting color opposites next to each other.

I wasn't trying to make anything in particular.  I was just playing.

After class, I added more watercolors and used Posca paint pens for details.  I plan to make color copies of this painting to create greeting cards with.

Below is another demonstration painting I made in class to show the steps in painting flowers. I notice I like the parts best where I was just messing around and listening to the little voice of my intuition.

Color at this gray time of year (for those of us in the Northern Hemisphere) can lift the spirits and give us a way to express our feelings. 

I hope you take the time this week to pick up your art supplies and play with color!

Spring Color & Art Classes!

I've been teaching Watercolor Flowers at the Community College of Beaver County the last few weeks, and have noticed how the spring sunshine has been spilling into my paintings. I love the way that a class can focus my art-making so that I build my proficiency and grow as an artist.

Taking a class can help you to create in a series and get your artistic practice rolling along, too!

I invite you to join me for art classes at CCBC this spring!  I'll be teaching Nature Art for Self Care starting April 23rd, Art Journaling starting March 26th, and Make Your Own Rubber Stamp starting March 23rd.  

All classes are designed for beginners. Everyone is welcome!

You can find more information here under the "Arts" tab: https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/

I hope to see you in class!

I've been preparing for my upcoming class "Watercolor Flowers" by gathering supplies, filling palettes with watercolors, and playing with ways to paint flowers with watercolor.  The class begins this Saturday morning at the Community College of Beaver County, and is full, but there are lots of other artful classes at CCBC.  

You can check them out here: https://ccbc.coursestorm.com/

At this monochromatic time of year, the simple act of squeezing out tubes of watercolor paint into little wells lifts my spirits. 

The invigorating presence of fresh flowers in my studio feels like Spring -- nourishing for this artist's soul!

Why not buy yourself a bouquet of fresh flowers, and explore the colors within these jewels?

Wishing you many happy hours painting!