Meet Nancy - Florals Masterclass Alum

Hey everybody, it is Christy with The Social Easel, and I am here live with Miss Nancy. She is one of my alumni, um, from the 2024 Florals Masterclass, and she is here to share her story today and her journey. And I'll just let you know, she is making some beautiful artwork, and she's got one I know that she's going to show off today. Um, so Nancy, I will hand it over to you and let you share a little bit more about yourself and kind of how you came to Masterclass.

Okay, so I, I haven't— I painted when I was in high school. I didn't really paint. I mean, we had— we in art class, we did all kinds of artsy things. Painting was one of them, but it wasn't completely focused on, on painting, um, as the medium. But I've always, ever since I was a young child, I've always loved art. That's been— I'm a creative thinker. Everything in my world has always been— I see things in clouds and I see colors. It's all about color to me. So I, I haven't— I didn't paint for 50 years. I've been out of high school now for 50 years. So, but I've always missed it. And I'm a busy real estate agent, and that's very disciplined, and I have to be focused and I'm very devoted to that, but that my personality is I have to be— get messy. I have to be— I have to have art in my life. So I, I'm trying to remember, I think it was either in 2020 or '21, it was during— or 2020 or '21, during COVID I stumbled somehow across Christi. I don't know if it was through the Social Easel or the Try, but I I came across Christie. Yeah. And I, I joined the tribe and I did that as a way of getting myself into something that I felt was missing from my life. And through that process, she offered the masterclass last year. So I was excited about that. I'm like, yes. So though I didn't have any formal training, there was a lot of things that just kind of came natural to me and I didn't know how to explain how, how I had some natural ability. But through the masterclass, it, it's blown me out of the water with the stuff that I learned. And for me, it was like I was nervous about the idea of doing my own pieces of art, but I was excited and I was nervous and I I put— I kind of say it's a little bit, for me anyway, like going up into a hot air balloon where I, I have anxiety. I want to do it, I'm excited about doing it, I'm fearful of doing it, and then once you get up there, it's a whole world of beauty. And for me, that is what being in the MasterClass has given to me. It's, it's something that I had missing out of my life. I learned so much from this, from this course. I did join this second one, so I'm going to do it again. And I feel like in my real estate business, I have to take continuing ed courses, and I feel that anything that you keep up on and, and repeat, you get better and better at. And that's my goal, is to just continue improving and freeing myself from the confines of, you know, that, that the detail. I, I'm a loosey-goosey person anyway. I live a whimsy lifestyle. I'm kind of the barefoot girl in, in the mud sometimes. So to me, this is everything that I need in my life.

That's awesome. I love your analogy for it with the hot air balloon, and because we did that when we went to Arizona a couple years ago, and it is, it's like you're you're nervous, you know, like before you get in, and then you go up and it is, then it's just beautiful. And I feel like, like you said, that's kind of like your world opening up once you kind of unlock some of those creative techniques and the fundamentals and all of that. So I love, love, love that. It was—

it's also like snorkeling versus scuba diving, I would imagine it to be, because I've, you know, I've snorkeled. You know, you're up to the water and you got the thing coming out and the water's murky and you might see a little fish and then you deep dive into the snorkeling side of the undersea world. And that to me is what the masterclass has also brought to me is a whole new wonder of this crazy stuff that I didn't even imagine. And I'm so grateful, truly. I can get pretty emotional if I was talking to somebody about this journey that I've been on. With you, Christy, because it has unhinged me in ways that I always wanted to be. Like, there's a song in an Eagles song where you've always had something about unlocking the door, but you've always held the key. And, and you were the one that kind of gave me the key and unlocked things that were absent from my life. But yeah, I feel that way. I'm so grateful. For— so grateful. I, I have joy in my life. I've had joy in my life a lot of things, but this is one thing that was missing, and I don't have that missing anymore.

I love that so much. And it has just been so fun to watch your journey. And like, when I'm always excited to see your artwork when you share it online and see what you're working on.

Do you mind sharing, um, your piece that you have with I don't mind sharing. I'm trying to remember which one was the one I did from the master class. I— because I think that I actually did my own version of, um, the— a chapel similar to what you had done in the tribe. And that was because somebody had asked me if I would paint a church that they attended that was going to be taken down. The parish was going to be Yeah, and, and so I was like, well, you— and they wanted it for a gift to give to somebody, and I said, you better have a backup plan because I will try to do that. But that was my first, like, real springboard from the master class, was something that I don't have with me.

But I'm gonna see, did you, did you share that one in the group? I may, may be able to pull it up.

I, I don't know if I shared it in the Master— is it in the Master Class group specifically?

I don't see it in here.

