Paint Mojo - A Mixed-Media Workshop: Creative Layering Techniques for Personal Expression

Received my book today! I always start a new book by getting a soothing beverage together and find some quiet time to dive in and explore. The book so far is very engaging and I can see it is already a favorite for me. It consists of 9 chapters each with an exercise to do ,each one led by different mixed media artists such as Mary Beth Shaw, Judy wise and Laurie Mika -many more too!)- each with a bunch of photos and stepped out instructions with all kinds of tips to help you you get going. part of the introduction is by Jesse Reno and is all about "personal iconography" and symbols and I am thoroughly intrigued by this and I think will be stuck at this part of the book for awhile because I have been doing this symbol making for as long as I can remember but never put much more thought into it until reading this bit. It has given me a lot to think about and I want to put them all down in my journal in one place to examine more thoughtfully now. I am really enjoying this so far and I want to get a copy to send to my dear SIL as she is an artist but has been in a bit of a slump and I think this would be very inspiring for her. I think we could do some of the exercises together and have a lot of fun! As I get farther into the book I will come back and add to this post and give even more details! I would definitely recommend this book-I think it is designed for artists of any level to find inspiration and there are just tons of eye candy photos through out! Get this book! 7/1/14 Just had to add a note I LOVE THE SPIRAL BINDING!!!!!!!!!! SO thoughtful!!!!IMHO I think all art instruction/inspiration books like this should be bound this way! I wouldn't mind paying a little extra for the priveledge! You don't have to smash your binding open to get it stay flat where you want and then not be able to get it shut again properly like a regular binding! I hope the publishers read this! This binding honors the book! 8/30/14 Are you on the fence about whether or not to choose this book? because you love the art and the amazing color combinations they have? and the subject matter you see? What is in the book is all about the artist from a very deep and personal perspective- she gives you a view of herself and where her soul lives and what from that pours out of her and onto her canvas. How she thinks and feels and her personal experiences , philosophies and inspiration of how she is, where she is now and what led up to it. My advice if you want to find that same mojo Tracy has- PUT YOUR EXPECTATIONS ON THE SHELF-open the book and open up to exploration. That will help you get there. I think expectations lead to preconceived diappointment and this is so not what this book is about- IT IS ALL ABOUT FREEDOM OF MIND AND LETTING IT FLOW ONTO THE CANVAS. This is not a book about getting you to paint just like Tracy and instantly seeing animals in your work-maybe you will maybe you won't- maybe you'll see other things that will amaze you-its about finding your own way through Tracy's own methods. As I mentioned before there are 9 exercises from Tracy -many of which are lessons in setting up you background and the many layers you will go throughto get to a fully completed painting. And...... There is one of her beautiful bird paintings covered , an elephant and a deer with amazing antlers- can't wait to try them all! Of course you are encouraged to further look into your own work to see what you might find there - I do like to audition in others techniques like this to find my own way and Tracy encourages this. The book has a bunch of Tracy's artwork included as well for inspirational eyecandy! I had a chance to read about all the artist Tracy included that have inspired her through the years- many very interesting artists that share techniques, stories and thoughts. Really the book is jam packed with so much! I will post again when I have gone a little further. I am working on my backgrounds and layers for now-and remember no expectations. 10/2/14 Soooo I decided to sign up for Tracy's Ecourse because I wanted to see her demonstrations and get a feel for her vision and working methods. Wow I am loving this course!!!!! You get to see her move the paints around and she shows how she looks for images in her work and then shows how she brings them out- just amazing!!!!I am on the second week watching one of the videos where she takes an old dried up paint palette sheet and brings out 2 gorgeous birds on branches from it!!!! A must see!!! If you like the book this will just completely round out your vision of the lessons it has!!! Check out Tracy's blog she will posting some of her student work on there so you get an idea what we are working on. Her videos are amazing!!! 10/24/14 Another reviewer "Jen" wrote "Mojo is not technique, it is a feeling and the spirituality Tracy has is what guides her work." This is a great sumation of Paint Mojo! 11/12/14 So we just finished up the 6 week ecourse and My mind is blown! Whats in the book is covered AND sooo much more! We had lessons on making these amazing dream catchers and mandalas! Then Tracy demonstrated every week different ways to use and not waste your leftover paint(expensive) on your palette and make incredible art with it! If you haven't tried the Daler Rowney inks-They are insanely amazing-the colors that explode off the the canvas-those ones! and lots of ways to use them! I will get some photos uploaded soon of some of my stuff from the class so you can see!

This book is even more amazing than I expected! This is so much more than a how to, or a list of projects. This book is packed with beautiful insights, gentle encouragement and tried and true methods to deal with creative blocks. As well as incredibly creative and inspiring ideas and projects and gorgeous art throughout. I love this book more each time I pick it up. There is so much helpful information here, I can see myself going through it over and over through the years. This was an excellent purchase! An enormous thank you to the author, Tracy Vertugo, who gave of herself so generously here, in this amazing book. Highly recommended!

