Final LIVE Q&A and Behind the Scenes - Florals Masterclass!

Hey everybody, Christy with the Social Easel, and I am jumping in one last time for this week. If you have been following the journey, we have been sharing interviews all week long about past Floral Masterclass alumni, and it has been so awesome to get to share their stories with you and show you a little of what you can expect in there. But Doors close tonight at midnight, um, and I want to come on today and just make sure I'm answering any questions that you guys may still have. If you're on the fence, I'm also going to give you a little behind the scenes, kind of talk you through what some of the modules are and more of what you can expect, um, when you become a MasterClass member. So So, um, it has been an amazing week of sharing those stories. So many of you signing up. I cannot wait for the next session. The masterclass begins on March 31st, and this will be the very last time that I do it in this way. So, um, looking into what I want to do in the future of The Social Easel, um, I have decided this will be the very last Florals Masterclass that I offer, um, in the live experience with the Zoom calls with me. So it will not be coming again in 2026. I know some of you are asking that question. So if you're on the fence, jump in, ask me what questions you have, and, um, I'm going to start kind of going over a little bit more of what you can expect and just go over some questions that we have seen over this last week. So Forgive me for my raspy voice today too. Um, it has been— I have been in Jamaica for the last week with my girls, um, for my middle daughter Emma's senior trip. And the combination of being out there all week long, travel, everything else, um, I think I've just come home a little run down. So I— my voice sounds bad, but I feel pretty good. Um, so I'm going to start with showing you, um, a behind the scenes here. Let me go back to this page. So this is, um, when you click on the link— by the way, the link is up in, um, the descriptions, and I will drop it down here in the comments as well. Let me do that really quick for you. So you can click that link, and it's going to take you to this page where you can kind of follow along with me, or you can look at this on your own. So just to kind of give you a little of what you can expect, there's a video, um, for me that you'll have in there. But this is, um, different than anything that I have ever, um, taught before, um, as far as a course. So most of what I teach is going to be step-by-step tutorials. Um, Painting of the Month Club is a perfect example of that. The lessons that I teach in Tribe, where I share with you guys my designs and I show you step by step how to create them. The Florals Masterclass is something completely different than that. This is really all about you learning to take the steps that I'm going to show you so that you can start creating your own originals. Um, we're using florals as our subject matter because I love painting flowers, and it's, um, a great subject matter to use to experiment with this and start coming up with your ideas. So if you're watching right now, that's who this is for. This isn't just a one-off lesson. This is really about you kind of— we call it inside the art studio with me because that's what it is, is it's me taking you into my studio virtually and walking you through step by step how I come up with inspiration. I'm taking you and giving you the information that I learned while I went to art school for all those years and putting it in a simple and easy-to-follow course for you to be able to create. Your own. So that is who this is for. It is 6 modules spread out over the span of 10 weeks. We will also have 8 live Zoom calls with me throughout that period of time. You'll be able to go watch those on replays. You have lifetime access to all of this material. So we've had a lot of people ask, like, what if, like, the timing is not right for me? What if I have a busy spring? I get it because I have an insane spring as well. I have a daughter graduating from high school, but we have so much going on. But the great thing about this is you can take it at your own pace. Excuse me. So what that means is the modules will be released on starting Monday, March 31st, and I'll go over the full schedule here in a second. And then you have all that time that week that you can work on those lessons and sessions inside that module. And And then the following week we will do a Zoom call to discuss. But you have lifetime access to this. So the reason I say that is if this sounds like something you really want to do and you're like, I've always wanted to know how to make my own paintings, I don't know where to start, I'm tired of being lost and confused, then this is for you. Um, and if you can't get to it in the spring and if you, you know, can't take a couple hours a week to devote to it, it will be there for you when you can. But it will be the one, the last and only time that I offer it in this style. So I won't be coming back again in 2026 with the live Zoom call. So this will be the last chance for that interaction. But you get to keep access to the entire library, all the modules and sessions forever. So you can go back to them when you need to. Julie