I’m thrilled to announce an upcoming in-person painting workshop with the amazing artist, solful story teller and art friend Annie Hamman! After two workshops had been sold out pretty quickly, we decided to open one more. “The Winged Once” workshop in August will be the last one with Annie in USA for a while, just before she heading back home to South Africa.
This workshop will sure take your artistic skills to new heights!
Join Annie for a captivating journey to explore the art of painting soulful portraits with story and symbolism. This immersive workshop will be held in my personal studio, located in East Brunswick, NJ., Agist 7-9.
Annie will guide you through the process of infusing emotion, depth, and meaning into your portraits, creating artworks that resonate with both the artist and the viewer. Through a combination of demonstrations, personalized instruction, and hands-on practice, you will gain invaluable insights into the techniques and concepts behind soulful portraiture.
Explore the Rich Cultural Landscape: If you have some extra time before or after the workshop, East Brunswick’s prime location makes it an ideal base for venturing out to nearby destinations that brim with artistic inspiration and cultural marvels.
1. New York City (NYC): As one of the world’s cultural centers, NYC beckons with its renowned museums, galleries, and artistic buzz. You’ll have the chance to soak up the vibrant art scene, visit iconic landmarks, and immerse yourself in the city’s dynamic energy. With direct bus transportation, you can reach the heart of the Big Apple in under an hour!
Time Square in New York city by night
2. Lambertville and New Hope: Just an hour’s drive from East Brunswick, these charming towns are a haven for artists and art lovers alike. Explore the home of impressionists, browse through antique stores and galleries, relish delightful dining experiences, and discover hidden treasures at the Gold Nugget flea market. Nature enthusiasts will delight in the scenic trails alongside the river and canal, offering serene moments of inspiration.
3. Asbury Park: Immerse yourself in the vibrant street art scene and take a leisurely stroll along the iconic boardwalk. Admire the eclectic architecture and enjoy the lively atmosphere of this vibrant coastal town. Asbury Park promises a delightful fusion of art, culture, and natural beauty.
4. Princeton: A short 35-minute drive away, the historic town of Princeton boasts a wealth of attractions. Marvel at the prestigious Princeton University, explore its beautiful campus, and visit renowned museums and galleries. Be captivated by the town’s charming streetscapes, where history and intellectualism converge.
Hello dear friends! I’m celebrating my birthday, 52 years around the sun! 🙂 and I would like to celebrate with all of you. As a special birthday treat, I am offering a whopping 30% DISCOUNT onPaint Your Heart and Soul 2023 (PYHaS2023), Yay!!!
By joining now you will get immidiate unlimited access to 20 amazing lessons on various art techniques, plusover 30 additional lessons until the end of the year.
But wait, there’s more! – get a FREE Goodie Bag with copyright-free “birthday themed”images you can use in your art.
PYHaS2023 includes over 50 amazing lessons from over 30 professional artists! Students get introduced to different techniques and styles in order to create beautiful art, mostly portraits.
Last week we had a famiy trip to Met 5th Ave. We love this museum and lucky to live not too far away from NYC. Every time we go there I feel very inspired and take a lot of photos.
Painting from sculptures is a traditional method to practice painting/drawing skills and I personally really love doing it, so I thought it would be a fun and useful practice for all my art friends on Instagram (I promose to do another contest for my FB friends later this year too!)
Contest: Create from the Reference above in your own style
🎊Three random winners will get a FREE class Painting Dreamy Portraits 🎨Open to all artists/mediums, except AI. 🎨The #artwork should be created from scratch.
Happy New Year dear friends, After my Charcoal and Pastels Portrait painting was feautured on the billboard in Times Squre NYC on NYE, I got many messages with questions about what kind of pastels do I use, and what kind of technique it is. To answear your questions, I recorded a FREE video. It is NOT a lesson, but it is in a real time, and I hope you can pick up some information from it. *I forgot to mute the video, so it’s a bit loud with the TV on, my pup barking and other noices, LOL – so please turn off the volume when you watch it, and turn on your favorite music instead :).
For all of you who is interested in a real lesson in this technique – you can find it in PYHaS2020 classroom, if you were a student back then. If you didn’t take this class before – it’s available for purchase on my website HERE. PYHaS2020 is a self paced class from a few years ago and packed with amazing lessons from many artists, including myself.
*********** Just a friendly reminder, that registration for a brand NEW and shiny Paint Your Heart and Soul 2023 classwill be closed next week, January 10, 2023. Class which starts TOMORROW!
PYHaS 2023 is a 50 weeks long online painting class for beginners and experienced artists, with weekly lessons on my website, in the password protected “classroom”. PYHaS2023 will help you to learn, improve your skills and spark your creativity. Plus, we will cheer you on in your creative journey through our closed group on FB (on Instagram we have our hashtag and PYHAS account too!)
