I once read that wanderlust meant to have a strong desire for or impulse to wander or travel and explore the world. That message stuck with me so much I named my business the two things I love and have impacted my life. Wanderlust Collective, the need to go on adventures, explore, and be in a collective to share those adventures.

We finished the first week, jumping into a medium I use a lot when drawing...charcoals. It was a fun week of inspiration from Brazil, learning some cool techniques using the medium, and fusing that all together to create a cool composition based in the jungle...monkeys anyone??? 

My passion has been to free the artist hiding inside of you and show the multiple ways to get out into this universe. My goal is for my students to gain the courage to delve deep into their souls and pull out the exciting artist that I know is within them. Did you know that art can be therapeutic? Ask me how I know? Art has given me so much peace and has helped me to go places I thought I never would...literally!

That’s why I listen to my students, each course is shaped according to the feedback I received. Feedback such as…”My lack of style, my subject matter, my mark making, have all been my stumbling block”. It doesn’t have to be that way. That’s why I’ve made it my mission to go back to first base and feed my beginner students. Taking a different approach to how I teach art. Using my fun experiences of travel inspirations and bringing the whole experience together with art.  

This week I’m wandering to the Big Apple, the one and only New York City. 

New York has always been a special place to me because I spent most of my life there. It’s always fun to go back and visit my old stomping grounds. The city is a melting pot of many cultures and experiences. You need more than a week to dig through the layers of Gotham… another name the city has adopted.

I love visiting the most known parts like the Empire State building, Central Park, and Times Square. But to really get to know New York, you need to dig deeper. It is ever changing, and it’s not just what you see on the surface, you need to go into other parts like Brooklyn. I made it a point to get lost in Brooklyn, and found myself immersed in a never ending neighborhood of art. The murals were everywhere. There is a collective there (go figure) that has made it a point to change the neighborhood. They come together from all over the world to leave a beautiful piece of art. If you’re wondering who this collective is I’ll tell you. They are called The Bushwick Collective. This was just another confirmation to me that I’m on the right track. Talk about a sign...no really it was on the wall and everything!

In Comes Pastels

I wanted to choose a medium most would probably never think of. When I looked through all my paints, I found that the most versatile were my pastels. Yup, perhaps I’m affected by the beautiful bright colors of all of the murals. Or, maybe because I feel it brought me back full circle, because that’s where I started using them. Either way, they’re my medium of choice for this adventure. 

These colorful sticks are great to use from linear sketchy art pieces to full on colorful paintings. The finished work can look just as exciting and luminescent as paintings.

History Anyone?

Did you know that it was a favored medium among the  greats like Mary Cassatt, William Merritt Chase, and Edgar Degas? Yup, and they weren’t the only ones! Pastels originated in Northern Italy in the 16th century, and were produced from pure powdered pigments mixed with gum arabic, fish or animal glue as a binder. The only colors available were red, black and white. We certainly have come a long way, because today we have a massive array of colors available.