BLAGH

Why, hello there! Painter, illustrator, graphic designer alyssamees.com Instagram: alyssamees

[alyssamees]

My cat drawing marathon from last week! Check out my instagram post for tagged IG cats :)

[alyssamees]

✨My online shop has now reopened after a summer vacation!✨ Visit alyssamees.com/shop to see what's available. Some very, very special originals are now up for grabs. I love these pieces so much and it'll be hard to see them go, but it's time they find new loving homes😊 Lots of fine art prints are also available, and stickers will come with every package👍 Thank you all for the ongoing support, the die hard collectors, the sweet comments and encouragement... everything! I couldn't do it without you and I'm always amazed at the the support☺️💕

[alyssamees]

Hi Alyssa, I'm a big fan of your work and recently you've inspired me to do some wood painting as well. I'm very thankful for the small tutorials you've had on prepping wood on your instagram and/or vimeo, but what do you do after you're done painting on the wood to keep everything looking good? Do you put some sort of varnish on it, or anything like that? Or do you just leave it? Thank you so much! Best wishes :)

Hi! I do varnish it afterwards with Golden Archival Spray Varnish and that helps seal everything and makes the colors pop more. I used to use brush-on varnish and that worked fine for a while, but I noticed it would drag some of my colors around (I was probably being too impatient to let things dry completely >_<). I also like the spray because I think it provides a nice smooth surface. That’s just my preference, its always good to try things out for yourself :) After varnishing, I place the wet painting under a makeshift tent so dust and hair dont get in the varnish. Learned that trick from JAW Cooper.

[alyssamees]

My newest timelapse video is now up on YouTube😊 Thank you all who have been waiting to watch it! I wish I had more time in the day to edit and make videos. 



🖌Materials


-Acrylic on clear gessoed wood


-Long brushes are called script liners, I use many sizes


-Acrylic was thinned with water and sparingly with flow aid

Song: “Midway” by Bad Bad Hats (💕 love this band)

[alyssamees]

Hi Alyssa! Is there a specific brand of acrylic paints you would recommend for beginners? And is there a way you like to paint with acrylics? I'm very new to painting with acrylic paint. I truly adore your art and would love to know some of your tips and tricks (:

Hi! Thank you for writing me!I’ve almost always used Liquitex besides some really inexpensive craft brands. I think Liquitex is a good brand and I like the consistency. But its all personal preference, its good to try a few brands and see what works for you. I’ve read Golden brand is good too :)

Hmm ways I like to paint... quickly! So I’m glad acrylic has a quick drying time. I also never use paint right out of the tube. Its always mixed with other colors and water, sometimes a little bit of flow aid.Some tips I have:

Have patience

Let layers dry completely before blending more layers on top, or else you might rub previous layers off

Make sure to rinse or clean your brushes constantly while painting. Acrylic dries fast and can ruin brushes. Don’t let your brushes sit in water, too, as that will ruin them. 

Experiment and have fun!

[alyssamees]

I think you are wonderful, I love you <3

Ah! Thank you very much! Super sweet of you!!

[alyssamees]

Did you ever battle with acne?

Hmmm not really. As a teen I would get break outs here and there, but they weren’t terrible. I would cover them with some sort of strategic hairstyle or some of my mom’s concealer. I used a lot of oxyclean in highschool and have moisturized with Olay since I was 13, that may have helped?

[alyssamees]

Is there an online store where I get the paint you use?

Hi! Sure, you can find Liquitex paints at most large art stores. Here they are on Blicks:http://www.dickblick.com/products/liquitex-heavy-body-professional-acrylics/

[alyssamees]

Hi alyssa, What kind of brush u use for outlining your drawing?

Hi! For my paintings I outline with a script liner brush :)

[alyssamees]

Hello! You are one of my absolute favorite artists and I love following you on Instagram and tumblr. I just began doing art full-time last summer and I could use some pointers. I wish we could meet for coffee and I could pick your brain, but I guess this'll have to do. One thing I would like to know is how you structure your time and balance life, work and fun projects/studies. Another thing I'm curious about is how you organize your art room and supplies. Thanks, Tiffany!

Hi Tiffany! Sorry for the late reply and thank you for taking the time to write me! I’m so happy to hear you love my work! :D Congrats on art for full-time!! (This answer is going to be loooong and I’m gonna ramble)My ProblemThis is such an important question I’ve been asking myself a lot lately.

I’m actually finding it really really hard to balance everything right now. From work, married life, packaging online orders, helping keep our home clean, managing my social media, being a good friend, social events, trying to be healthy, drawing, painting, fulfilling creative passions, and so much more... I want to be the best I can be in all aspects of my life, but its kinda overwhelming!I have a full time design day job where I also manage a team of designers and spend my days putting out little fires between them and clients. I like it for the most part, I like leading a team, but it can be physically and mentally draining. I realized a while ago that what I do make with my artwork alone will not cover rent, insurance, my ridiculous student loans, my cheese addiction, and all the other expensive stuff that comes with adulthood.... thus I’m sticking with the day job for now. I’d love to be a full time artist someday, but right now it just doesnt seem like a realistic option for me.

