Free Palm Sunday Coloring Sheet
Enjoy this free coloring page to celebrate this Palm Sunday!
Download your sheet here!
https://www.dropbox.com/s/foa8ksp9t6oa392/Palm%20Sunday%20Coloring%20Sheet.pdf?dl=0
Free Coloring Book
This past winter I had the privilege of working the International Code Council for this year’s kids corner educational coloring book. This is a free resource for you to download for your students. The purpose it to educate students about what the ICC does for our neighborhoods and world! Click this link to find you printable copy of CODiE and the gang.
What are we up to? Week 5 (for me) of Quarantine
Our FREE quarantine live lessons continue this on Facebook Live and Instagram!
Tell all your friends and get these simple supplies ready!
What you'll need for the lesson?
- Paper or Watercolor Paper
- Basic Pencil and Eraser
- Colored Pencils or Watercolors and Brush
Free live lesson on Wednesday at 1:00 pm CST. Mrs. Abby will be teaching here on Reflect Visual Art's Facebook live and @missabbylittle Instagram live.
Who can join? ANYONE
How do I join?
Using Facebook follow this page. https://www.facebook.com/ReflectVA
Or Instagram follow @missabbylittle
LIVE WATERCOLOR ZOOM CLASS
We decided to keep going in our beginner watercolor zoom class. If you would like more info, please shoot me an Email reflectvisualarts@gmail.com.
LIVE on ZOOM WATERCOLOR CLASS
I’m so excited to offer this deeper dive into the basics and beyond of watercolor! This will be an informative and interactive time to gather from your homes via ZOOM.
HERE is how to join! Ages 12 and up.
Venmo $15 to @reflectvisualarts (Message me if you are unfamiliar with Venmo.)
I’ll send you the link to class and the recommended supply list. (With links to amazon prime supplies too.)
Follow your link and join on April 2nd from 5:00 pm - 6:30 pm CST.
It’s that easy! See you soon!
Dixie Design Collective Collaboration
This year I’m happy to announce I’ve been partnering with Dixie Design Collective to bring you four new suites for your Holiday cards, parties, and gifts! I loved working with Dixie’s team! They were supportive and highly communicative to get the best of my work tailored to their clients.
To shop my collections follow this link! https://www.dixie-design.com/collections/vendors?q=Abby%20Little%20Jessup
Artists chained to an Algorithm
I’ve been studying art in a formal capacity since the age of nine. I remember life without the internet, and I absolutely remember life without social media. Shock.
Art was a little less “accessible” at the time. Meaning, in order to see new work, you had to wait for a photo in a magazine or book, go to a gallery/museum/show, perhaps a PBS special, or wait ‘till it hit a main stream sales in the form of prints. Far more accessible then compared to 200 years ago, for sure, but art work wasn’t as instant as the paint was still drying. I remember my mama taking me to the downtown library where I would gather giant art books or beautifully illustrated children's books and would spend many happy evenings looking over every detail. I was influenced without even realizing how deeply until later in life. I’ve seen some of those same books or art that hung in my childhood home influence my work today.
Today, we seem to have noooooo limited access to old and new art with the advent of digital photography, at-home scanning, and social media. Pop on your insta feed and use the #art; everything you could imagine flows into a feed that you could never keep up with if you tried to follow them all. To keep your feed from being overwhelming we have algorithms. Some server, in another state, decides what you see based on the likes and follows you feed to it, and then it keeps the algorithm going by showing you more of the same.
And what do they curate for us to see? You know. Those brightly exposed yet contrasty and somewhat abstracty paintings with little depth because the camera or scan doesn't translate it well….. and, oh, if you are really cool, flakes of gold leaf.
I’ve been thinking on this reality and a little worried for the future of young artists, including myself. What if all this “unlimited sharing” is actually harmful? Rather than empowering us to share new bodies of work, we instead mimic each other in the perpetual hamster-wheel trying to please the algorithm gods.
Now, I do think artwork is meant to be shared, and as an artist who has made it her career, it also helps that the artwork I create then share becomes popular. It helps lead me to other jobs and more knowledge to my greater body of work, but my concern is this:
Some artwork simply does not look good on instagram and never will.
AND THAT IS OK. It’s actually good.