said— I'm going to pull these up as we go if I see them— do I need to know how to draw to be in the masterclass? That is a great question. And no, you do not. So I'm gonna kinda talk you through some of what you'll gain and what you'll experience. But I actually teach you how to start sketching on your own, and I teach you how to like look at shapes and basically giving you the basics of how you can draw. Most of the members, just like Susan that I have here on the screen right now, this is— you can kinda see in her examples of some of her sketches and lessons that she was working on, and you'll see As we kind of look at some of the other women, the alumni from last year, this— I teach you the entire planning process. So again, I think a lot of people think that as an artist you should just be able to sit down and know how to draw, right? Or sit down and know how to paint and just make it happen. That's actually not true. And all you're doing is learning the skill sets that you need in order to be able to do that. So I'm going to teach you the basics in that, Julie. I'm going to teach you how to start coming up and sketching ideas in your sketchbooks. And, and then we go through the entire process. So you won't be putting anything on canvas or even starting your first original until Module 4 is released, when we start really playing around with figuring out your style of painting. So Jean said, can we do the modules on our own pace? You can. So they, in this session, because this is a live session over the 10 weeks starting on March 31st, They will be released one week at a time, and we have some implementation weeks put in there too. So let me go down here really quick where I have the schedule. So this is kind of what you can expect. This is obviously the first 5 weeks. So on week 1, module 1 will be released. Week 2, module 2. Week 3, module 3. Week 4 is an implementation week, and then module 4 will be released in week 5. And so that is kind of the basic layout, but you can go back on those dates, then you have access to them forever after that, that you can go back to them whenever it's right for you. And then we continue week 6 with module 5, another implementation week. Module 6 is week 8, but this is still like you— module 6 is all about learning how to make money with your artwork and all the different ways that you can. So you're going to have plenty of time in all of these weeks that we're doing this to go back and rewatch lessons and slowly work your way through if that's what you need to do. So, and then like I said, you have lifetime access to them. Julie, there will be no 2026 of this. So what you get when you join is everything in 2025, everything that I'm talking about here. Teresa, so kind of just like how this schedule explains, they— these are all pre-recorded. So these are not live lessons you have to, like, go in and watch. I'm going to show you what it looks like in your member library. So when you sign up for the masterclass, you will have a member login. All of our videos are stored on that member site. I'll show you. Let me switch tabs here. Okay, so this is me taking you in as if you had purchased this. Um, now this is last year's version, so they have all of the lessons already in here, but this is for me to kind of show you an example of how this works. So, um, on week 1, module 1 will be released, and this is what it'll look like. You'll have an introduction from me. Everything that you need to download comes in a PDF pack that you'll you'll have instant access to. So homework lessons, directions from me, inspiration, all of that kind of stuff is going to be in your PDF pack. But lesson— and then you can see these are broken down. This is all Module 1, so I'm just going to kind of scroll down. Okay, so this is Week 1, Module 1, and then you see inside of here you have different lessons. So Lesson 1 is Finding Inspiration. I'm taking you through several different ways to start finding inspiration for your artwork. Then we go into organizing it. Then I'm teaching you the behind the scenes of how to take your ideas and create your compositions. So you'll see, like, these are broken down into multiple little sessions. So when I click on one of those, you've got them all listed over here. Um, you're just gonna hit play, but you can see, like, this one's only like 4 minutes and 32 seconds. So a lot of these, it can sound overwhelming when you hear 125 lessons, but a lot of these are between 5 to 10 minutes. That, um, we tried to keep them all under 10 minutes so they're easy to like learn little nuggets at a time and you're not feeling like you have to sit down and watch a full hour or a full 2-hour lesson. They're very easy to follow and broken down. Yeah, you don't— so, darling, you don't have to worry about catching, um, any lives at all. The only live aspect of this is the Zoom calls that we will do on a weekly basis. There are 8 of those spread out over the span of the 10 weeks, but those are also recorded for you if you can't make those, and they're hugely beneficial. The Zoom calls are basically for members who can get on. We talk about what we learned in the previous module. And then if you have any questions, you have me there with you. And then we also have, um, inside our Facebook group