So when I get home from work, I want to cook (cause I also love cooking) and then eat (cause I love eating), and by the time I’m done I am SO, soooo tired :/ Its hard to decide lately if I want to only get 5 hours of sleep so I can feed my art needs. Sometimes I do stay up and feel like a zombie the next day, but at least I got some painting done and that will make me feel super accomplished.

My Under Construction SolutionsI’ve been striving for balance the past few months. I will try to do little things at a time so I wont get overwhelmed with big projects. I make tons of to-do lists with notes that say “it will only take you 15 minutes, just do it” or “ do this and you’ll feel really great about yourself :D”. I really have to push myself and make encouraging notes to the future, tired Alyssa. So organizing to-do lists and visualizing things I’d like to get done has helped a lot. I also scribble down and save ideas so that they don't get lost within my busy life.Pushing myself to just get up and get something done is easier said than done, but the payoff is proving to myself that I am capable of doing a lot. You have to be your own cheerleader sometimes.

Another thing I’ve noticed that helps is getting up early... on the weekends :o If I get up early on weekends, I usually feel like I actually have enough time to get chores and grocery shopping and painting and a nap in throughout one day. Organizing My Art SpaceA lot of the time its honestly an organized mess in my studio. I do keep supplies separate and in their own corners so they don’t damage each other.

Most of my paint is stored in a large bin under my art desk, but my favorite colors are lined up on top of the desk for easy access

My brushes are organized in a few jars from favorites, to small, to big brushes. I also have jars for pencils, pens and erasers

I have a separate desk for shipping supplies and cutting mats

My originals and prints are on the opposite side of the room far from any paint splatter or shipping materials

Sooo that’s how I’m trying to balance and organize my life. Its messy and busy, but I’m fortunate that it is that way. I’m happy to have a lot of wonderful things to fill up my time, I just wanna manage it better :)

Hope that answered your questions!

[alyssamees]

hi alyssa! i wanted to try making timelapses of my painting and i am pretty clueless with a camera. could you share how you do yours (do you have an interval timer?) and just any tips at all? it would be much appreciated

Hi! Sure! It takes a lot of experimentation and I’m still learning a lot.

TLDR: I use a camera on a tripod and turn recording on and off a bunch of times throughout the process. I use iMovie to edit.So I use my Canon 60D on a tripod (that’s always right up in my face) with a couple of LED lights set up. I also keep a couple of batteries charging so they’re ready to change out when I need them. I try to only paint in certain lights, so if I started the painting at night, I’d try to continue painting at night so the lighting is consistent. Learning about ISO and your camera settings is important, and I’m definitely still learning till this day. As for filming, I don’t keep the camera recording all the time. With my videos I don’t show the WHOLE ENTIRE process, I show bits and pieces of important areas that take a while to paint. I will press record when I start a vital part like filling in a big space or lining, then turn it off when I think I got a good shot. Then I’ll continue to paint a little while without filming. After the painting is done and I have all my footage, I then comb through it and edit out a lot of unnecessary parts like blank footage where my hand is out of frame mixing paint or washing a brush. I’ve been using iMovie for years for editing because its pretty simple and gets the job done for me. Although I’ve recently been exploring other programs to improve the quality of my videos. I recently just downloaded the free version of Davinci Resolve so I could color correct my videos since all my lighting has always been a bit inconsistent. When it’s all edited, I spend FOREVER deciding on a song that I think goes with it, then edit my shots so they kinda line up with beats in the song. Then I save and upload it to youtube :) I will also edit a shorter video especially for instagram, highlighting all my favorite parts. So that’s it! That’s the basics on how I record. Its a bit tedious, but I’ve been doing it for years and I’m constantly learning and improving so that I feel my next video is better than my last. There’s a bunch of different ways to film time lapses, I certainly dont think mine is the best way and I would love to improve even more. Hope this helped and all the best in your painting and filming adventures :)

[alyssamees]

Hellooo~~~Always been a fan of yourrrrrsssss, Thank you 😄 , You're inspiring me to work hard in painting. I love love your videos in vimeo, pictures in instagram and this page is AWESOMEEEE 😊😊, I have a question, what are your most used colors in liquitex besides unbleached titanium, baltic blue, and burnt umber?

Hi! Ahhh! Thank you so much! I’m so happy you enjoy all my work and how I display it :D Ooo good and observant question haha. Those are definitely my favorites. I have to hold myself back from using baltic blue all the time on hair. Hmmm I use a lot of white, yellow oxide and I like light portrait pink. I try not use them directly out of the tubes, so they all get mixed up into random paint soups with other random colors I have lying around :)

[alyssamees]

Answering all my questions on Instagram DMs and Tumblr :) Sorry its taken a while, I like to give thorough answers and just havent had the time to sit down and address them. Thank you all for your interest! Feel free to ask more if you’d like :)

[alyssamees]

Edited pictures from my arboretum trip. This is my favorite out of the bunch :)

[alyssamees]

Finished my little blueberry piece last night! Its nice to get some more painting done lately. Thanks to all who kept up on snapchat😊 🖌Acrylic on wood 👻 Snapchat: Alyssamees

[alyssamees]

I threaten to paint these berries every time I see them. Seriously think to myself "Imma paint chu!!!". So, I'm doing that today! Follow on snapchat at alyssamees to see the process.

[alyssamees]

Excited to share process pictures and end result of my latest commission :D