Yeah, it's, it's a, it's, it was a marble church. It was a marble church, so I had to make it, and I, it came— I nailed it. It came out really good. But this is the one that I know that I did too, and that from—

yes. Oh my gosh, when you posted this, look, you guys, how gorgeous this painting is.

Yeah, I love this one, and I just love—

like, so we talk about in the master class, like, there's lots of different— I give you lots of different ideas of how to find inspiration. You can create your own still life and take photos of that. You can paint from photos. You can paint from, um, you know, ideas on Pinterest. And, um, Nancy, I love the, like, vantage point that you had in that, how we're kind of like looking up, like, through the poppies, up at the sky. It's just so beautiful.

Like, I was laying on grass. I was laying in the field of poppies.

Yeah, like we all wish we could be. If you don't mind, I found where you, um, shared this in the master class, and I, I think it will be cool for, um, the people watching to be able to, um, see kind of like your progress with this. So this is from last year, and where she— and I love showing this stuff too, because we talk about this a lot, like there's the messy middle, and like painting is so much about layers, right? And I love seeing this first photo. You have no idea how it's going to turn out at this point, right? And then, um, just as she's adding in the elements and building the base layers to completion. And I love these close-ups that you put in here too. So It's just so fun to be able to see that. Um, I just adore that painting. Thank you, such a good job.

Thank you.

And then, um, I believe— oh, here, I'll take that off the screen while I'm trying to find it. But there was— I was going to share a little bit, um, more that you did in there as well. I loved this one. Um, is it gonna let me share? Okay, I think I got it. Oh yeah, now these were postcards, right, that you painted from?

Yes, so the— yes, so the top— well, you can see the difference. The real one was a, was a card Yeah, um, yeah. And then the other— well, the one on the top and one on the bottom, one of either of the top and bottom were ones that I did.

Yeah, I love those.

Small for me to see.

And then this is like some of her work too. So we talk a lot about, um, you know, you have to create thumbnails, you have to create sketches. And you know, that's part of what I teach inside the master class is We don't just have these ideas in our heads as artists and they just come out on canvas, right? Like, there's some planning that goes along the way. And I think it's so great when you can see when people do the prep work and then work on— like, this is her watercolor, because you love watercolor, don't you?

I do. Yeah.

Yeah. But you can use, like, look at these other sketches that she's done. So this is like the kind of work that you're doing. Um, you know, inside the masterclass where it's not just me, you know, in all other ways that I teach inside Tribe, Painting of the Month Club, if you do a workshop with me, I'm showing you a painting and we're doing it step by step. So the difference with the masterclass is the first 3 modules are all about the foundations, like finding the inspiration, how to find it, how to take those ideas and put them on paper. And we're talking about the 7 elements of art, and you're learning all these fundamentals of art and design, and then color theory, so you know what colors to choose and, and mix. And then we get to finding your style, and that's where you can kind of see some of the work that Nancy did during the last masterclass to get to that point. And now it sounds like you're, you're on a roll with making originals.

And I never would be where I am with my art and the, the things that you just showed. I would never be there had I have not signed up to take your masterclass course. I, I, it, it, the, the thumbnails. I never thought about or knew about thumbnails. And, you know, I knew from watercolor, like, color theory and things like that. But I have learned. So I, I've always been creative. I've always loved art. I hadn't painted for 50 years. But in that span of time, even when I was, you know, delving into being creative, I, I, my takeaway from the master class has pushed me into an entirely different level and brought me to a place that is just— it really has blown my mind. It's like mind-boggling what you or the course and what I've gained from taking your masterclass course.

I love that. It makes me so happy to see your success and hear your joy. I can hear your joy through talking one-on-one, but also a lot of our conversations are on messaging or, you know, like in comments. But you can feel Nancy's like excitement for painting, and it's so awesome. And that's what I love, is that that's what this course is going to do for you. Like once you— like you said, once you unlock those things, then it is like a treasure chest. You just keep digging and you're— every time you go back, just like you say, and you're going to do it again because now you know the fundamentals. And so to come back a year later, you're at a different place as an artist. You're going to take all new takeaways away from this course than you did from the first one, and you're just going to keep building that skill as you go. And I mean, even me, I've been painting for 35 years, I still take courses, I still learn from other artists. I'm always pushing myself to grow and expand, and then I share all of that knowledge with you guys too because it's fun.

Can I say something too though? If any of you are watching and are on the fence or unsure, I just want you to think about something. You're watching, so you're watching for a reason. So if you are on the fence and you're— just do it because you will not regret it. And if you're, you're watching Christy in all of these because there's something that's bringing you to these, her links, so that tells me that there's something within you that you want to learn more. And maybe you're afraid But, but go up in that hot air balloon and, and see it from, from the vantage point that Kristi will teach you every step of the way. And she does it in a way that's understandable. I mean, she is— you're phenomenal. You really are. Thank you. Do it, do it, do it.

