What can I teach you about art? What colleges have I attended? This is the WordPress prompt. I’m borrowing it because I’ve just read Austin Kleon’s words, teach what you know. In this post I’m going to teach what I know.

It feels weird to think about what I can teach. I don’t think of myself as an expert. I do paint a lot, and I have learned along the way. I have so much to share. Grab a cup of coffee or tea and maybe a little dessert.

Here we go!

What colleges have you attended?

I am a graduate of Pasadena City College and Cal State Los Angeles. In college I studied Entrepreneurship and Marketing. You know I took art classes and Botany. I learned about violence and racism in the media and writing! I took an awesome English course. The theme was women in history. It was proud of the paper.

If you have the opportunity to attend a collage, go. Go especially if it’s paid for so you can learn all you can about what ignites you and sets your soul on fire. Then infuse your life with everything that you are interested in. College gave me an opportunity to get out of my shell and into public speaking and learning about the world around me.

There is a world full of learning possibilities!

College and certainly art school isn’t for all of us. I do wish I had chosen a minor in art at least immerse myself more in the world of art. The good news is you can. There are books and places like Skillshare and You Tube where you can learn all you can about a topic. I will provide a list of resources in this post. You can also head over to my art tools page.

Words of wisdom from wonderful artists

These are the words that I often reflect on in my creative space. I have been thinking about a list of rules for A Painted Garden. I’ll share more of that in my next post but for now here’s my list of thoughts worth sharing.

• There is only make
• Find a place you trust and trust it often
• What made you weird as a kid, makes you great today
• Your work will go through an awkward phase. Keep working.
• The only right way to paint a flower is your way.
• Draw what you want for you and keep doing that.
• The purpose of art is to get rid of everything that others want you to be and just be yourself
• Be brave
• Before you publish something ask why. It’s the so what test.
• Your art journal is your place to play
• The art is in the block of clay. You have to carve away all that doesn’t belong.

Courses and artists that are worth your time

Most of what I have learned with art has been online and books. Oh, but the real learning came as I was painting or working on a business idea.

These are books.

Personal Growth

How to Win Friends and Influence People

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People

Think and Grow Rich

The Law of The Garbage Truck

Art

Austin Kleon Show Your Work

James Victore Feck Perfuction

Corita Kent Learning By Heart: Teachings To Free The Creative Spirit She has tons of books that I must learn about

These are the courses that I have taken, and I follow the teachers on social media. They are so good that I always go back to them.

Great free places to learn from are coursera.com, Skillshare, Standford.edu. You can take free courses or programs to help you learn about everything from tech to art. I picked up a branding certificate. I can create a list of courses that you may be interested in. Let me know. I have been wanting to learn about finances. I am learning about finances. I should look into that! There are lots of free resources.

Here’s a few links that are worth your time.

• James Victore- James will teach you to conquer your fear and tell your story as an artist
• Corita Kent- She will get you back to the awesome artist kid you once were so you can paint your best work
• Ana Victoria Calderon- she will introduce you to new supplies, teach you about color and all about watercolor. I have read all her books on hoopla.
• Austin Kleon- we all want to be found and have fans. His book Show Your Work will show you how. There is always gems in his weekly newsletter too.
• Suzanne Allard– If you think you have creative block she can help you. Her art journals and sense of play will help you!
• Carrie Schmitt– two words, painting parties.

James and Ana have courses on Skillshare. I am thinking about all of the courses I took on Skillshare. I want to say it was like 150 courses. I do follow these guys on social media as well. You can check my Instagram and Pinterest page for links to all my resources. There is a world full of resources to help you grow.

Let me know if you are interested in a list of courses. I could work on that. I hope that you enjoyed this post. You have dreams. We have dreams. Know that there are tools to guild you. We can always learn about the world around us. If you have a resource to share, please do.

With Love, Mireya