where you'll have my feedback, the feedback of others. Um, so you have that continual interaction with me over this 10-week span of time. You're not doing it by yourself, but you're doing it at your own pace. So you decide when you have time to go in and, um, take on doing the different modules. Okay, so, and then in Week 2, Module 2, this is really where you start learning. Um, you're learning how to draw, you're learning the 7 elements of art, you're learning how to start sketching. Um, this is really like the behind the scenes, the art school aspect of that I talk about, and walking you through all the different things that you want to look for when creating your own original What makes a successful painting? What makes a successful piece of art? And how do I do that? Then you're gonna learn, like I said, how to sketch. You're— you— I'm gonna take you on how to use Procreate if you choose to. You don't have to do that, but there are multiple sessions to helping you understand all these basics in art and design, the fundamentals of art and design. And then we learn all about color theory and color mastering, and why colors mean what they do and how to use that in your artwork. Understanding the values of colors, how to mix your own colors so you're not self-reliant on a— or not self— not self-reliant, so you become self-reliant. You don't have to rely on a color list. You don't have to have the exact bottle of paint that I'm using. And you're going to build your confidence in color mixing and understanding color and Talking about how to create and store color swatches. All of this is so fundamental in the process of creating original artwork for you to understand these things. Um, so let me finish scrolling down here. We'll jump back over. Um, these are some of the past alumni, um, and the beautiful work that they did. And this is what I love, like, look how different each and every one of these is. So they all found their own processes along the way. I teach several different ways you can do, do these different styles, and then they turn them into their own. And then let me scroll down here, and we have— again, I'm going to quickly go over everything that's included in the Florals Masterclass. So it's 6 modules, as I showed you on the previous screen. You see how they're broken down into mini sessions and lessons, make them easy for you to access 24/7 whenever you want. Um, it is included 8 weekly Zoom calls with myself and other members. Um, it includes our private Facebook community. This is really, uh, an important aspect of it because this is where the community is. This is where you're going to share your artwork. You're gonna see— and I'll show you the Facebook group here in just a second— but you're gonna see what other people are working on, and you guys start inspiring each other. That's what I love about this is because the community part of it is a huge part of what makes it so beneficial and, and a great learning environment. Um, you have again lifetime access to all course material, and then you have everything stored in your private online library. Um, as I showed you, classes begin on March 31st and run through June 2nd, and then we have a graduation ceremony that last week. So, um, like I said, Doors close tonight, so you have a little over 10 hours left to make a decision as to whether you're doing this. I won't be offering a live cohort again of this in 2026, so this will be your last chance to, um, have a 10-week experience with me and other members, um, so that you can have that input during that time. The private Facebook group, the live Zoom calls, the constant interaction between us and members— this will be your only opportunity, um, ever again to be able to experience that with the masterclass. So these are your payment options. We've given several. Um, let me just tell you, this is a fraction of the cost of what you would pay to go take one or two college courses that you don't have lifetime access to, that you can't go back and review. Um, so it's only $897 for a one-time payment. That's going to be your best value. Then we have a 3-month option, and that just gives you a little bit more flexibility. And then for those of you that are on a tighter budget, we have the budget-friendly version of $125 a month broken over 9 monthly payments. And then I wanted to jump over here and show you what the Facebook group is going to look like. So this is like, again, I said your chance to get to know other members, get to see what they are working on. So this is some of their past work that I'm just kind of quickly scrolling through. But even along the way, let me go back over here to the media. You can start seeing all the variety of things that people are working on, each one different, taking photos and inspiration and turning them into finished paintings, taking ideas from a photograph, um, taking ideas from Pinterest by combining several different ideas. Um, and everyone had their own process. Everyone had their own take on using the skills that I'm giving you in this class to make their own finished art pieces. You can see Belinda's here that is taken from a still life. I teach you how to put a still life together if you've never done that before. I'm going to teach you how to do that. I teach