Although many people don’t consider themselves creative (which I don’t understand and even disagree with), inspiration and creativity are important to us.
Both the word inspiration and the word creativity are used in 2 ways. Physical versus mental.
Inspiration literally means inhalation on the one hand, expressiveness or divine force on the other. The latter is attributed by some to a higher power and by others called the flow or being in the zone.
When I started making Gelli prints, I used lots of stencils and all kinds of objects to make textures. I also printed some photos which worked quite well.
This was definitely a matter of beginner’s luck because they all failed when I tried to print pictures a few months after that. 😉
So when this year’s 100-Day Project came along, I sunk my teeth into making loads of prints and discovering how I could make sure the results were more consistent.
Read my tips for Gelli-printing magazine pictures in this article.
Why should a hobby artist care about the colour theory? Well, any knowledge that contributes to your toolbox is helpful and expands your possibilities.
In this article, I explain the difference between the colours on your screen and those of paint. I talk about Johannes Itten’s colour theory and give some tips about resources.
A colour theory for hobby artists is in my view just as important as for professional artists. Hopefully, it will increase your enthusiasm for your hobby.
This article is mainly a summary of drawing and painting tools and materials, not a manual on how to use them. More explanation of how you can use those for your hobby is indicated in the links.
Techniques, materials, tools, and ways of using them are highly connected. However, I have made a distinction in order to be as complete as possible.
Drawing and painting are fantastic pastimes. Especially since you can do it alone and with your children or grandchildren. Also, in painting groups or creative clubs, you can motivate and inspire each other.
Gelli printing is a form of monoprinting. Each piece of work is unique and usually depends largely on chance.
A Gelli print can be created in different ways. In this article, I describe a number of pure Gelli printing methods and combinations with other techniques.
It is great fun to experiment with this technique. For me, that is the biggest charm of Gelli printing. For starting hobbyists, the advantage is that the learning curve is really low.
In another article, I listed drawing and painting tools and materials. That is one way of classifying creative possibilities. Another way of identifying is by naming drawing and painting techniques and the style in which they are applied.
Techniques, materials, tools, and ways of using them are highly connected. Still, it makes sense to look at and organise them separately, because then we can work in a purposeful way. And we have handles for an artistic view of the work of others.
Printing is to multiply images and/or texts by making several identical prints of a master form.
Printing had everything to do with my past profession as a graphic designer and still is a joy as a relaxing activity in my present life.
In this article, I will list an overview of several techniques emphasising simple printing techniques that can easily be practised at home.
For the sake of completeness, I will also mention professional printing techniques.
If you start a new hobby, you will make mistakes. That’s part of the game, also when you make cyanotypes, and it’s okay.
Some mistakes are final, but that’s “tuition money” most of the time. Other errors can either be covered up or corrected. And some mistakes have a surprising effect. Beautiful results came from accidental errors.
The most important tip is to keep a log so that you know what you did. By the way, a log is also convenient to repeat successful results.
As a creative person, you want your work to stand out, right? So whether you feel like it or not, there’s no question that you should be doing marketing.
In this review of 365 Days of Facebook Success, I’ll tell you about my achievements with the program.
In my starting days as a graphic designer and artist, I always hated the idea of putting myself out there. Advertising was like a swearword and promoting myself in any way felt wrong.