Back from Art and Soul

All I can say is Wowwwwww.  Art and Soul retreat in Hampton, VA was simply amazing.  It was strangely exhausting, but in a good way.  I know that doesn't make sense, but every night I was so tired after the class, but exhilerated at the same time.  I'm glad I took today off to recuperate.

I have so many experiences and photos to share, but I want to break it down into various posts so that it's more manageable and I can stretch out the fun of revisiting what a great time I had, lol. 

So on Wednesday after work I began my drive to Hampton, VA.  I first drove to the Newport News airport to pick up my best friend, and it was great timing because we both arrived at about the same time, despite various delays for both of us.  We stopped to get snacks for the hotel then checked in. 

On Thursday morning we had "A Fluid Romance" by Kari McNight.  Visit her blog here!  She was such a sweetheart, and I really enjoyed her teaching style.  We learned about how to better work with fluid acrylics, how to better use matte medium (the bestest of mediums, I am now convinced), and details about optical color mixing versus physical color mixing.  Great stuff!!

I did a piece in the class where I mixed one of my own sketches with one of the images that Kari provided for us.  The theme of my piece is supposed to envoke a sense of the central figure (the guy) being conflicted between his sense of duty and his love of a woman.  I was so happy when I brought it home, my husband loved it, and when I asked him what it said to him he explained exactly what I had intended to convey.  Yay!  Here is a picture of me with my work (messy hair and all):

And below is a pic of my finished piece:

And aside from the class, there were the trades.  OMG, the trades.  I can't even begin to describe how cool trading art or supplies with other artists is.  I got such good stuff in return for the things I prepared to trade.  And the warmth of the people was just beautiful.

So I'll post tomorrow about day 2.  It was equally amazing.  :)  Off today to go do some art and some real-world errands.  Have a great day!

-Joy