Gogh to the Pumpkin Patch Virtual Art Show!

Hey everybody, how's everyone doing today? We are here, um, today if you are joining me live, we are going to be doing our Go to the Pumpkin Patch, um, virtual art show. So, um, this is super fun. We haven't done it before and we thought it would be a good way to to show off all the hard work that you guys have been doing on our Go to the Pumpkin Patch. So I'm excited to share that art show with all of you. We're going to be talking about a little bit about mindset. We're going to be talking about what is coming up with the Social Easel, and then at the end, we are going to be selecting our winner for the big grand prize. So I'm excited to have you guys here. How's everyone doing? We are, um, I'll just chit-chat with you guys for a little bit while we wait for some people to get on. Um, but today we are rushing around yet again. Um, so I teach inside my tribe after this, and then we are packing up yet again for my second trip to Auburn. I dropped my middle daughter off there last week, and she is in recruitment week with, um, sororities right now. And Corey and I are headed back down with a car today and tomorrow, um, with all the rest of her stuff for her apartment. So, um, we're excited to get down there and see her again and get her all settled in. And then, um, this was so fun because, um, so we live, um, for those of you that are new to me, um, we live in Springfield, Missouri, so it's about a 10-hour drive to Auburn, Alabama for us. And as I was looking on the route to get there, I realized Memphis was just shy of halfway, and I reached out to my friend Cindy Manley with Art Shattered and was like, you're on our way to Auburn, so we're stopping at Cindy's house and having a little sleepover tonight. So Cindy and I will post a picture later to share with you guys. So perfect halfway stopping point on our way to Auburn. I get to see one of my best friends too, so that's fun. Is everyone else ready for fall, or are you guys still in summer mode right now? I think I'm about summered out. We have, we have a little bit more to go, but, um, I am definitely ready to transition to fall, and that's why we're going to talk about our go to the pumpkin patch today. So I am going to pull up our slideshow here. And let me just jump over. Doreen said yes, in Arizona, so over 108 degrees. Yeah, it is just crazy. We actually have been Um, pretty fortunate that we haven't had an extremely hot summer here. It did fly by so fast, Lisa. Okay, I'm gonna pull you guys up on my phone really quick just because I want to be able to see what you guys are seeing, and I'm going to try to make this screen a little bit bigger for you so you can see the pictures better. This really doesn't want me to pause it. I don't know why it's doing that. Okay, so let me know in the comments how many of you, um, did the Go to the Pumpkin Patch with us. Now we've got it full screen here, so we're going to start going through some of these, um, awesome paintings that the ladies have done. So many happy faces. And I love this because, like probably several of you watching right now, most of the women who signed up for this workshop and did this class had zero to no experience. And that's something that, you know, I really want to talk about because when we talk about painting and being creative, Sometimes we can get so hyper-focused on the end result that we worry so much about it being perfect, or so much about it looking like mine, that sometimes it stops us from creating at all. That fear can just like stop us in our tracks. Um, and my goal is to try to prevent you from getting stuck there. And so we talk a lot about, um, when you're painting with me, whether it be in a workshop um, like this one or the one we have coming August 26th, or whether you're in Tribe or Painting of the Month Club with me, we really strive to start changing your mindset over some of these things that can hinder us. And one of those is this: we really focus on progress over perfection. And just the idea of perfectionism, especially as a creative, is, is just a killer to kind of like your soul, to your excitement, to your joy about creating. And Um, I think it's really important, especially if you are one of the new ladies who is doing this with us, that you remember that you are learning something new, right? This is new to you. You're learning new skills each time that you paint. And I love this woman here, she's done it 4 times. Guess what? Every single time you paint the same thing, you're learning even more. That's a great exercise just to hone in your skills. And when things don't work out, we have to remember to like be okay with that and remember that a mistake when we're working with acrylic paint is easy to fix. It's easy to cover up and not everything is going to be perfect. And I want us to kind of get in the mindset of not focusing on making the perfect brushstroke or having the perfect painting at the end. But I want you to instead start focusing on the progress that you're making every single time that you do paint. So focusing on those things