 Over the past 12 years as a professional artist, I have explored hundreds of ways to make my own acrylic texture mediums. Some of these experiments have been a huge success, and I love to share these in my workshops. Others have sent my entire family running outside for some fresh air because the fumes I created with my "concoctions" were so toxic. Quite simply, when you limit yourself to shopping only at the art store, you limit yourself. For me, art is free, fearless and limitless, so I like to explore my options and make my own rules. I believe the best kind of art is autobiographical, so I encourage you to find ways to infuse your life and personality into your canvas. After all, you are the subject matter you know best. The following is a list of 99 items I have personally used (mixed with acrylic paint), to create texture on my canvases:  Painting on the earth, with the earth, reminds me where we came from and where we will eventually return. We owe so much reverence and thanks to this sacred land we tread upon. My paintings are snapshots of my earthly journey. They capture the essence of a place, a feeling, a moment in time. Titanium white, yellow ochre, neutral grey, payne's grey, burt sienna, burnt umber, green clay, white sand, pebbles, feathers, bones, brine flies, charcoal, and salt water from the Great Salt Lake where all used to create this work.  You paint who you are. The attitude you take inside the studio reflects your attitude outside of the studio. And vice versa.  The energy we infuse into our paintings is real, and others can feel it when they experience our work.  Painting “fearless” is the best way I know to make work that is meaningful, sustainable, fresh, magnetic, beautiful and inspiring. “Calibrating your creative compass” simply means periodically taking the time to check in with yourself to make sure you are on the right track. The following 6 questions are designed to help you identify your motivations and how they influence your creative process.  If you keep doing what your are doing, you are going to get more of what you've got. Become a fearless artist VS a fearful artist and experince the freedom, and the transformation. It's time! Defending the status quo is no longer worth it. Embrace the daSilva Method today and begin to detach yourself from these commonly shared excuses. The world needs you to live your most creative, most passionate, and most awakened self.  Registered for a Fearless Abstract Painting workshop? Find the answers to 20 Frequently Asked Questions below:  Short answer? Because it’s sustainable. It’s the only thing that will give you adequate amounts of creative fuel, so that you can keep doing what you are doing.  Lately, I have been joking around with my students that since my palette is gradually getting lighter and lighter, I’ll eventually end up painting just a plain white canvas. Upon sharing this, we all laugh because the thought of doing this seems ridiculous. Recently though, I’ve come to realize that the notion is not as crazy as it seems. Here’s why: |
