Therapy or Art Class? I choose ART!

The "couch" or the studio?  

I choose ART for my THERAPY!

Having experienced counseling a few different times in my adult life,  I see the benefit when it comes to wading through periods of distress.  I've gained insight and would never discourage anyone from going to counseling if they felt the need.  However, it's expensive, and it can feel as if you are paying someone a whole lot of money to tell you all the things you're doing wrong.  Don't misunderstand, I think there is a place for self assessment and hearing hard truths.  There's a place for being held accountable.  But I'm not one to dwell on the negative.  If I hear it, and I experience that "aha!" moment, I don't need to keep talking about it for months and months in order to get it.  That's what extended therapy would be for me.

However, one of the things I have learned about myself as a woman, is that I'm not all that special or unique.  I'm not being self deprecating when I say this, I'm just observing that much of what I feel is very typical of other women.  My experience in being an art instructor allows me to interact with lots of women.  I do have some really wonderful male students, but for the most part, the majority of those who seek art classes are female.  I love women and find that the things which motivate them and make their hearts sing are usually the very things that animate and delight me.

I've come to see our classes as a shared safe space.  A place where confidences are shared, spirits are nurtured, and talents are celebrated.  It's a time to tune out the demands we all are subject to, and carve out a time to nurture ourselves.  It's the ultimate encounter group! I would liken it to ART THERAPY. It's my pleasure to be a participant in the process.  I feel honored to have the gift of my students' time...probably everyone's most precious commodity these days.  I try to honor that time by spending time to prepare and bring my best to each class.  I do this because I recognize that my students are essentially trusting me enough to pay for the privilege of dwelling in the space I create as a teacher.

In a good therapist's session I would expect to learn something about myself.  I would also develop a relationship based on trust, experience, and insight.  I would expect to be nurtured and challenged at times.  I would expect to be pushed a little...especially if it might help me overcome a predisposition that held me back.  I would hope that the process would instill habits of behavior that were healthy and perhaps find ways of operating which were more effective.  I would also expect to pay a lot of money for the experience.

I would argue that art class can accomplish all of the above...without the tremendous expense. I would also argue that you might make real friends and develop real relationships, rather than having a therapeutic relationship, where you may or may not even acknowledge one another at a party. The shared opportunity to encounter one another in class was described by one of my students recently as "exposing yourself". We all laughed, but that's not so far from the truth! When we create something, take a risk, or to try something that we may not be successful with...it can really feel risky and produce anxiety. We might not be great! We might not be perfect! What we make might not be beautiful! We might ruin that piece of paper. We might have to try it again. OOOohhhhh noooooo!

AS WE SAY DOWN SOUTH ; " DON'T BE SKERD"!  EXPOSE YOURSELF!

When I encounter things in life that are anxiety producing, sometimes I like to look at it this way:  What's the worst that can happen?  If I can find a way to deal with that prospect, then somehow the fear factor gets lessened and I can move ahead less anxiously.  I'm a positive thinker, but fear is a reality for all of us.  I believe fear is what shuts down the creativity which might reside in most of us.

Fear of failure is the reason we don't even try 

The beauty of failing in an art class, is that the worst thing that can happen is that you might have spent time on something you will want to try again, and if you do, you will be smarter for the experience.  I would also predict that the next time you tried it, you would improve. Who would expect to play a concerto on the piano without having to practice and perfect that performance?  Why should we be able to draw or paint without practice and instruction?  Art is a craft that can be taught.  Practice is necessary and poor results can be improved upon with practice. Mistakes can be redeemed.  That piece of paper can be washed clean, or you can use it as a collage element or apply gesso over it and use it again.  No failures, just opportunities to learn and grow.

If you've been thinking about trying your hand at art, then I encourage you to do so.  We have all kinds of great teachers at the gallery.  Find someone you feel safe with, and who can help you to explore your area of interest.  I predict you will come away joyful and on your way to a pursuit that will bring you happiness for years and years to come.  How many other activities can you pursue into your 80's and continue to excel?


My mom volunteers at a hospice facility and had an inspiring encounter the other day with a 95 year old woman who is a resident there.  This lovely old lady sat at the piano and played song after song, entertaining the staff and fellow patients alike.  She turned to my mom and had these words of wisdom which I will leave you with...

"You're never too old 

to learn something new!" 

Feel free to share this blog post on your own blog or website, but I ask that you you include:

Rebecca Zdybel is an artist and instructor in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Follow her and see her work at http://www.artmyrtlebeach.com/

HOW TO MAKE COLOR SWATCHES! GET TO KNOW YOUR PAINTS

COLOR SWATCHES! 

Who knew they could be so much fun and so instructive?!

Do you have paints you have never used?  

Try this fun exercise and get to know your paints!

Ok, so if you're like me then YOU LOVE COLOR! In fact, I might actually be a bit of a paint tube junkie. When I have an order for art supplies, I confess that I will buy another tube of paint to qualify for free shipping. Sound familiar? I'm sure I'm not the only one... This habit has left me with lots of paints that I know very little about.