you how to take interesting photos of it from different vantage points So you can start changing up the composition, and you're going to learn how to make those choices throughout that entire experience. So I have someone over on YouTube asking about the Zoom calls individually. That's not how this works. So it's, it's the master class is all-inclusive. It includes those Zoom calls. You cannot— I don't offer individual lessons. This is the only opportunity to really have me as a personal art instructor to you, is to be a part of this master class. So I don't do Zoom calls in any other platform like that. So let me know any other questions that you guys have, um, and then I am gonna switch back over here and we're going to talk again a little bit about who this is for. You may be watching this right now and thinking this 'This isn't for me, and I love just doing the step-by-step lessons with you,' and that is totally fine. Okay, I just want to be 100% clear about that. Perfectly fine. Not everyone wants to dive deep in and, and really do this, and if you are one of those people, perfect. But for those of you who do, that's, that's who I want to talk to today, because we will have other options. You can join Painting of the Month Club. You can join Tribe when we open doors again to new Tribe members. If you love doing tutorials with me, I will still be offering those. But this is a kind of once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to have me in this capacity and for me to go this deep with you, um, and teaching you how to create your own originals. That's all— that's what this masterclass is all about. So if you've been painting for a while, or maybe you've always dreamed about painting, either way, if you feel stuck and you're unsure about what's missing in your artwork and you've always dreamed of being able to paint your own, from start to finish, this is for you. If you struggle with doubt and perfectionism and second-guessing the choices that you're making in your artwork, this is for you. This is about teaching you the fundamentals so that you can— I'm giving you the confidence, I'm giving you the skills that you need to be able to start making these choices for yourself. This is about breakthrough, so you start trusting yourself. You're going to find your own unique style, and you're going to start feel, uh, you know, feeling that confidence that you need to be able to do this on your own. And I'll tell you, most of the masterclass members who joined last year, they didn't stop with just that first original painting. We say, you know, your first original painting start to finish in 10 weeks, and it can be that, but this is just a jumping off point. The skills that you're going to learn in this masterclass are going to stay with you forever. And you're gonna start noticing, like, oh, that's why I do that in a painting, or that's why Kristi teaches in that way. And, and then it's all going to start making sense to you, and it just opens up your eyes, um, to the possibilities of what are out there. Um, so if you are doubting in your abilities and you're worried you don't have the skills, this is for you. And I will say this, like, instead of— there are lots of free online resources out there, from myself included. You can go follow me on YouTube for all kinds of free things. Um, this is about more than that though. But if you're tired of just continually going along, and maybe you've taken a bunch of free lessons, maybe you've even signed up for some classes in the past and you haven't taken them, this is about you deciding, okay, now's the time. I'm finally going to do this thing, and I'm going to teach you the skills that you need so that you stop overthinking and you start trusting yourself and stop doubting whether or not you have the ability to do that. We're going to teach you the art of, again, not copying, not just finding an artist, not copying one of my paintings and doing one of my step-by-step tutorials, but instead learning your own skills to be able to make your own. So if you're feeling lost and alone or stuck in the same place, if any of these things sound like you, then that is who this masterclass is for. And you'll see some other success stories on here. You've heard from some of my alumni all this week and their different vantage points and how they felt and what they gained. So I would encourage you, if you're still on the fence about it, go back and listen to those because I can tell you about it till I'm blue in the face, but I think it means a whole lot more coming from people who have already walked through it with me. They've already done it. They've proven that it works. They're so proud of themselves. And, um, you know, I just passed Nancy's— this is just a quick little video, um, that you can watch where Nancy's sharing a part of that. And I love that. I'm going to share this really quick, and then I'll show you what the bonus is when you sign up. So I'm reading this as I'm sharing that video with you, and you guys are saying you can't hear it, which is really weird because I'm not sure why, um, unless it's just not picking up the audio from my page. But when you go to the page, when you click the link, you'll be able to click on that, um, very quick clip of Nancy sharing