I love that. And I, you know, I always— we talk a lot about mindset. And it is a huge part of being creative. And I just did a mindset lesson in the workshop that we're doing right now, too. But And I mean, speaking of what Nancy just said, and those of you watching and you're feeling fearful or doubtful or nervous and thinking, how could that, that possibly be me? There's no way I could ever make my own artwork like that. And I just want to tell you that you can, and you can borrow Nancy's belief, you can borrow my belief, you know what I mean? And, and the best thing you can do to stop that fear in its tracks is to take action steps. Once you take action, once you take one class with me and then do what I'm telling you, do your homework, you're gonna be like, okay, I'm getting it. Then you take that next baby step. It's baby steps all along the way that you're building up.

And because of the master class, I never in my wildest dreams thought I would be doing paint and sips. That's not my job, it's just my little side hustle, it's a little side gig, aren't you? Oh my gosh, I did two. I did two, one Saturday and one Sunday. So yesterday and the day before, I was— I'm catching up today. Busy, busy. But I— but yes, and then I did, I think, either 9 or 10 over the holidays, like during the month of November. And I mean, yeah, you can do so much with what you learn in this.

I love it. So now you're making money with your artwork, and that was never even a part of the plan, right?

Not even part of— and, and I didn't advertise it. I basically posted something, and then somebody was like, oh, you know, I make little things, like if you, you know, you're interested, kind of like little subtle things. And it just sort of— it's, it's like friends and friends of friends. And, you know, yesterday was— it's been— it was 20 people Saturday and 14 people yesterday, which is good for me. It's like not too many. And this is what I painted. This is what we painted.

Oh, it's so cute!

And I have a whole bunch of them because I did one in the blue so people can see that you don't have to do— you could do whatever colors, whatever colors, whatever. This was my, this was my 8-year-old grandson. He was my guinea pig, so he did it. This was him doing it as I instructed. So yeah, this all came from the master class.

This is just amazing. Yeah, I love that so much. So, um, just to kind of speak to that too, the module number 6 is all about how to make money with your artwork. But I do want— sometimes people hear that and they're like, I don't want to, I don't want to do that, I don't want to do it for money, like I just want to learn how to paint. And it's for everyone. You don't have to make money with it if you don't want to. But kind of like what Nancy said, that just kind of unfolded for her. And I don't know how many of you watching know, like, my story with the Social Easel. It was very much the same way. I started the Social Easel and doing paint nights while I was finishing my degree in graphic design. As a mom at 35 years old with 3 daughters, I started this side gig doing paint nights, and before I knew it, it was— I had so many paint nights that I could barely keep up with college anymore, and I ended up quitting and not getting my degree. So I don't have a degree in art, but I do have 6 years of college experience. Um, but I ended up putting all my eggs in that basket and doing paint parties. And even then, I could have never predicted that someday I would teach online, or like that I would be teaching a masterclass for you guys. So I think so much of like the journey with being a creative is just kind of like doing it and then seeing what happens, seeing what opportunity God presents you with when you just follow the path, you know what I mean? And it's exciting because we really can't predict what's around the corner. So love, love your story. Love that you were able to share that with us. Do you have any last thoughts you want to share with anyone before we go?

I guess what I would say should be your takeaway is sort of what I just hit on before. If you're leaning on— if you're leaning into this but not fully in, just just jump in with both feet and, and, and understand that the very first few lessons is going to be— I know you're, you're jumping in because you probably are anxious to, you know, get your, you know, get your paintbrush wet. But trust the, trust the process, because those first 3 modules are teaching you the technique. So when you do pick up the paintbrush, you are better prepared, and that will be a big help for you. So Don't hesitate. I'd say you're not going to regret this. I promise you that you're not going to regret this, and you'll have Nancy in there to cheer you on and all these other ladies.

We have so many alumni coming back for a second year, so I'm excited about that too. And I think that's the other important part of this is like, you guys are not doing it alone. At no point do you feel like you're just at home in your space with no one to talk to. We have the Zoom calls. That you can jump on where you can ask questions about the modules or do critiques. And then you have the amazing group of women who you just like you saw me sharing some of her work from. That was our last year's Facebook group. And we have this community where you get to be around other fellow artists and share the same love and joy for creating. So it's a fun—

this— we're the people and here we all are together.

Yeah, I love it. Well, thank you so much and, um, you have a great day.

Thank you. Thank you, everyone.