Meet the Artists of VAS 2021 and the Classes They Will Be Teaching!
Kellee Wynne Conrad
Since founding Color Crush Creative, I have been on a journey to understand color inside and out. In my lesson I invite you to take a peek into my new published book, Mixed Media Color Studio, and learn about my Five Principles of Colors in this fun tutorial exploring a limited palette and creating variation and interest with a focal color in this art journal exercise.
Kristy Kensinger
My artwork is a reflection of my travels and experiences. I often study patterns in nature and in textile design around the globe. Through this lesson, we will merge a neutral palette with bright jewel tones to create a beautiful contrast in your piece. We will explore ways to use your color palette while making your own marks and finding your own creative expression.
Ivy Newport
My artwork is an expression of my passion for magic, beauty, mystery and myth. I often weave natural elements, storytelling and aspects of the divine feminine into my work. In this lesson, I will show you how I use two of my favorite colors - indigo and golden yellow to create a luminous portrait. I encourage you to experiment with using cool and warm colors to make your art pop!
Caylee Grey
Colour really is for everyone - even those of us who are intimidated by it. In this workshop, we'll explore a few colour hacks for the scaredy cats. We’ll put a few of these techniques into a zine the messy way - by adding a bunch of stuff together, and then folding it up and making something new out of it.
Kelli May Krenz
No matter what I create you can always see a very graphic edge to my style. I notice details in things others might not. In this lesson we will be looking at simplifying shapes of flowers, leaves and what remains in the spaces between, using color to help bring the piece together. We'll look at what makes us all unique with favorite colors, mark making and how we see contrast to help make this style of creating truly yours. The more you experiment, the more joy you will find in the spaces left behind.
Rachel Juanita Bellamy
In this lesson, I will share how I create a finished abstract series on paper using a curated collection of supplies, a limited color palette and my art tool of choice…the gelatin printing plate. We will explore how limiting your palette and supplies helps to create a cohesive aesthetic and how working in series on multiple pieces at one time helps to stop overthinking during the creation process and strengthens your artistic intuition.
Tiffany Goff Smith
My artwork is my getaway from the busy noisy world. I enjoy people watching and creating stories in my head of what their life might be like, most of the time they are pretty silly. This lesson will take you on a journey of how you can create energy and emotion through your color choices. We will explore how to use a rainbow of colors to create shadows and drama in these quirky characters that emerge from the background.
Robyn McClendon
My artwork is a reflection of my love for and connection to nature, as well as journeys I have taken throughout my life. There are many things that intrigue me - found objects, intuitive scripting, and an “old wall ” to name a few. The project I'm sharing is special to me because it is inspired by the work of Mark Rothko and uses one of my favorite techniques, created with the Gelli Plate. In case you are new to Gelli printing, this is a great place to start. The Gelli plate is a system that allows for very successful yet easy mono printing.
Drew Steinbrecher
Recently my art has been inspired by the controlled chaos of urban environments. Cities are controlled and regulated, yet they can be very chaotic and organic. These dichotomies inspire my art. In my lesson, we will learn mono printing with a gel plate. I will show you how to consider color when printing paper on a gel plate and how to use those papers in collage.
Alexis Bonavitacola
I love painting abstract and floral art in a variety of mediums. I am a true believer in continuing to experiment, grow and evolve as artists. In my lesson we will focus on mixing luscious colors with a limited palette, learning to paint intuitively, allowing your imagination to soar, and using your brush and other tools to create the look and feel of an abstract landscape.
Sillie Mugo
I believe that social media gives artists a virtual gallery for the world to see, and connects them to collectors, right at their fingertips. Many creatives have no idea how to showcase their art online. In this lesson, we will walk through a step by step guide of my Instagram Content Creation Process for capturing standout pictures in the studio, and the best way to showcase artwork on social media, without fancy professional equipment or tech.
LaDara McKinnon
Growing up in Japan and Hawaii, I was inspired early on by the beautiful scenery and culture there. Now, I create vibrant, abstract art that I hope evokes feelings of freedom within the viewer. In this lesson, you will learn about Intuitive Abstract painting, which includes color mixing, loose brush strokes, composition, and mark making which will come together to form a composed abstract painting based solely on your intuition.
Alice Sheridan
Discovering Colour compositions you love with freeform swatches. The most common question I get asked is about creating exciting colour combinations, so I’m going to be sharing a way you can experiment with colour to create free-form swatches (not in grids!) and then using what we have created to make compositions to inspire your work.
Dayle Bennett
My work is inspired by design trends and my personal experiences. Color trend forecasting is based on current world events, lifestyles, the environment, and consumer usage. In this lesson, we will look at the 2021 Pantone color of the year and some seasonal color trend reports, then we will learn how to create our own color palettes inspired by one of my favorite spring/summer color reports.
Louise Fletcher
I'm fascinated by colour and recently I have been exploring the benefit of working in a limited palette. In my lesson, we'll explore how to use an "extreme limited palette" to create a truly amazing range of harmonious colours, and then we'll create real excitement by disrupting that harmony with pops of pure colour. This easy-to-follow approach to colour works well in abstract or representational painting.
Lindsay King Smith
In my artwork, I use composition and color to create vibrant, floral pieces that are abstract yet familiar. In this lesson, I will show you my process for creating an eye-pleasing floral composition, while using acrylic paints, pens and one unexpected tool to make your piece interesting and textural.
About Art Supplies
First, USE WHAT YOU HAVE! You are encouraged to be creative and adapt to what you have on hand. Many of the lessons are acrylic based but you do not have to use the same brands or even colors.
But if you are looking for art supplies, check out our Amazon Storefront with all of our favorite supplies for just about everything you could need for acrylic and mixed media art. *With the affiliate links we make a little extra but it costs you nothing more when you click!