Do you know how to delight in your art? That’s something I’m embarking on in 2023. I’ve got some ideas to get started, but will be focusing on DELIGHT throughout the year. 

Tutorial: How to delight in your art

For the audio portion of this video, I wasn’t watching the screen – I just sat with the mic and told stories. Read on below for more info on the colors and supplies, as well as some ideas I have to learn how to delight in your art!

Watch the video below and scroll to the end to leave comments or questions — or click HERE to watch it on YouTube and leave comments over there. I read both dutifully!

How to delight in your art

While I’ll be exploring delighting in my art, my business, and my life through 2023, I’ve got a few ideas to start with! (And I’ll be looking back on this list periodically to keep myself in check!)

  1. Stop comparing.
    Don’t look at others’ work and compare your numbers of likes/views to theirs. 
  2. Celebrate your success with others.
    Remember that those who ARE seeing your work are the ones who love what you do. Even if it’s five of them. Appreciate them and cheer them on too!
  3. Note your favorite creative moments.
    Is it the blank page? First color stroke? The sound of the pen on the paper? Figure out which parts bring you delight! Pay close attention to each step in your process if you don’t know the answer to this question.
  4. Share anyway.
    Even if you’re feeling unsure – maybe ESPECIALLY if you’re feeling unsure – share your work. You can find a safe place like Artventure if you feel uncomfortable on large public sites. But find someone to share work with who can be your cheerleader.
  5. Become a cheerleader.
    On your most “down” days, create a cheerleader post that speaks to where you are. If you’re feeling discouraged, write a post to lift up others who are downtrodden. Are you feeling like a failure? Find a quote or meme about success coming from failure and let that encourage others like you. 
  6. No dwelling.
    If you’ve found yourself for weeks, months, or years complaining of a comment/action/illness/job problem/etc that holds you down, turn it around. The more it’s repeated, the more hold it has on you. Declare aloud that you’re not a victim – and seek friends who will remind you of that truth. This isn’t about ignoring your pain, it’s about not letting it rule you.

Need some DELIGHT in your home?

Purchase the original piece HERE, or order a full size or miniprint from Society6  – or maybe even a zipper pouch! (Be careful on the pouches, check the placement of “delight” in the preview images; I could only upload one option for all of them and it seems to get cut off on some sizes.)

The new Daniel Smith colors

These won’t tell you how to delight in your art – but they might help you MAKE delightful art! I’m curious if any of these will try to nudge into my palette…see my notes about what intrigues me about each.

Kings Royal Blue | Chrome Titanate Yellow |  Iridescent Vibrant Raspberry  | Janes Black Red/Green  | Janes Black Blue/Orange 

King’s Royal Blue

Pigment: PB 29, PB 15, PW 4 / Series: 2
Lightfastness: I – Excellent
Transparency: Semi-transparent
Staining: 2 – Low-staining
Granulation: Granulating

This blue is a perfect sky blue – though my skies tend to be moody ones rather than representational of actual color, so I’m not certain this belongs in my palette. But I’ll play with it and see.

Chrome Titanate Yellow

Pigment: PBR24 / Series: 2
Lightfastness: I – Excellent
Transparency: Semi-opaque
Staining: 2 – Low-staining
Granulation: Granulating

A very nice yellow for flower gardens, with a little opacity – great for yellow flowers on the shaded side. I’ve been staring at my Aureolin to decide if it stays or goes, so I’ll see.

Iridescent Vibrant Raspberry

Pigment: PW 20, PW 6, Iron Oxide / Series: 3
Lightfastness: I – Excellent
Transparency: Transparent
Staining: 1 – Non-Staining
Granulation: Granulating

Like Iridescent Electric Blue – the shimmer was evident when used thickly. Same with this one. But the granulation is a bit off the charts for me, I don’t picture using it necessarily.

Jane’s Black (Blue/Orange)

Pigment: PB 15:6, PR 188, PO 71 / Series: 2
Lightfastness: I – Excellent
Transparency: Semi-Transparent
Staining: 2 – Low-staining
Granulation: Non-granulating

I trust Jane Blundell with color ideas – and these two blacks are piquing my interest. They’re mixed with pigments I already use to make black – so I wouldn’t have to mix that anymore. (I’ve struggled with whether to have a black in the palette at all….I keep trying different ones and prefer my mixes to those ready made colors. The DS site says these can become deep blues  by adding Phthalo Blue (Red Shade) tor by adding Transparent Pyrrol Orange to create rich orange-browns. Going to try these combos with colors in my palette currently.

Jane’s Black (Red/Green)

Pigment: PG 7, PR 264 / Series: 2
Lightfastness: I – Excellent
Transparency: Semi-Transparent
Staining: 3 – Medium-staining
Granulation: Non-granulating

This is another neutral black – transparent and non-granulating. It dilutes to beautiful neutral grays, or according to the DS website, it can be turneed into a range of rich greens by adding Phthalo Green (Blue Shade), which I want to play with – or to a range of aubergine, plum and maroon with the addition of Pyrrol Crimson. Not sure I’ll be adding multiple colors to the palette but maybe this’ll work with other reds and greens that I have.

Thoughts on these colors

As noted in the text with each of these – I may consider some, but will paint with them a while before making decisions. The blacks have me intrigued so I might have to play with them in mixes and see how that goes before choosing! In good news for Jane’s colors – I’m not sold on any of the blacks I’ve been trying, so these stand a chance.

Supplies

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8 Comments

  1. Luna

    Hi Sandy, really enjoyed this video and you sharing your trials and tribulations about art making and marketing. Quick question, you seem to be using a TWSBI eco pen. What nib are you using and do you like it? It that Noodlers Bulletproof ink in it to do the line work? Thanks!

    Reply
  2. Chantal P.

    I go the email, saw the video,, so I thought… or did I ?

    Any how, FT post about a different swatching method, made me come back! Ah!

    Now I see says the blind man….

    I was looking for a black myself, (since I got a gift card in a gift exchange) and since these are contestants for you I am thinking they may be for me too…
    But like Jane’s grey I may now just do my own mix and keep a half pan of it on hand since I don’t really use black and a whole tube maybe just a tad much….

    But again this flowy loose wash and ink always make me want to get back to my watercolor so I can practice some more and finally achieve a similar level…

    Thank you Sanday

    Reply
    • Sandy Allnock

      You might have seen the version of this post that I put over on Artventure— that’s a smaller version of the full blog post and a little chattier and casual. Less photos

      Reply
  3. Karen Zemko

    You will never know how your videos brighten my day! I guess I have 2 words for 2023 – lighten up! I have much to be thankful for but tend to dwell on the negative. So I’ve asked God to help me with that. Also wanted to let you know I watched this video on YT and a totally different format popped up. No place to leave a comment. Not sure why that happened, so I wanted to be sure to 1) let you know and 2) know how much I enjoy your videos – even the stick! Have a DELIGHTful new year!

    Reply
  4. Gab

    Thanks for all you do to delight the world!

    Reply
  5. Shannon

    Sandy!
    This artwork is amazing.
    And your suggestions on delighting in your art is something I will definitely do this year.
    Thank you for your constant source of inspiration.
    Cheers!
    Shannon

    Reply
  6. Janis Lorman

    Interesting and encouraging. My word for ‘23 is “growth”. I’m learning so much and it is exhilarating! Love watching you work – whatever the medium.

    Reply
  7. Laura

    I love the idea and I will try re create the card with watercolor and ink! You are amazing!!

    Reply

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