Embrace the Magic of Mixed Media: Join Us for the Art of Creative Living Retreat on Lady Elliot Island
Hello, Creative Hearts!
I couldn't be more thrilled that the Art of Creative Living Retreat on Lady Elliot Island is just around the corner. I’ve been dreaming about all the adventures we are going to have and the anticipation is building up.
While the retreat is an incredible opportunity to immerse yourself in art and nature, I thought it would be lovely to share about the materials we will be using and you can learn about my favourite painting and sketching supplies these days, in the hope they might inspire you to try some new techniques.
So, let's dive into the world of mixed media and the materials we'll be using during our creative adventures. All of these will be included in each retreat guest’s art materials pack to keep and take home after the retreat.
I’ve also included links so you can set yourself up with your own pack of supplies at home if you’d like to expand your creative tools.
Exploring the Possibilities of Mixed Media
One of the aspects that makes mixed media so captivating is its boundless potential for self-expression. During the retreat, we will be working with a delightful combination of art materials, including Luminance pencils, Neo-colour II Pastels, Daniel Smith watercolours, and an assortment of watercolour pens. Each of these mediums brings its own unique qualities, allowing us to experiment and create in various styles - and embrace loads of colourful expression.
Luminance Pencils
With Luminance pencils, we can achieve exquisite details and delicate shading. These artist-grade pencils offer exceptional lightfastness and a smooth application, ensuring our sketches come to life. Until I discovered these pencils, I never was terribly interested in pencils. The beautiful thing about the Luminance range is its huge variety of gorgeous colours and subtle hues. You can buy colours I’d never known existed in colour pencil form and the great thing is they are lightfast.
Some of my favourite colours are Genuine Cobolt Blue (662), Chrysocolla Blue (671), Light Cobalt Blue (661), Silver Grey (002), Light Malachite Green (181) and Olive Yellow (015). I also love that you can buy these pencils individually instead of having to buy a whole set. I usually get mine from Jackson’s Art and they have recently opened a depot in Australia so it’s even faster shipping.
Neo-colour II Pastels
The Neo-colour II Pastels are a personal favourite of mine. They lend a tactile and playful element to our artwork, allowing us to embrace texture and explore bold, vibrant strokes. These water-soluble pastels offer endless possibilities, from capturing the essence of the island's coral reefs to adding gestural elements to our creations.
Some of my favourite colours include Light Cobalt Blue, Turquoise Blue, Turquoise Green, White, Indigo Blue and Sky Blue.
Daniel Smith Watercolours
When it comes to achieving rich, luminous colours, Daniel Smith's watercolours are unparalleled. With their extensive range of hues, we can capture the essence of the island's breathtaking sunsets and the vibrant life teeming beneath the crystal-clear waters. These watercolours allow us to create stunning washes, blend seamlessly, and evoke a sense of depth and tranquillity in our paintings.
I’ve been using Daniel Smith watercolours for about five years now, having learnt about their range when we lived on the boat and I needed to switch things up from my usual oil paints (which took too long to dry on a boat!)
Daniel Smith has been the watercolour range of my choice ever since and I’ve subsequently shared them with guests who joined the Art of Creative Living Retreat last year and coaching clients, too. Folks often tell me how the saturated colours have transformed the way they paint and how they enjoy the ease and accessibility of watercolours.
We will be using these colours in a custom-made palette on the retreat:
Buff Titanium - great for sand, beaches, marble
Hansa Yellow Medium
Quinacridone Gold
Pyrrol Scarlet
Pyrrol Crimson
Quinacridone Rose
Ultramarine - (granulating & lifting)
Cerulean Chromium
Phathlo Blue - Green shade (Staining & transparent)
Phathlo Green - Blue shade
Sap green
Goethite - great for sandstone, beaches, trees, greens
Burnt Sienna
Raw Umber
Jane’s Grey
Additional Colours I love
Undersea Green
Perelyne green
Burnt Umber
Yellow Ochre
Moonglow - I love this colour!
You can buy a Daniel Smith spot card to try all the different colours!
Assorted Watercolour Pens
To add a touch of versatility and spontaneity, we will also be using assorted watercolour pens. These pens offer convenience and ease of use, perfect for capturing quick impressions or adding expressive details on the go. They allow us to work with blocks of vibrant colour, enhancing the dynamic nature of our artistic process while outdoors and capturing scenes more quickly.
Embrace Your Inner Artist
Even if you won't be joining us on the retreat, I hope you feel inspired and encouraged to explore mixed media techniques in your own artistic journey. If you're eager to dive into the world of Daniel Smith watercolours, I highly recommend checking out their colour swatch dots. These handy dots will allow you to experiment with an incredible selection of 238 colours, discovering new possibilities and finding the perfect palette that resonates with your artistic vision.
I've also included some photos of my art journals in this blog post. They showcase sketches inspired by the captivating underwater world on Lady Elliot Island. I hope these images transport you to a realm of tranquillity, where turtles, fish, and various islands come to life on the pages.
Whether you're joining us on Lady Elliot Island or exploring from afar, may these art materials and techniques inspire you to unleash your creativity and embrace the joy of self-expression.
Techniques for Mixed Media
My suggestion is to use your watercolour paints or watercolour markers as the base layer of your piece. Then, when that is dry, you can add more texture, tone and details with the coloured pencils. I use the Neo-colour II Pastels as the final layer as they go over the top of the other materials really beautifully, but they are difficult to draw or paint over the top of. So I suggest using them to add more variety to your marks, gestural lines and pops of colour to your piece at the end.
You are Invited to Join us on Lady Elliot Island
If you would like to join us for this once-in-a-lifetime experience, I warmly invite you to join me for the next Art of Creative Living Retreat in September, on the southern tip of the Great Barrier Reef on Lady Elliot Island. There are still a couple of places available, so I warmly invite you to send me an email at info@nicolanewman.com if you’d like to ask any questions, make time to have a chat with me or reserve your place.
I’d love, love, love to share this place with you. It really is special, and these art materials will make it super fun to capture our impressions of the island and express our inner playfulness and creativity.
Wishing you a beautiful day ahead!
Be kind to yourself and nurture your creativity.
With my warm wishes,
Nicola xx
About Nicola Newman
I'm a Creative Business Coach, Award-Winning Artist & Mentor for Creative Hearts who want to flourish, flow & prosper.
My approach combines self-care, playfulness, and mindfulness to support sensitive, values-driven creatives to navigate self-doubt and cultivate deep self-trust so they can truly enjoy the creative process, bring together their body of work, make money doing what they love and leave a creative legacy they’re proud of.
As an award-winning artist and creative mentor, my free resources, online courses, coaching programs, and retreats support Creative Hearts to embrace their passions, prioritise their creative expression, and build loving relationships with themselves.
Let’s pour a cuppa and get to know one another, shall we? :) Read more about my story here.