Hand Painted Holiday Postcard Gifts

Happy Holiday 2021! Woo hoo, another year under the belt:)

I recently impulse-bought a pack of blank watercolor paper postcards and got so inspired to gift a few simple nature originals to my family in Canada, who is so far away and I miss so much!

They turned out to be a really great way to spend not too much time obsessing over a ‘perfect’ painting, and rather just a delightful way to get creative by gathering some nature inspo to share with some of the folks I love the most.

I bought this pack at my local art store, but certainly you could just make your own postcards out of any watercolor paper that is thick enough to withstand the mail (or by putting them in an envelope like me to protect them instead!). Just make sure to keep the postcard to regulatory size, which is around 4x6 inches if you plan on using a postcard stamp or 5x7 inches if you don’t mind using a forever stamp. And of course make sure to print the address on the right side of the back with your special message on the left, just like any postcard you would buy from a gift shop.

Here are all the materials I use in the video. Any purchases through my special links help to support this channel at no cost to you, so thanks!

Titanium White: https://bit.ly/344AceH

Azo Yellow: https://bit.ly/3ApQTPe

Gamborge Yellow: https://bit.ly/39husjc

Napthol Red: https://bit.ly/311Z0lP

Cerulean Blue: https://bit.ly/2PXJtNx

Permanent Green Light: https://bit.ly/2XG47ZR

Payne’s Grey: https://bit.ly/3g59q8t

Princeton Size 1 Round Brush: https://bit.ly/3gFb7cT

Da Vinci Size 0/2 Round Brush: https://bit.ly/2CqUxiK

Da Vinci Size 2 Filbert Brush: https://bit.ly/2NdkwMv

And I don't have the link for the exact brand of postcards I found at my local art store, but these are both close:

Watercolor Postcards (rounded corner): https://bit.ly/32l3PcM

Mixed Media Postcards (square corner): https://bit.ly/3snRG1Q

12.22.2021

Dealing with Trolls and Online Negativity as an Artist

Yikes! Dealing with trolls, haters, and just plain negative people online can be totally stressful and disheartening! Hopefully you haven't experienced much of it so far, but it never hurts to be prepared for the future.

The more we put ourselves out there the more susceptible we are to online bullying or harassment. Today I've got 7 emotional and actionable ways you can deal with any negativity that gets thrown at your artwork or content. And remember above all else, don't let anyone online get you down - they don't even know how awesome you are in real life!

Tips for Dealing with Online Negativity

1. See if the negativity is just a poorly delivered helpful critique. Believe it or not sometimes negativity does come from a place of frustration that gets aimed in the wrong direction. If there is a real and specific complaint, perhaps try to see what point the critic is making removed from the anger. You may even be able to address the comment in such a way that makes the critic feel heard, understood and treated with respect and then they will do the same back.

2. Have a few positive responses on hand to consult or reuse as necessary. Even if you may be able to win this person over, never allow yourself to negativity - it’s just not worth it because…

3. Realize you can't please everyone and that is OK!! You can never please everyone so don’t even try - it won’t work and you’ll just get frustrated. Realize that no one famous or otherwise has ever been able to please everyone. I’m sure you could even find critics of Mother Theresa so do not stress yourself out over it. Remember, you cannot control how others perceive you, only how you can carry yourself so just be and do things that you can be proud of and you’ll naturally stop caring about those who treat you as if you should be some other way.

4. If someone really wants to troll and hassle you, there are three emotional ways to handle negativity....

   4.1. Laugh it off. Literally give off a laugh and a shrug because this person took the actual time to get their whole panties in a bunch over some free content you posted online - what a loser!!

   4.2. Cry it off. Ugh every once in awhile someone either by chance or by seriously sick and specific proclivities knows just what to say to right under your skin to really make you feel bad/inept/stupid/unskilled so if that happens, allow yourself to feel your feelings for a few.

   4.3. Pity them! And feel relieved that you are not them and neither is your significant other. They may give you and unpleasant 15 minutes but realize that that person is way unhappy in their own lives, and they have to be around themselves 24/7! Yikes!

5. Know there is nothing wrong with simply block-report-delete. This person has disrespected you so you owe them exactly nothing in return. Do not allow this person to bully you into a response, especially if that response would require you to sink as low as their level - ew!

6. The very best way to deal with negativity online is to have a mantra ready so you have a swift and confident inner-dialog answer for any time some awful comment sneaks up out of nowhere and completely derails whatever awesome thing you were about to do. Do not allow those trolls any power over your mindset, goals, or accomplishments.

7. Above all else remember that H.A.T.E.R.S. are just losers who Have Anger Towards Everyone Reaching Success. They are not productive contributors, pumped on accomplishing their own goals - no. They are miserable little wastes-of-space without enough creativity to produce anything notable on their own. They’re succubi. They’re leeches. They are not worth any time and we don’t even know who they are. They know who we are, but they are so insignificant that we don’t even know who they are. Just understand that haters only come after those who are doing something noteworthy and interesting. Along with fame comes haters - it’s a very backwards compliment but trust me, it is one.

Gouache Materials

Any purchases through my special links helps to support this channel at no extra cost to you. Thank you!

Titanium White

Azo Yellow

Gamborge Yellow

Napthol Red

Cerulean Blue

Permanent Green Light

Payne’s Grey

Princeton Size 1 Round Brush

Da Vinci Size 0/2 Round Brush

Da Vinci Size 2 Filbert Brush

And yes, these gouache mushrooms are available for purchase in my Shop right here.

9.19.2021

Painting A Beach Mural at The Arc

Woo Hoo! My very first beach mural! Actually, it’s my first landscape mural of any kind and I learned a lot!

Trying to incorporate oil painting skills with mural painting technique definitely still has me on a bit of a learning curve, but hopefully you will enjoy these mural tips that I was able to figure out already.

I used interior house paint for everything which has a delightfully smooth and pigment rich consistency, although I do look forward to trying out actual mural paint one of these days.

I felt really fortunate to be able to work with the Ridge Area Arc in particular because, although the facility has been shut down for a few months due to present world circumstances so I was alone while painting the mural, I was able to meet a few of their clientele on a previous visit and they were so sweet and friendly and excited to meet me. It feels really good to be able to create upbeat artwork for folks who will really look at it and enjoy it every day.

Read more about the Arc’s mission and our project in the local paper. That’s right, this Birdie had a featured article for her mural project! Yay!! (click to enlarge it)

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5.22.2020

First Time Plein Air Painting!

I had a truly magical journey into the jungle with my sister artist Zee this weekend., followed by relaxing and playing with some paints I brought along in a clearing by the head of the hike.

I cannot believe this was actually both of our first times painting from nature. We enjoyed an absolutely gorgeous hike through the jungle admiring a variety of ferns, listening to birds calling back and forth right over our heads (which you can hear in the vid below!), and gasping over the brightest greens you can imagine.

We are super excited to do more artsy adventures together and I can’t wait to practice more live plant painting with my gouache paints!

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Now enjoy some incredible jungle bird calls:

4.10.2019