This week, I decided to do something about it. A few of my students are new to watercolor and have all new supplies. They are not at all familiar with the consistency or the color potential of any of their paints. I began to think about how I could help give them a way to "play" with their paints, and then I realized that I also needed to do some of this myself. So, I decided to make a reference tool and came up with this great idea for color swatches. Maybe you'd like to try it yourself.

Swatches seemed like a great idea...designers use them all the time for tools in making color choices. As artists, we are designers too. Ideally, our color choices should be thoughtful, and those choices impact the outcomes of our work. Once I decided that my goal was to make swatches for all my watercolor paints, I wondered what kind of information I should include on the swatch? After doing many hours of research, I basically realized how much I didn't know about my colors, and how much I SHOULD know when I use a color. I'll go into that information later.

HOW TO MAKE COLOR SWATCHES!  

I divided my full sheet of watercolor paper into rows of swatches that were  4 X 3.5.  Once the sheet was done I painted a black line through the middle of each rectangle by painting long lines of India Ink across the page with a 1" flat.  The same could be accomplished with black acrylic or a 3/4 flat.  This is how it looked.

The Ink Line provides a test for Transparency.  This transparency test lets you know whether a paint is opaque.  If it sits on top of the black line, then it is not transparent.  

Next I took tubes of one color and laid them out on the sheet to get organized.  I tried to put similar colors together near one another on the page.  Basically, you take a tube of paint, and put the information about that paint on the swatch with a sharpie or in ink.

This is the information I decided to include:

1. Manufacturer
2. Manufacturer Paint Name
3. Pigment(s) Number(s) and Name(s)
4. ASTM Lightfast Rating
5. Other Permanency info
6. Transparency Rating
7. Staining or Non/Staining
8. Warm/Cool 
9. Granulating capacity if known
10. Warnings or Stars if I loved the color

Now it was time to paint!  I took each paint tube and made a strong mix of paint on my palette. I wanted a dark wash for the first stripe...not pure paint, but a very rich dark version of the color.  After laying that down in a stripe which crossed the black line, I would rinse my brush and bring that brush full of water to the puddle and mix it in.  With that 2nd more diluted mixture, I would make a 2nd stripe of paint which was theoretically lighter value.  Again, I would rinse my brush, and bring another brush load of water to the puddle to dilute it even further.  With that puddle, I would make a very light value wash.  My 1/2 in Loewe Cornell one stroke brush was a great tool for this, but it isn't a requirement. Here is a representative swatch.

Note the transparency of this color is evidenced by how it "disappears" behind the black line. An opaque, semi-opaque, or semi- transparent color will be visible on top of the black line.  

Hint!

I would advise starting at the top of your page and moving down, so that the swatches above can dry while you work on the ones below. learned this the hard way and found that the wet swatches got in the way of my painting on the squares above them  (there was no place to rest my arm).

After your page is full it might look something like this

You could leave it this way and have a "chart", but I wanted something more portable. 

I cut my squares out using a cutting mat, a yard stick, an exacto knife and a paper slicer.

Once they were cut out, I punched holes with my cropadile and placed them on a ring.  

Then I arranged them according to color...going round the color wheel and trying to put similar colors together.  HINT- Color numbers are sometimes more reliable an indicator of hue than are color names.  

Voila!  A Rainbow of 

COLOR SWATCHES

Complete with everything I might need to know about any color at my fingertips!   If I want to order a color, I now have a ready reference for what it looks like and how it performs.  If I want to find a color substitute, I can find one easily.  I also have the pigment components identified in case I need to mix something similar. 

Notes on what I learned:

Along the way I found that some colors were wonderful to paint with...creamy, smooth performers, lovely to use.  Others were horribly weak, granular, or unappealing.  I made stars on cards of the paints that impressed me.  I made warning signs on paints that I hated or when the information I learned about them caused an alarm.  ( Warning if you use "Alizarin Crimson" and Colors with "Lake" or "Madder" in their names be sure to stay tuned for my next post!  You won't believe what I've learned!!)

Note that these paints have different names but the same pigment composition and similar color.

Why even bother with this?

Note that these very different colors all have the same name "Cobalt Violet"

1. First of all, I now feel so much more informed about the paints in my paint box!  It feels good to literally be able to say, "I've used each of these paints and maybe have some idea of what they can do!"
2. Second of all, I feel more informed about the materials I want to order and use in the future.  I have some idea of the difference between my Daniel Smith paints, and my Holbein and American Journey colors.  I did not find that one brand was better across the board.  I did observe how wonderfully the M Graham colors kept in the tubes...that honey that they use does keep them gooey for a long time, but they can feel sticky even when they dry.  I also observed that those colors with a permanency rating of less than excellent, were typically wimpier and sometimes even impossible to mix into a  strong wash (e.g. W/N Rose Diore')
3. I became familiar with some paint categories and qualities that I have an affinity for...(e.g. I love the quinacridones!!  They are transparent, and lovely and generally fall into the Excellent or Very Good Lightfast rating)  I am less a fan of the opaque colors, but now I know which ones these are (e.g. Cadmiums and Ochres)
4. Next time I order, I have a ready reference tool for what brand option or color I might want to reorder.
5. I also can use these swatches a teaching tool for students in class.  They are portable and beautiful to look at!