and cheering yourself on and being proud of yourself that you accomplished something that maybe you didn't know how to do before you started this workshop. So keep those things in mind, you know, as you're creating, as you're painting, and just use these paintings that you're seeing here from all these women. Use that as inspiration. If maybe you haven't started yet, Um, looking at all these pictures, I hope it inspires you to, you know, jump in with both feet and start painting along with us. Oops, give me just a second. Um, okay, I love this one too, the purple. Look, making it your own. I love seeing that. Um, you know, it doesn't always have to be exactly like the picture shown. If you have a different vision in your head, then go for it. And I love that, you know, she wasn't, she wasn't scared to step out of, out of that box and just try something different. I love those colors together. So it's so fun to see like a cool version of that. These all just turned out so Good. I love seeing all these pictures. I love that you guys submitted them and were a part of this contest. Look how different each one is. This is what is always fun to me, is just seeing we're all working on the same painting, but everyone's is uniquely theirs. This page is a great example of that. Look how different each one of these is. Um, and that's what's fun about art. That's why we want to do these, you know, virtual art shows and show off pictures of what you guys are creating, because I don't want it to look exactly like mine. I want it to look like yours. It's inspired by me. You guys have a template for this, but each brushstroke is uniquely yours, and to just kind of fall in love with that. And this is another point that I wanted to kind of throw in here, another little mindset moment. Is just the power of play. So when you treat creativity as play and not work, you free yourself from that fear and from that pressure. So for those of you, let me know in the comments, um, what stops you from painting, um, if this has anything to do with it. When I asked this question a few months ago during another live workshop, we got an overwhelming response from women saying the number one thing that stopped them from painting and stopped them from creating was fear, and fear of it not being good enough. So, you know, that kind of ties in with the perfectionism that we just talked about, but it also ties in with really focusing on learning to play and learning to fall in love with that creative process and just experimenting. See what the paint does, see what your brushstrokes do. So starting to fall in love with the creative process again. And again, we're not— we're trying not to focus on that final outcome. I love this. Proud, proud artists here. I love the faces, so happy. And then stopping here for just another, you know, mini mindset moment is just a reminder that you are worthy of creating, you're worthy of taking time for you, um, and how much like creativity can be a healing space for us. It can, it can give us joy when things aren't, you know, going maybe the way that we want them to in life, or it's been a stressful week, um, or, you know, just a crazy schedule, kind of like what I have going on. Spending that, whether it's 15, 30 minutes, an hour, just taking that time to kind of step away from the world, spend that time creating, can be such a healing thing for you. And so many of the women who have started painting with me online that's their biggest takeaway. When I ask what's changed for them, it's this. It's that they, they realize that taking time for them made a big difference in their life and it started filling them with more peace and more joy. And it's healing if you're, you know, going through trauma or going through hard times, being able to step away and let our brains focus on something other than what's going on around us and just tap into a different part of our brain is so good for you, and you're going to benefit. Those around you are going to benefit from you taking that time for yourself as well. I love these. And see, it doesn't matter what size, whether you're working in a mixed media pad, whether you're doing it on a 16 by 20 or maybe even bigger. I've seen that we had one of my tribe members last year paint it on a big trash can. You could do this as a mural. There's like so many fun ways that we can utilize our art, and it doesn't always just have to be on canvas. I love painting on different surfaces. I love painting on wood. I'm already thinking about something for fall that I'm going to be working on in my tribe as a, um, like a turntable to use at Thanksgiving. So I'm just thinking about some fun ways we can use our artwork. I'm going to jump out of this really quickly. Oops, I didn't mean to do that. Um, let me get back here and see if I can pause it. Okay, perfect. So in case you missed it, um, I wanted to show you, um, what we are going to be working on. So Doors to my tribe open in 2 weeks from today. So 2 weeks from today, Tuesday, August 26th, that is the same day we start our Ultimate Painting Workshop. This is the biggest free