I saw an ad for The Next Original Artist competition on Instagram. It just popped on my screen. I usually don’t participate in competitions, especially anything labeled as a sponsored post. What caught my attention, however, was the name Kessler. A few years back, exactly at this time of year, we had a family vacation in Savannah, Georgia. We stayed at the most beautiful hotel with original art on the walls, a collection of vintage hats, and this unique and inspiring bohemian vibe that I recorded my PYHaS2018 introduction video in, so I stopped and read the ad. It said that Kessler’s Collection was having a contest for The Next Original artist to be featured on a billboard in Times Square on New Year’s Eve. The participation was free and all I had to was to upload 3 artworks to participate.
On Tuesday, December 13th, I got a call from an unknown caller. I let it ring because there are so many spam calls these days that I only answer the phones when I recognize the caller, and let it go to voicemail. To my surprise, when I listened to the voicemail, it was Lori, calling from Kessler’s Collection, telling me that I had been one of ten finalists who had been selected from The Next Original competition. She wanted to fly me out to Savannah, Georgia, and meet me so that I would be able to participate in the final event. I called her back and we immediately started talking. She told me that I was chosen from 5,000 artwork submissions and that Mr. Richard Kessler himself wanted to meet me. I was extremely excited, as one would be! From this moment, everything moved super quickly. I was offered a contract with the bohemian gallery in case I won the competition and Cindy, Lori’s assistant, sent me the Itinerary and What to Expect, as well as booked flight tickets for my daughter and me.
On the plane to Savannah, I met my Facebook art friend Elaine, who’s art I admired for years. Guess what? She was one of the finalists of The Next Original too! What a pleasant coincident!
We arrived in Savannah on December 15th. As soon as we stepped into the gorgeous Riverside District Plant Hotel, we were immediately greeted by Lori (Chief Commercial Officer and Summer (Corporate Director of Galleries) with champagne. I must note, I don’t drink, but this was the kind of occasion that screamed celebration, so cheers! Everything was extremely organized, and the actual hotel was so large that Natasha and I got lost trying to find our room twice!
As soon as we entered our room, Natasha and I were speechless. we were generously provided with a glorious spacious suite, with a roof top view of the Savannah River right next to a heated pool.
We took a tour of the Grand Bohemian Gallery and were introduced to the staff. The art at the gallery was exquisite and the team was knowledgeable and friendly.
The next day, we had a full schedule. The Next Original finalists were invited to the Amethyst ballroom to have an interview with Mr. Kessler and the press would be coming later too. I was a nervous wreck just thinking of having to speak, because in general, I am not a good speaker, not to mention talking on the camera, and with someone who you greatly admire, such as Mr. Kessler. To my surprise, as soon as Mr. Kessler started asking me questions, I felt myself calm down. He had such a sweet and friendly personality that I felt like I was just having a casual conversation with a friend. He is such a charming gentleman, and I adore his southern accent!
During our break between the interviews and the judging ceremony, we explored the hotel. Among the high-end restaurants and shops, the design of this hotel was like no other
Mr. Kessler is not only an art collector, but also a collector of crystals and artifacts. Huge boulders of split and polished semiprecious stones were planted on the main floor, like a playground for a gigantic stainless-steel dinosaur, the size of the entire length and height of the hotel. The walls were complemented by gorgeous original paintings – such an inspiring and stunning place to visit!
But what I appreciated the most was the hospitality and how welcomed I felt to be a guest. Everybody was so kind, welcoming, attentive, and made sure we had everything we needed to be comfortable.
All of the artists got along with each other so well that it didn’t feel like a competition anymore. We were cheering each other on and hoped each other would win.
The judging ceremony was beautiful! There were mood setting decoration in the style of New York City, with street signs of the names of streets in New York with New Year’s decorations, and even a live jazz band. The food was delicious as well!
Mr. Kessler himself made the announcements. He said that he liked all of the finalists work so much that he couldn’t choose only one – all ten finalists were announced as winners! Such a generous and kind decision, all of us artists were so grateful and happy!
I want to dedicate a special paragraph for the organizers of this competition, they worked so hard to make this happen! So many things were involved and orchestrated! It looked and felt effortless, which could be only done by top notch professionals who love to do what they do. Everything went smoothly: the flights, the hotel, the food, the press, the camera crew, the interviews, the ceremony, the parties – it just couldn’t get any better! I felt constant support and was cheered on all the way through. I’m so grateful and excited for this opportunity and the new friendships I made along the way.So what will happen now? First and foremost, our paintings will rotate on a billboard in Times Square at New Year’s Eve (and the day after), just where the crystal ball drops. More importantly, however, we will be exclusively represented by Bohemian Galleries in all the locations. I started working on the paintings already, you can see my progress on Instagram!
So what will happen now? First and foremost, our paintings will rotate on a billboard in Times Square at New Year’s Eve (and the day after), just where the crystal ball drops.
More importantly, however, we will be exclusively represented by Bohemian Galleries in all the locations. I started working on the paintings already, you can see my progress on my Instagram!