what she learned in the master class and how it was like such a big game changer for her. So I'm sorry, I have no idea why the audio didn't pick up for, um, you there. But the other thing I want to share really quick is because the modules don't drop until March 31st, Module 1, um, but when you sign up, you get immediate access to this entire bundle worth over $75. Um, so you can jump start into the color wheel. We're going to dive super deep into it in the master class, but this is a quick overview that is already going to set your mind in the right direction and get you thinking differently about color. Um, if you have never picked up a paintbrush before and you're still thinking, I want to do this, can I? The answer is yes, you absolutely can. Um, and this is going to give you those super basics, Brushstrokes 101, like how to use a palette knife. All those very, very basics that I teach are included in this bonus, and you get that bonus painting that you see there as well. And then we included 3 different of my floral paintings. All 3 of these I took from a photograph. So again, I'm teaching you, I'm modeling the steps that I do for creating, and I'm showing you how I do that with these, um, 3 separate floral paintings. So all of these go immediately in to your member library, um, when you sign up. You can log in and immediately access all of those until March 31st. And again, this is just kind of a breakdown of our modules. So Module 1 is all about inspiration. Module 2 is foundations in art and design. Module 3 is about color theory, color mixing. Then we will have an implementation week for you to take those first 3 weeks and start working through all of those things. So one of the questions that I did have from people is How much time do I need to commit to this if I want to do this? Like weekly, how much time do I need to commit? And that's not like a simple— like, I'm not going to say, oh yeah, it's, you know, 8 hours a week or 4 hours a week. That's going to be different for every single person. Some people learn at a slower pace, some learn at a faster pace. But you can kind of look at the different lessons that you see here and then remember there's going to be mini sessions under each one of those broken down. So you could set aside a couple hours a day, or maybe it's, you know, 2 hours on Monday, Wednesday, Friday. However you decide to do this, I would say if you're going to do it, start penciling in that time. This is hugely important because I don't want you to join if you're not really going to do it. I don't want you to join and then not pursue it and not take these. So schedule the time that you're going to decide that you're going to do it this time. You're not going to just sign up for another class and not do the lessons. And I think sometimes we— I, I have to do this. I was saying this, I have a very busy life schedule with our family and travel. And when I am creating new art, I block off my calendar, I block off painting hours. And that— when I've taken courses, when I learned how to run an online membership the way that I do, when I've learned how to run a course, when I've learned how— from all my business coaches Every course that I've ever taken, it's just like going to school. You have to set the time aside for that. If you don't, you will feel overwhelmed. But there is no reason to be overwhelmed by it if you give yourself a schedule. And I say it like, like make a date with yourself, right? So figure out what that looks like for you. And if you have some busy weeks mixed in here, that's not a big deal. I'll be on vacation one of our implementation weeks. So you have time. If, let's say, maybe you don't get to start on it until the first week of April, that's fine. You can go back and you can do Module 1 and Module 2 in the same week. You can take a week off and come back in. So this is, again, this is at your pace, but I would say you would want to set aside, you know, at least 6 hours a week to be able to start consuming those modules in those lessons. But you kind of see how it is more about like your schedule, and you can do it on your time. Um, continuing on in week 5, this is one of my favorite weeks, and we'll be adding, um, more new modules to this one that are new and different from what we did in 2024. So this is all about you, this Discovering your style. I'm going to teach you impasto style, thick body paint, painting with palette knife, with brush. I'm going to teach you detailed paintings like the bee and the water lily you see there. I'm going to teach you quick and easy watercolors. I show you examples of all of these so you can start playing around, and you learn what you like by doing, right? So I'm going to show you all these different examples. They're going to have some step-by-step lessons in there, and then your job on week 5 and 6 is to start playing around with those different styles and finding what you're comfortable with and what you're drawn to, right? And you're gonna learn all these lessons in Module 4. We're going to talk about mark making and creating texture, how to create depth depth in your paintings, how to choose a background, how to create multiple compositions from one painting. And then like I said, this year I'm going to use a still life and another