workshop, um, that I've ever done online. So I'm excited to do that with you guys, and I wanted to show you the paintings in person too. So I'm gonna grab these really quick in case you haven't seen them yet. So you can see the actual paintings instead of just a photo of them. Doreen said fear for sure has stopped her and not being originally creative. As a beginner painter, I find I have to copy others and wish I could be the one to come up with the purple pumpkin idea. So Doreen, that's okay. And, and here, I love that you said that, and thank you for sharing that, because I think it's important to remember Um, everyone is at a different point in their journey, and wherever you are, for all of us, at one point there was the beginning. At one point was the initial time, you know, you, you stepped out and you started creating. The more you create, the more you paint, the more that creativity is going to infuse in you and come out in your artwork. And I think a lot of people just assume that you can just sit down with a blank canvas and just come up with something and just visualize it, and it should come out on your canvas. And that's not at all the way it is, even for an artist who's been working for over 30 years. There's a lot that goes into coming up with an original painting. So don't— I would say don't set such high expectations of yourself in the beginning. I teach a master class for the last 2 years, and it is specifically about learning how to create originals. There's a lot that goes into that. Um, and so I would say take that off the table for yourself. And again, focus on the process of creating and focus on each time that you paint that you are learning a new skill. And what happens the more that— and I've seen this in Tribe, my Tribe sisters who paint with me— the more they paint— and yes, we're teaching step-by-step videos step-by-step paintings just like you see behind you. But we also do challenges in there, and we, we start, you know, having them get out of their comfort zone a little and change either a color scheme of something or change just little pieces about a painting. It's learning those little things that start making it your own. So that all comes with learning. So the next learning opportunity you have with me though, we're going to do two of these paintings. So this is my updated version. I had an original from years ago that I used to teach at paint nights, and it was by far my most popular paint night. We sold it out, I think, 12 to 15 times, somewhere around there. I have taught this so many times, but I wanted to come back. I changed the colors of it, I made it a little warmer, added in some berry tones in there. So you're going to be learning a walkthrough fall Honestly, it's still one of my favorite ones. It always catches my eye when I walk into the studio. So you're going to be learning a landscape. We're going to be doing this week 1 of the painting workshop. So night 1 of this will start 2 weeks from today on August 26th. Then we're going— I couldn't settle on just one painting, so I'm doing 2 with you, and we extended it to 2 weeks. Normally do one paint week and I was like, let's do 2. Plus we're doing it over Labor Day weekend, so you guys will kind of get that break. We'll come back after Labor Day, and we are gonna do my newest Funkier Fall Flowers. So, um, I have done one of these for every season. I wanted to make a brand new one, um, for this year. And so you're going to learn a landscape, you're going to learn a floral, and each one of these paintings— and the reason I chose these 2 different ones is because they're so drastically different. The techniques that you're going to learn in each one of them are different, and that's why I like to give you guys a variety of things to paint with me. And each time that you do, you're going to pick up those different skills, and they apply to future paintings that you'll continue to do. So those are the two that we have coming up, um, and that all starts in two weeks from today. So I'm just going to check comments real quick, make sure you don't have any questions for me. Addie said fear is also one of mine. My daughter wants me to paint her some flowers on a big canvas, like 30 by 36. I keep putting it off, but I finally told her I will have it before Christmas. I'm just gonna jump in and do it. I love that, Addie. And here's the thing, um, if you haven't heard me say it said before, the number one thing that stops fear is action. The more we think about it and dwell on it, the bigger we make this thing in our head, right? And fear is a liar. So, um, the second you start taking action on that, the better you're going to feel about it. Yeah, Jennifer said Addie, making a promise like that and a deadline will help give you the push you need. Always. I think, um, I always say like it's important for you guys to schedule your time, make appointments for yourself to be creative, make appointments for yourself of like, when are you going to paint these paintings with me? You have, um, the replays are going to be available for both of these through September 