Happy New Year dear friends! May 2023 bring you much joy, fun, peace, love, and success!
Hello dear friends! I hope you had a lovely Thanksgiving.
I had spent all the long weekend next to the easel, and excited to present to you “Three Wishes”! She is painted on stretched canvas, and could be displayed with or without frame.
If you like her enough to give her a home, you can CLICK here for more details.
The shipping is FREE within USA! I will also add a FREE insurance if you buy her today, before midnight.
I don’t use to say about my paintings that they are “beautiful”, it is for you to decide, but I do love how she came out, like a proud parent for a good behaved child :). I also excited that she has this “MonaLisa effect”, and follows you with her gaze from any angle of the room.
Hello dear artists! Who doesn’t love fall?! It’s my favorite season because of all the bright colors, the smell of the wet leaves on the ground (or it’s only me? LOL), that bitter-sweet feeling of nostalgia…and the fun holidays it brings.
When our kids were little, we used to through Halloween parties and invite a lot of kids to our house. The yucky games, especially the one where you have to stick your bare hands to find treasure in spaghetti (intestines), were the kids’ favorite! Then, we used to watch Adam’s Family or Coraline after trick-or-treating. Good memories!
The kids grew up, but I still love making something special for Halloween. This year, I invite you to join my Halloween Party on FB. We will be painting a surreal project, I’m so excited! The demonstration will be for beginners, but I hope everybody can have fun with it!
The FB live starts TODAY, 7:30PM EST. More information and RSVP at the link below.
As a portrait painter, I love going back to basics every now and then, and just practice. Last week, I painted a couple of noses and an eye.
There are three main ways you can practice: You can look at yourself in the mirrow (this is the best!), work from reference, or do it intuitively, depending on your goals. The videos below are NOT the lessons; they don’t have any narration or explanation. They are completely silent. It’s simply me practicing in my studio. I hope you can take something from it just by watching.
Eye study from photoreference
Art supplies used: canvas board, matte medium, acrylic paints: Payness Grey, Titanium White and Warm Grey.
Fragment from fashion image on Pinterest
Nose Study from reference
Art supplies I used: canvas board, matte medium; acrylic paints: Payness Grey, Titanium White, Warm Grey, Alizarin crimson, Naple Yellow
One more nose 🙂
Art supplies I used: cardboard, designer paper, matte medium; acrylic paints: Payness Grey, Titanium White, Warm Grey,
Hello dear artists! I hope you had a lovely weekend! The end of the year is fast approaching, can you beleive that we are already in the middle of October?
For all of you who participated in our art classes this year (2022), I have exciting news – Eclectic Art students auction is back and the Call For Artists to participate is now open! Woohoo!!!
Our first Eclectic Art Auction was in spring, and it was a lot of fun! We got many positive reviews and many requests for more.
I think that students shows/auctions are a great way to share your hard work outside of the closed FB groups, family and friends. It takes a lot of caurage and preparation, but totally worth it!
I’m so pleased to announce End Of The Year Students Auction which opens December 16th and I hope to see YOU there!
If you’ve never paricipated in online auctions on FB and have no idea what it is about, you can see how it works by visiting a solo auction with our artist instructor Katrina Koltes, which will be live this week, Wednesday through Friday.
Just a friendly reminder, that the coupon code “JOY” for PYHaS2023 will expire soon!
Don’t wait any longer, life is too short for not doing what you enjoy the most, especially when it’s $2 per lesson! Let’s create together – CLICK HERE TO JOIN US
The lucky number is 17 (age of my daughter, Natasha. She helps us with administrative work)! Congradulations VICKIE KUNST and DIANA RISZTITS! Please email us to pyhas2018@yahoo.com for the course access information any time before December 2022. I’m looking forward to see you in class!
Thank you all for participation in the raffle! Though you didn’t win a free spot, you can still JOIN US, and don’t forget to use a coupon code “JOY“ to save even more on already reduced price! Just imagine what you can learn from over 40 artists, with our support and support from fellow students. This experience is trully priceless! We hope you will join us!
To get to the raffle simply comment:
1. why would you like to participate in PYHaS2023 2. a number between 1-500.
The raffle will be closed October 13th midnight EST. The winner will be announced October 14th. Good luck!
If you buy the class and win the spot – you will be refunded!
IF you won a free spot from a different artist already – please do not participate in this one. Thank you!
For the 4th week, we are giving away 2 FREE memberships a day (except weekends) to participate in Paint Your Heart and Soul 2023, which is a year long mixed media online art class!
This week 10 artists are having raffles for their giveaways: one from each artist.
You can participate in as many raffles as you like. Good luck!
*If you buy the class and win a FREE spot – you will be refunded, how awesome is that!
You can also join us by signing up HERE, and don’t forget to use coupon code “JOY” to save on already reduced price (this is a limited time offer will expire soon!)
