Student Blooms!
student blooms!
from flower flow
dear artsy friend,
Today I’m super excited to share gorgeous art from the students of my class Flower Flow! Watch the video above and let yourself feel inspired, then you can take a closer look at the many many lovely paintings below, read about the students’ experience and even take a peek inside some of their creative spaces. Enjoy!
As a teacher and “inspirer”, I cannot begin to tell you how much joy and pride it gives me to see all these wonderful people get to work, dare to play and experiment, to create something beautiful from their hands, heart and soul. In my previous post last week, I talked about my mantra “Dream Create Inspire”, my purpose as an artist and creative guide. When I see all these joyful, poetic, dreamy and completely unique paintings, it gives me such a boost of motivation to keep sharing my love of art no matter what.
“Flower Flow is such a fun, happy and joy-filled class! It is impossible not to feel inspired and creative as Laly takes you through each lesson. Each section is very unique and individual with many different techniques and styles. One of my very favorite classes ever!! ”
start small & get playing!
Every lesson in Flower Flow starts with a warm-up activity where we create a series of mini studies. To me (and the students seem to agree!) it’s so useful to start by exploring a technique, a theme or a color palette at a smaller scale, and on multiple substrates. There’s a lot less pressure than “painting a painting” straight away and no fear of ruining it: if some of these little artworks don’t end up to your liking, put them in your pile of collage fodder!
But very often the results are absolutely delightful and you will surprise yourself in the best of ways. Because when you let go of expectations, get playful and spontaneous, that’s often when your best art will come out!
“Flower Flow really took me out of my comfort zone. I went from never painting a flower before to a literal garden of work around my studio. I absolutely loved the warm up lessons as inspiration and even framed a few of my mini series. I completed every single exercise and painting in Flower Flow - I did not want it to end!”
take it to the canvas!
Once you’re all warmed up and inspired, it’s time to take the next step and move on to a bigger canvas! Flowers are such a forgiving subject, perfect to try new things and a whole variety of styles. Pay attention to which techniques, colors and materials appeal to you, so you can dive deeper, get more daring and make them yours!
I absolutely love the variety of what the students have created. Some have stayed close to the lessons at first, then gently expanded their horizons on the next canvas with different flowers or a unique color palette. Others boldly jumped right into some completely unique interpretations of the projects. There’s no right or wrong! What matters is to have fun, keep playing and stay open to beautiful surprises…
“Flower Flow has taught me to trust the intuitive process of my art. From messy sketches made with my non-dominant hand to a beautiful canvas I am proud to display in my home. Each layer holds its own beauty, your techniques have given me confidence in expression rather than perfection. I love the feeling when a mistake becomes a beautiful part of of the finished piece.”
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“I had never painted flowers before this class and Laly’s instruction made it simple and beautiful. I love the rich textures and layers of color in Laly’s work. Her techniques have definitely increased my ability to make beautiful art.”
“I’m in a place of peace and pleasure as I look at my completed Rainbow Meadow. Each step during this creative process, I’d walk away and come back in to look at it, add something, cover over something, touch up paints... then on to the next step. Moments when I was unsure and hesitant with a brush or piece of collage or color of paint, then watching your videos again and finding a creative solution. Learning how to step back, relax, experiment and not rush the process, pulling in what made me happy.”
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“I am proud of the “mistakes” that shifted my mindset and moved me to discover my own style. With Flower Flow, seeds of hope were planted. I began nurturing my process daily and gradually, I began to look at my efforts with satisfaction. Embracing the process and getting lost in a journey of self discovery has brought me great joy.”
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“This was my first venture onto canvas instead of an art journal and it was terrifying and WONDERFUL! I kept a vase with blushing pink roses on my desk the whole time to inspire me. Thank you Laly!”
make it yours!
One of my very favorite things is to see pictures of students’ creative spaces and messy tables! When I’m filming a class, I’m alone in the studio with headphones, mic and the camera rolling… but all the time I speak to and think of the future participants, trying to make you feel like you’re right there with me, and make this experience as inspiring as possible for you, so that in turn YOU can have a wonderful time in your own creative haven!
And when I see pictures of your spaces, and paintings in the making, it suddenly feels so much more real to me, and so fulfilling. Because yes, the classes I offer are online, but the whole point is for you to create something real, tangible, right where you are! Put on your apron, get your hands dirty and your table messy, get to work and create something that you will have fun making, be proud to hold, and that will inspire others around you.
“Your classes make me grow in artistic maturity, the sense of intuitively feeling my art tools, enjoying my fingers and letting them tell their own story from the heart. You give us endless possibilities.”
let's paint together!
When I see all these beautiful artworks, it makes me even more excited to be reopening Flower Flow next week!! OMG we’re going to have so much fun, and honestly, in these grim times, I cannot wait to see more and more painterly flowers bloom all over the world. I created this class to lift our spirits during covid last year, and I think we could still do with an extra dose of joy, color and sweetness today.
Flowers may not seem like much and yes, they are fragile, small and ephemeral. But they are so much more than that! If it’s true that “what we focus on, grows”, then maybe painting something as simple as flowers can help us grow what our world most needs right now: love, light, joy, beauty, kindness, inspiration, healing and harmony with the natural world. So let’s keep painting, let’s cultivate all these good vibes right there on our canvas, and let’s keep sharing them with the world!