7th, so I don't want you to miss out on that. So I would highly encourage you guys to, if you haven't signed up for the workshop already, sign up for it. When you do, you get the full agenda, supply list, everything that you need And then I encourage you to go ahead and mark in your calendar. You may not be able to join me for the live sessions, but that's okay. Replays are available. So if you can't do it at 7 p.m. at night with me, maybe you get to do it the next day at 10 a.m. But if you start marking that time in your calendar, setting that aside, a time, setting that time aside, then you're more likely to keep that appointment with yourself. And I think we need to start prioritizing ourselves in that way, right? We make appointments with our friends and our family, and we have lunch dates and different obligations in life, but we put ourselves at the very bottom of that list. So I'm giving you permission to put yourself back at the top and to carve out that time when you're going to do these paintings. Patricia said, if you're in Tribe, do you need to sign up? Patricia, make sure you're always checking our Tribe Sister Facebook group for all details of anything that we do public. Go to the featured tab inside of there, and Megan's posted everything that you need to know about that. So we'll have a hub page where all the videos are going to be stored. Okay, so let me go back to this, um, slide really quick. So you're going to learn both of those paintings, obviously. I just showed you, um, when you sign up, you'll get this PDF pack that you see here. It's going to give you the full agenda, the full schedule. It's going to tell you, um, you know, all the supplies, all the colors that I used in these paintings, and all that good information. And then everything is going to be stored on a hub page. This is a one-stop place where you can go and watch all of the replays and all the videos that we're going to be doing during that week. Well, I love when I, when I look at all these smiling faces, I see pride and I see joy and I see them feeling proud of themselves that they accomplished this. And that is what makes me the happiest as a teacher, is just seeing all these happy faces and seeing you guys be proud of yourselves. And if you haven't jumped out and done it yet, then I'm really encouraging you to go ahead and do it. Join us, make sure you're signed up for, um, the paint week that we're going to be doing in 2 weeks. Okay, so I think what we have next here is picking our winner. This is the grand prize giveaway. So the person who is getting ready to get announced is going to win this entire bundle from me. It's a mini version of the original painting, a bundle of art supplies from me, a little cute Hello Pumpkin mug, all kinds of goodies, um, that you're going to be getting. And we did this fun little, um, random wheel that is going to pick a winner for us. So let's check this out. These are all our participants that were entered into the contest. All right, so our grand prize winner is Miss Lisa May. Um, congratulations, Lisa. Um, you will be getting that entire bundle sent to you. So you are the grand prize winner. Make sure and just email in to Christy at thesocialeasel.com. And we just want to verify your address before we mail that package out to you. So congratulations on that, and thank you, all of you who participated in this. It was such a fun thing. If you did miss getting the chance to paint the Go to the Pumpkin Patch, you still can purchase it. The contest and everything for it is over, but you still can purchase it, and you have lifetime access to it. And if you have already done that and you're ready for what's next, then be sure to sign up for our upcoming paint week to learn these two new paintings with me, um, and see everything that we have going on. Um, really quick before I go— where did I set it? Um, just wanted to tell you about a couple other things. Um, so for the workshop, if you do not already have your brushes, I put my paint brushes on sale specifically for this workshop. So normally these are $40, they're on sale for $32 right Now they come in your handy little carrying bag, and it is a 15-piece brush set. So you're going to get 15 brushes. This is my custom design, comes in a variety of different sizes of brushes, different styles. So you've got angled, flats, rounds, and we will be using the majority of these brushes during paint week. So I encourage you to, you know, jump over, put your order in so that we can get that shipped out to you before the workshops starts. Um, if you cannot buy my brushes, I know some people don't want to spend that much, that's fine. You can go to Michaels, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, wherever. My suggestion if you're new to painting is to get synthetic brushes in a variety of different sizes and styles as well. But I will tell you, brushes matter. So don't get a kid's brush set, don't get the cheapest thing possible. Brushes make a big difference in how your painting turns out. So if you know this is something you're going to want to continue to dabble