one of my photographs that I have of florals, and I'm going to again model this with 4 new additional floral paintings that I show you exactly how I do that. And then your homework is to play. I mean, what better homework to ask for? Your homework is to play and start figuring out what you like. You can follow those lessons. You can do each one of those, and then through doing, through playing, you start finding what your style is. And then in weeks— hold on, let me jump back to my page— in week 6, module 5, this is where we start the process of taking everything that you've learned in these first 5 weeks and start implementing them. And now we're like choosing So you're gonna have lots of options at this week because you've worked on so many different things. You're going to start choosing which, which one. Again, we're just going to focus on one right now, right, for this course in this 10-week span of time. But you're gonna now have— by the time you get to week 6, you're gonna have ideas for, gosh, who knows how many paintings. You could have 4 painting ideas, you could have 20 different ideas, but you're going to decide which one you want to stick with which one you want to take to canvas and make your first original. And then we're going to go through the process of doing that together. And then week 7, we're going to keep working on it. Same with week 8. It's kind of what I said— you have all of those weeks once you get here and you learn the fundamentals that you can keep working on that original painting. And then we have our graduation week where we get to celebrate everyone's new artwork We're gonna have a special Zoom graduation call. Everyone's getting to show off what they did, and it is just such a fun final week and such a fun way to close it out is everyone painting and celebrating together. Yes, Terry, I will not be offering this class again, so I won't be doing it again and, and next year, obviously again, or in 2025. So this will be the last opportunity last chance for me, um, to be in there live coaching with you, to get the Zoom calls, all of those things. Um, so Julie said, if I can't start until May or June, will I still have access to your help? You won't have like the Zoom calls with me because those are scheduled and those are during that 10-week of time, but you will have me in the Facebook group as well as your other members that are in there with you. So the Facebook group doesn't go away after 10 weeks. So I'm glad you brought that up. You will still have a chance to post, share your artwork, ask questions, get feedback. And then of course you'll have the lessons that you can go back to whenever you want. Um, anything else on this page I wanted to share with you? These are just some more, um, examples that you can see, like kind of Bonnie's process here. You can see her still life and her sketch and then her final painting. It's so fun to just see how different and unique each one of them are and the different styles that the women have and chose during their discovery time. That's really what I like to think of it is you're discovering yourself, you're discovering your voice. And again, these are your payment options. We close doors tonight at midnight. They will not open again. There won't be another opportunity to do this with me. So this really is Last chance, last chance. If you're tired of getting texts and emails from us about it, this is it, because doors close and we won't be doing it again. Um, I think I answered all the questions there. Does anyone else have anything for me, um, before I jump off here? Um, if not, I will leave you with that. And, um, I'm excited, like I said, to welcome so many of you. We start on the 31st and it's going to be a great group this year. We have so many women who are alumni that did it with me in 2024 who are coming back for another year, already excited, already planning what their next original is going to be. And what I love is they're— they know like how art works, like this, how anything works in life. But any— think of any profession you're in. My husband's a chiropractor, teachers, like there's always continual education. So doing this for a second time is only going to push those things into your brain even deeper and become more a part of your method and your strategy when creating originals. And then of course you get the live interaction of doing it again. So it's going to be an awesome experience. I'm excited for all of you who are jumping in and joining us, and I can't wait to see the big wins that we have. Jean said, why are you not offering it again? Because as you can see, it's very labor intensive. This is 10 weeks of interaction, of time with me as a business, as the owner of The Social Easel. There are other things I want to pursue as well. And we have Painting of the Month Club, we have TRIBE, and then we have my masterclass. And so in 2026, I may be doing some new things to grow my business in different ways. And this will be the last time that I'm offering this live cohort, these, this live interaction with the calls and the group and everything that come with that. Okay, well, thank you guys so much for jumping on. Everyone have an awesome rest of the weekend, and, um, I look forward to seeing you in there. All right, bye.