Marie Stephens, Artist in Residence.... Wow that has a nice ring to it!  It makes me sound so fancy!  So much so that I almost considered not doing it.

Last summer, I was invited by the Bettendorf Public Library to be the artist in residence for a few weeks in February 2019.

The opportunity sounded too good to be true, and the title was a little intimidating.   All I had to do was paint, talk about what I do, and answer questions when people stop in to ask.

So I said, "What the heck!"  February is so cold and dreary, so I thought it would be a great way to get out of the studio and venture into the tundra, and be amongst other brave souls who have a thirst for learning new things.

Over 20 Topics Discussed About Oil Painting

1. Why choose oils?
2. Places to order oil paints from
3. Types of oil paints
4. Surfaces you can paint on with oils
5. Palettes you can make from upcycled items
6. Paint Thinners and  mediums: what are they and how to use them
7. How to mix oil paints together to get the colors you want
8. How to make a color mixing chart using the oil paints you have
9. What is a value scale and a simple way to make one using any color
10. How to create lots of colors using a limited set of colors on your palette
11. How to make black and gray using a limited set of only 3 colors plus white
12. How to prepare a canvas before you start painting
13. What is gesso?
14. Quick ways to spread oil paint around on a canvas
15. How to create atmospheric light using a rag and your finger
16. How to paint the sky with the sun behind the clouds using your finger and oil paints
17. How to use your cell phone to capture great images to use for subject matter to paint
18. How to save your photos in a place you can find them when you are ready to start painting
19. How to take a screen shot of an existing photo in order zoom in to see what colors you are really seeing
20. Art is a skill that anyone can learn through time spent in practice, trial and error
21. Art is like working out, or any other sport, if you don't use it, you lose it!
22. Starting is always the hardest part of any painting
23. Painting is an act of faith
24. Learning the art of positive self talk as you create
25. Learning to let go of negative beliefs we were taught as youngsters about our artistic abilities and whether or not we have them
26. Learning that we are all artists!

6 Things I wasn't expecting:

1. That I would learn so much by sharing my knowledge with others.
2. That some of my techniques are unique.
3. That I enjoy teaching adults.
4. That everyone comes to believe whether or not they are an artist at a young age....often based on what others tell them.
5. That I have become quite good at using painting as a metaphor for the way things go in life.
6. That no matter how many times I start a painting, I still get nervous about putting the paint to the canvas at the beginning of a session.

I really enjoyed doing this residency, so I am thinking about offering some mini demos on my Youtube channel to show you some of my techniques.  Below, is a short video that shows the painting I created during my three week residency at the library.  If you like what you see, and would like to learn how to paint like this, or just like to watch me paint, please subscribe to my channel!  If I make it to 1000 subscribers, I might be able to earn a few pennies from advertisers for sharing my skills with you.  

Subscribe to My YouTube Channel to learn Oil Painting Tips and Techniques for Beginners