in and continue to paint with me, I would encourage you to take advantage of that sale on there. And then the other thing that I wanted to talk about really quick, and I know people want more details— we don't have a ton of more details yet, but I do want to like actually show you um, the easels up close. So I made a post the other day after I got back from, um, Auburn with Emma, and I'm one of those people on the plane, I either work the entire time or I totally decompress the entire time. And on the trip home, I just had to get my mind off leaving my little girl there, um, so I decided to work that whole way home and just brainstorming things that we want to do for the fall things that we want to bring to the Social Easel. And one of those things is the easels. So for those of you that don't know, Corey, my husband, when the Social Easel began almost 13, 12 years ago, I'm like, hold on, what year are we in? Yeah, when it began 12 years ago, Corey built me all of my easels. I have my big tall standing one that was my mom's from college that I use, but All of these tabletop easels were created by him. So he came up with this design and this system because we looked in the store when— once I knew I was going to start doing paint parties, we looked at what was available, and the most affordable ones were the, um, and like time— not time, space-saving ones. Were like the aluminum ones, and I hated how flimsy they were. I felt like they didn't really hold a 16 by 20 very well, and I just wasn't happy with them. And so of course Corey, being the handyman that he is, he's like, I can come up with an easel for you. So obviously this one is painted, this one is very loved, and you can see the layers of paint, um, that are on it. But we are going to start selling these and shipping them. So the only time we've ever offered these before was to our local audience here in Missouri when I used to do paint nights, and, um, we simply didn't do it because we didn't have the bandwidth to do it. But Corey does have some extra time now that he can commit to doing— being my, my workshop man again. So, um, we will be sharing more details once we figure out the details ourselves, um, of the cost, when we are releasing them. We've got to figure all of that stuff out because you guys are the best, and the, um, the response to me asking if you guys wanted these easels was overwhelming. So now, and like, we're like, okay, if we're gonna have that many orders, we need to be prepared. So we've got to like look at our timeline, figure everything out. But I just wanted to quickly show them to you. Um, so they're very simple, um, very simplistic, but you can fit anything from like an 8 by 10, um, all the way up to like, um, an 18 by 24 on these easels. They fold flat. When I used to, um, teach paint nights, I got, you know, like the big plastic tubs. I would stick my easels in upside down like this and you can fit like 20 of them in a tub. And, um, super easy to lay flat for your paint parties, um, or if you just want one for yourself. But I love them because also at home, look how skinny this is. Just tuck it in and put it in your storage so you don't have to worry about it being in the way. And these are so much more stable, um, than the ones that you'll find in the store. So more details to come on easels, so stay tuned for that. And then make sure you are signed up for our Ultimate Painting Workshop. Teresa said, are they wood? Yes, so these are wood and then we just painted them. So they will come to you raw wood and then you can paint them whatever color you want to. Um, Jennifer said, are they made to order or has it— no, they're, they're made to order. Like I said, I literally came up with this idea like 4 days ago while I was flying home. So this is not like— Corey hasn't built me new easels since I did my big live event at Big Cedar a couple years ago. That's the last time he's made any. So these will be made to order, which is why we, we have to figure out exactly how we're doing this. We may do pre-orders. Um, so like I said, more details to come on all of that. We have to figure out the cost and his time involved and all those things. But all coming, so stay tuned for that. Okay. I think that's all I've got for you guys today. Like I said, sign up for the workshop. That's the next big thing that we have coming. And all of that starts on August 26th. That is also when doors open to my tribe. So if you have been following along, you've been watching, maybe you've done a couple of workshops with me. And you have heard me talk about TRIBE or heard me talk about TRIBE Sisters, we're going to be talking all about that during the painting workshop. And that is when TRIBE will open to new members. We only open it to new members a couple times a year to the public. So this will be an opportunity for you to learn everything about it and to sign up and join us and become a TRIBE Sister. So mark that day in your calendar, get your schedule downloaded, and start planning your time that you are going to paint with us during Paint Week. So I will talk to y'all soon. Bye!