If you enjoy this, please leave a comment on my blog and/or subscribe to my posts.  I would love to hear from YOU!! 

My next post will go into greater depth on the meaning of the numbers and information  on your tubes and in the color charts.

The research I have done is both surprising and sometimes disturbing. 

For Example:  Warning if you Use Alizarin Crimson:

 Did you know that the primary pigment for ALIZARIN CRIMSON is FUGITIVE and known to fade?!!!
How did I not know this? DO NOT USE PAINTS WITH PR83 AS THEIR PIGMENT. (e.g. M GRAHAM's Alizarin Crimson) As much as I love M Graham, I cannot believe they market this pigment without a warning attached. The lightfast rating given to PR83 by some research indicates it could begin to fade in a matter of weeks if exposed to light!

More on this subject and other pigment information you need to know in future posts...
Let me know if you enjoy this project! 

Feel free to share this blog post on your own blog or website, but I ask that you you include:

Rebecca Zdybel is an artist and instructor in Myrtle Beach, SC.  Follow her and see her work at http://www.artmyrtlebeach.com/

UnCorked Art Nights- ARTY PARTY! Easy and Fun for Everyone!

Never  picked up a paintbrush?  

Isn't it about time you tried? What are you waiting for?

Remember Mikey in the old LIFE Cereal commercial?  

"Try it, you might like it!" 

There's a new trend in art experiences that is sweeping the nation: it involves helping inexperienced painters pick up a brush and complete a painting in one sitting, even if they have never painted before.  Common to this trend is a low key environment, room to bring your friends along, the ability to BYOB, and an instructor capable of leading the process and helping you along.  There are numerous franchises out there catering to this trend: Wine and Design, Painting with a Twist, etc.  These franchises do not own the concept, they merely market and cater to it exclusively.  I LOVE THIS CONCEPT!  What I love about it, is the idea of taking art and making it accessible to ANYONE.  We are offering these kind of experiences at Art and Soul Gallery, Cafe and ART CENTER in Myrtle Beach!  The images on this blog post are just a few of the paintings which can be done if you were to join us.

Why is it 

that so many people have never tried to paint 

or feel unable to express themselves artistically?

There is a mystique promoted by many in the art world, that without "talent", one cannot be an artist.  I disagree.  I ran into an American woman who was in Tuscany on a vacation a few years ago.  An acquaintance of mine studied art in the USA and also in Italy, and came to this conclusion:  

Painting is a "craft that can be taught" not "something you're born with".

That's what I'm talkin' about!! 

I believe there is a creative spark in all of us...
a spark of  the divine creative spirit...
which simply needs to be nurtured & encouraged. 

I think that's why I love the idea of getting friends together to paint for an evening...sharing a bottle of wine, some snacks, some laughs...and doing something creative and different together.  We all go out for dinner when our budgets allow.  Maybe we go to a movie or the beach together if we get ambitious.  Maybe your night out with friends involves cards or watching TV.  Taking an evening to make a memory and then have a souvenir of that evening seems so much more unusual and fun!

Have you been afraid to try because you don't feel you have the talent?  

I've heard some high-brow artists turn up their noses at the idea of encouraging painting in an evening while drinking wine.  Perhaps they are threatened by the idea that anyone might be able to do what they do without taking it seriously.  They want to keep the unattainable mystique surrounding art, perhaps because they feel threatened by art becoming "common".  However, I believe that the attempt to paint will only increase your appreciation of those who really know how to paint well.

Like playing an instrument, you begin to appreciate the incredible talent of a virtuoso when you try it yourself.

I say, the more people who are interested in art the better! Art has become my personal antidote to stress, a source of friendship and fun, a job, a passion, a love-affair which always affords something new and fresh. I don't feel threatened at all by making art fun and easy for people to enjoy successfully. In fact, my enthusiasm is almost evangelical...it's a gift I've been given that I want to share with everyone!

 NO FAIL!! Guaranteed

When I host a painting party in Wine and Design BYOB Night format I make it a 'No-Fail' experience.  In fact, there are even stencils available to trace the images so you can paint that much sooner!

Experience the PROCESS  of painting.  Enjoy the sensual feel of the paint on the canvas, the excitement of color, and the exhilaration of expressive lines...this is what these nights are all about!  Sharing it with friends in a mutually supportive, low key setting, just makes it better.

Are you someone who always loved art, but didn't have the opportunity to paint? 

Looking for a fun night out with friends 

or a great DATE NIGHT?

Email me or post a comment and I will be happy to help you have a fun, memorable, and NO FAIL art experience!

Rebecca Zdybel

Artist/ Art Instructor

Myrtle Beach, SC