Social media has been good to me over the last year. I decided to stop keeping my work and it’s process such a secret and it’s led to incredible friendships, inspiring other artists, motivating new ones, art trades, sales and being able to mildly teach how I do what I do. I never claim to 100% be the best at what I’m trying to achieve but for right now, my methods work for me. I am in a constant state of learning but having others ask about my journey has been a joy to share. The people that have become fans of my work have become some of my biggest inspirations. I continue to share because it continues to gain response and wonder. As much as I may help others, even a simple question asked can help bring clarity to what I’m doing. It encourages me to think deeper about how I create and why I’m doing it in a certain way.
A little while back I was getting tons of questions about my flesh tone color palette. The amount of inquiry was beautiful and overwhelmed me with joy. I plan on making a few videos this summer but wanted to help in a small way while I could now. This led to me writing out what my palette consists of and the flesh colors I use. I made a PDF and sent it to those that were curious. The comments back have been wonderful, from fellow established artists wanting to compare their own palette to high school students just starting out using oil paint. My reach has been wide and varied and it’s such a blessing.
The first use of my palette popped up on instagram yesterday and I was so blown away to see my little demo being helpful.. I nearly lost it. This is what it must feel like to teach and see a student, so passionate about learning, really take your advice and run with it. Cara has become a good art friend of mine and I’ve loved seeing her progress over the last year. She makes brilliant work but said she was struggling with flesh tone. Seeing my color palette mixed through her hands was unreal. We live so far apart but somehow, without a classroom in sight, I was teaching. I am so proud and so excited to see how she progresses and if my advice becomes helpful to her practice.
If you’re on instagram.. follow her. @misscaramason and check out her website here: http://www.caramason.com
image copyright Cara Mason
I can’t wait to see what others do with this. It’s unbelievable.