I have been looking forward to this book for a long time and it has finally arrived! This art book is more than a how-to; it also provides many inspiring stories and artwork from the author and other contributing artists (including a lot of my favorites like Jesse Reno, Juliette Crane, Lisa Sonora Beam, Judy Wise, Laurie Mika, Orly Avineri, just to name a few--seriously ALL of the artists in this book are very talented and amazing!) The book is the perfect balance of how-to (step-by-step with detailed photos and instructions--I am a visual learner, so this was very important to me) with a lot of fun prompts and assignments sprinkled throughout by the author and the other artists. The stories are all very personal, interesting, inspirational, and will provide you with a lot of insight into the art making process from a technical as well as an almost spiritual perspective. The author has really poured her heart and soul into this book. I feel like I will use this book throughout my own artful journey as it is a book you can return to again and again for ideas and inspiration. The book isn't just about making artwork, it is also about discovering the voice inside of you, the one that will tell your own personal and unique story through the art that you will make. And you will be inspired to do something new and daring even if all you do is just open the book to one random page and absorb the visuals and take in the honest and thoughtful writing on the page.

I absolutely loved this book. Before it arrived I had no preconceived ideas of what to expect. All I knew was I loved Tracy Verdugos colorful, whimsical, intuitive art. When it arrived I found a quiet corner to slip away to to peruse uninterrupted at my leisure. I pored through the book, cover to cover. Could not put it down. I was pleasantly surprised at how soulful her approach to her art and how she shared that approach in the book. It was for me very thought provoking, insightful and spiritual and I think if I met her, I would love her instantly. There are many layers in her particular painting style and through this book, she offers many exercises to get the creative juices loosened up and showed ways to approach a canvas that I would not have thought of before. I was surprised to see many guest artists featured but that was a plus to see many perspectives and different approaches to creative endeavors. I was inspired to tackle a canvas in new ways. I have just signed up for her e-course. I can't wait. She uses several layers in her paintings which she describes in the book.

I bought this book at the same time I bought Traci Bautista's "Printmaking Unleased." I had been waiting for this book to be released and was very excited to get it. Surprisingly, I loved Bautista's printmaking book more than this one. This book has some good info and ideas in it, and it is fabulous that it is spiral-bound so that I can lay it down next to my work area while I'm painting. But there are fewer techniques in it than I hoped there would be, so that was slightly disappointing. But it is still a wonderful book and I'm glad I bought it.

Received my Tracy Verdugo Paint Mojo book a week ago and what can i say wow!!!. First off all love the spiral bind means you can have your book flat on the table and read it without having to hold the book open. Yay!! I was googling rainbows one night and found Tracys website, there i had to read through her blog website to find out more. The colours on her website got my attention, as ive recently brought in lot more colours into my life. I found you could pre-order her book which i ordered right away and couldnt wait to sign up for Tracys e-course. Im so excited to have Tracys book in my hands to discover how she brings colour into her art and her life. I love Tracys passion, love, joy and fun she brings into each piece, i love how there is no set structure to anything she creates, its just sitting in nature or whereever and create, and have fun doing it. Tracys inspiration is nature, which is something i love to enjoy each day, nature. So looking forward to creating with Tracy and everyone else in Paint Mojos group. Thank you so much Tracy for bringing Passion, Love, Joy and Fun back into many peoples lives including mine. Much Love love love from Lyn (australia) xxoxoxox

The artist and author has produced a colorful and somewhat helpful book, but much of the text is devoted to encouragement to step out boldly and create, rather than to what I was hoping for: a greater number of illustrated how-to's. I LOVE her art, and was inspired to try a few different techniques. However, there is, in my opinion, too much of other artists' sample work and not enough of hers. I found myself more trying to extrapolate from the actual step-by-steps; I really expected way more specific step/example pieces, and a bit less wordiness. I did learn a little from this book, but far less than I had anticipated. I'm sure her in-person workshops are wonderful, but the book was a bit of a disappointment.

I have been waiting for Tracy's book to come out and am now excited to have it in my hands. I find the illustrations beautiful and of course that it is filled with Tracy's art and step by step instruction makes it THE BEST art book I have. I absolutely love it being spiral bound, which helps for it to lay flat for ease of working with art projects when having messy hands. Tracey continually fills the book also with encouragement and positive expression which makes it feel like she is right in the room with you!! Exercises to get yourself going creatively are throughout the book as well as instructions for art making. I will never get tired of this book AND it will go with me when I teach my art workshops as a resource!

Me estoy aficionando al MixedMedia y compré este libro por las opiniones leídas en amazon.com. Es realmente bueno, no tan súper bueno como he leído en las opiniones, pero está bien. Tiene muchas ideas interesantes y páginas explicadas paso a paso. Está bien, es interesante.

Awesome tutorials

Ce livre est magnifique avec pleins d'exercices pratiques, bien expliqués et ludiques. Je recommande ce livre à toutes les personnes qui désirent explorer leur créativité ou qui animent des ateliers créatifs.

Mit tollen Anleitungrn

Full of vibrant images but also full of exercises to get you experimenting and developing your own style. Definitely a book I will refer back to, extremely glad I got it!