Posted on Leave a comment

Two Jewelry Webinars This Month!

I’m very excited to announce that I have TWO webinars coming up next week on the topic of realistic jewelry, one of my favorite things to paint!! Each one will cover different topics and different jewelry pieces. The first one on Monday will be available free through FacePaint.com, but you do have to register to be a part of it! The second webinar on Thursday is for the FAM club for the Facade Academy in the UK! In order to watch this one, you must be a registered member of the FAM club! Read below for more info and links to register for both!

Monday, September 16 – Facepaint.com Live Webinar

On Monday, September 16, 2024 at 5:30 PM EST Gretchen will be doing a live webinar via Zoom and/or Facebook Live! This is a free webinar, but you do need to sign up to get the link! Click here to register for this free webinar and interact with us live! In THIS webinar for FacePaint.com viewers, Gretchen will walk you step by step through some realistic gemstones, and turn them into jewelry that pops right off the skin! While painting a realistic gemstone, Gretchen will demonstrate realistic lighting and shadow placement, and as she turns the gemstone into a piece of jewelry, she will help you to identify some of the most common mistakes people make when painting realistic jewelry. Gretchen will walk you through the gem itself, a setting, and a chain to turn it into a piece of jewelry, and how to create a realistic drop shadow underneath. Time permitting, Gretchen will also create a decolletage design while demonstrating some tools and tricks that help to paint gems, lace and beads/pearls more quickly!

Thursday, Sept 19 – FAM Club for Facade Academy Webinar

On Thursday, September 19th, 2024 Gretchen will be a guest instructor for the FAM Club by Facade Academy, based in the UK! This webinar will be live via Zoom at 8:00 PM UK time (2:00 PM CDT). In order to participate in this webinar, you must be a subscribing member of the FAM Club! Click here to find out more about the FAM club and how to join! In this special webinar tailored for FAM Club members, Gretchen will be applying the lighting and shadow principles that FAM club members have already been learning in September to jewelry designs. She will be combining these principles with the tools that face painters have on hand to create realistic designs that can be done quickly on-the-job, including a wrist/cuff design that incorporates a gem, a decolletage design that includes stones and different bead shapes, and time permitting, a forehead/tiara design that uses other speed enhancing tricks and tools!

Posted on Leave a comment

Tuesday Tips @ 10: One Stroke Unicorn Horns

Happy Tuesday! Here’s a video version of an old photo tutorial I did years ago on how to do rainbow unicorn horns quick and easy with a one stroke brush!

Posted on Leave a comment

Tuesday Tips @ Ten: Super Easy Snowflakes!

Happy Tuesday! Today I’d like to share a great tip that I learned from my artist friend Linda John! I’ll show you her cool trick for making super easy snowflakes without using any stencils or even a brush!

Posted on Leave a comment

Tuesday Tips @ 10: Clean, Crisp Stenciling

Happy Tuesday! Are you frustrated with your stencils? This week I wanted to share the tool that has been the biggest game changer for me when it comes to achieving clean, crisp stencil designs: my mini kabuki brush! I hope this helps you out if you haven’t tried this tool before! Feel free to share your own tips and tricks for clean stencil designs in the comments! Thanks for watching!

Posted on Leave a comment

Tuesday Tips @ 10: Painting Feathers

Happy Tuesday! Since my team and I will be painting some fun feather designs to complement our owl bling this week at the MN State Fairgrounds, I thought I’d do a little tutorial on painting feathers! How do you use feathers in your designs? Please feel free to comment and share your own feather related designs and tips! Thanks so much for stopping by!

Posted on Leave a comment

Tuesday Tips @ 10: Double Dip Petals

Happy Tuesday! Today I’m going to share a technique that may already be familiar to some of you, but many new painters struggle with: double dip flower petals! Got some additional tips of your own for creating awesome double dip petals? Please share in the comments!!

Posted on Leave a comment

Tuesday Tips @ 10: Loading a One Stroke Brush

Happy Tuesday! This week’s tip might be more for beginners, but could still be worth a watch if you’re an experienced artist who sometimes has trouble with one strokes…today I’ll show you how I load up my flat brushes with a one stroke split cake!

Posted on Leave a comment

Tuesday Tips @ Ten: Bricks with a Brush

What do you do when you can’t find your favorite brick stencil? For this week’s tip I’ll share how I make perfectly uniform bricks with NO stencil! I still love my stencils, but when I misplace mine or just forgot it at home (which, let’s face it, happens a lot with stencils), this is what I do!

Posted on Leave a comment

How to Paint a Sweater Texture

Just in time for your ugly Christmas sweater paintings, I’ve put together a super quick video to show you how to create a cable knit sweater texture! It looks super detailed, but really it’s just a matter of finding the right sized tools to make the size knit you want, and then repeating a pattern of short strokes and “stamps” with a petal brush. Enjoy!!