Let me Tell you Bout the Birds and the Bees

No, this is not a blog post about explaining the mechanics of reproduction to children...but it is literally about Birds and Bees :-)

I discovered this wonderful group on facebook (you will probably need to be a member to see the page) run by Brandi Dayton, who I understand sadly had a tragic loss in her family not too long ago. She has used her art as a way of coping with her loss and decided to share 6 free mixed media projects with the theme "Birds and the Bees".

The group is currently up to Project 4, but I've only finished number 1 not long ago (but there are more people joining all the time so we are all at different stages). The great thing about the group is that whether you're a beginner artist or professional, there is something for you. Those of us, like me, who don't delve into mixed media a lot (and don't often draw my own stuff (although I do like to draw and am trying to find time to draw more often)), you are able to follow the videos more exactly and Brandi helps with any drawing that is required. But if you're a professional or mixed media is something you do a lot, you can use Brandi's projects as inspiration and I see a lot of people putting their own style into the pieces as they share their finished works in the facebook group.

I followed Brand's first project quite closely but did do all the drawing myself :-)

This first project is on a wood painting panel (mine is 12" x 16") and uses arcylics (I used a mix of Jo Sonja's and Atelier brands), coloured pencils (I used prismacolors), watercolours (I used Winsor and Newton) and Posca Pens (I used PC-3M white and black).

I sealed my wood painting panel with Jo Sonja's All Purpose Sealer before applying the black acrylic paint to the whole board and sides. I then followed Brandi's videos pretty closely although I did use a white pencil to lightly draw my image before going over it with the white Posca pen. 

All the links are in the facebook group and also on Brandi's website. The direct link on her website to Project 1 is here.

As I said above mixed media is not my forte but I really enjoyed this project and can't wait to actually sit down and start project number 2 (a watercolour piece). I've been trying to "find time" for about two weeks now! How do we get so busy??! Anyway, I hope to share piece number two with you when it's finished.

Thanks for looking :-)