art and soul, part one

i am back from a whirlwind 6 days creating and exploring in portland at the art and soul fest. i had no idea what to expect, but i am pretty sure the real thing was better than anything i could have imagined. oh, i have so much to share, so please forgive these image heavy posts that will spread out over a few days, because i don't want you to miss a thing!

my first class bright and early on wednesday morning was a painting class with lisa kaus. i've said before that painting is very intimidating to me, so i welcomed learning all about fluid acrylics and how to use them. we started out the day doodling with paint on a piece of loose canvas which we then cut up to collage into our final piece.

that's me with lisa and a portion of my final piece. truth be told, i am not super in love with the painting i created - it is lacking much needed depth of color, however, i will definitely keep at it as i love the techniques we learned.

these are two pieces painted by my table mate teri. aren't they amazing? (please forgive the horrible lighting caused by the conference rooms. ugh!). i could not believe when we started talking and found out that she lives in the small ohio town where i went to college. very random!

here is my new friend patti with her painting. i loved her color choices and the added collage elements! it is amazing how much the fluid acrylics resemble watercolor.

my class on friday was an amazing introduction to lazertran water decals in painting. the lovely sara naumann traveled from amsterdam to teach this class and i am obsessed with the product, really obsessed. this transfer product allows me to combine crisp, clean lines with painting. i also fell in love with pan pastels and ordered my first set today.

one friend i met in class was kathy and i couldn't resist taking a pic of her art supply carrying case. it is a vintage suitcase - hard shell and covered with travel stickers!

this is beth, a blog follower and friend of my brother who i finally got a chance to meet. we were lucky enough to have class next to one another on friday, so we met for lunch. i had to get a pic of her lovely piece created in another of lisa kaus's classes.

 

finally, here is a pic shot out front of the widmer brewery after class on wednesday night. teresa is farthest on the left, followed by my roomie, jenni horne. then there is me and sheryl is on the right. teresa and sheryl are twin sisters and were so much fun, seriously, their bright attitudes were contagious, i wish i could have packed them in my suitcase!

up next... what i did on my day off and then a post about all the amazing greenery in portland.