Think for a second the last time you visited the nearest art museum. Think of the big pieces that didn't fit well in the frame of your iPhone or had so much depth of color the photo didn't do it any justice. Or what about the lace on the trimmed collar of that dutch golden-age painting that almost disappeared when you were scrolling back over your story highlights. I’m not saying you shouldn’t share, but we have become instinctual as to what will get better catch that sweet, sweet algorithm wave.
I fall into the trap aaaaaalllll thhheeee tiiiiiimmmeee. I post thinking of that algorithm for insta fame. This danger I slip into is producing work that bows to the computer processor. I intuitively know what is popular because my feed tells me what will win the applause of the moment. I fear we, as a generation of artists, are holding back. But this time we don’t have the Salon of Paris or the wealth of the Catholic Church “holding us back”… it’s our need for superficial fame.
Would Monet have been someone you followed on Instagram? Would Caravaggio after painting “The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist” have seen his work trending amongst the sea of unboxing videos and #sundayfundays?
It seems dangerous to me that we would produce works that are only fit for a narrow platform AND that we would draw from that same narrow platform for inspiration.
To be frank, we all look very much the same.
So what should we do? Here are things that help me.
Scroll less. Paint more. Or Draw more. Or whatever it is you produce. You know you need this reminder. I need it more.
Leave your house and your screen. Go see original masterpieces, go to the library, visit local galleries, or shows. Branch out of the art world you know and go see a fashion show or play. Research light and color through eyes of scientist. Break up your algorithm-curated world and explore treasured art curated by humanity.
Free yourself from misunderstanding social media fame. Understand what the platforms are doing. Because you will save yourself money and time when you learn things like you can’t buy your followers for the extra fame that is truly lasting. Use Instagram and Pinterest in its place, but don’t let it rule your work.
Fail at pleasing your audience all the time. It’s not worth you sacrificing your potential work and blessing the world, even future generations, because you held back out of fear of failing.
Drop the jealousy act because it isn’t helping you become anymore accomplished and beautiful. If you (like myself) are constantly stunted by the competitions of artists then get over it and go connect. Connect with real artists in real life. Collaborate and seek relationships. Some the great masters were made by their artist friends and mentors.
Art for me is worship. I want it to be praise to my creator God and Savior who fills me with His Spirit and I create from a freedom of purpose and promise. I want more not to be chained to the empty applause of men and computers, but rather to bring the fullness of Jesus’s majesty forward as an artist living, working, and creating on this side of eternity.
In short do not fear stepping out of your comfort zone. Experiment and keep on making. #makersgonnamake
NEW COLORING BOOK - AROUND THE HAM
It’s here! We loved Color the Ham so much, but were sad we couldn’t include all the beautiful towns and subburbs surrounding Birmingham sooooooooo Around the Ham was born! Available now through Amazon and when Down in the Ham sells at Pepper Place.
Shout out to Bethany Hubbard Travers and Ashley Chesnut for all their work to make this coloring book a reality!
7 Ways to Make a Creative Workspace
No, this is not a usual site. Me, beating the sun light, all glamorous and natural looking. Actually its a rarity to see me beating anything in the morning. We have saying that I’m not a morning person, or a night owl, more of just an exhausted pigeon. But the morning light in my studio is magical, so when I told Mark I needed the studio shot for the inter-webz then he was excited to capture that morning glow.
I love my studio. The progression of space has transformed through the years. I first used my bedroom, then my parents were kind enough to let me take over a portion of their dining room, then I moved to studio basement at a dear friends house and spent 4 years their. I cried more about moving from that space then I imagined. I have had a LOT change in that 4 years, but my studio was a constant. Once I got married and moved towns my creative space was put on hold for a while…. but I felt that need deeply.
I moved all my stuff in our 3 bedroom house here in Brewton, Alabama. (5 or 6 car loads later.) The back bedroom was piled high (so was every corner of my house was over flowing with wedding blessings) and the evidence of 2 lives and one small business merging into one house. I feel like for 3 months all I did was play musical boxes unpacking and moving from room to room. Painting and situating the studio was the last on my list, but till I could convert one of the bed rooms I used my dinning room that was filled with good light and most importantly a big table.
After organizing the house, I got into the mess and painted the space. I made sure I had easy access to items I use all the time and then put away items I use maybe once a year.
If you are pining for a creative space I totally understand you, but I can tell you this truth, you can have that space regardless if it’s outside your home or if its just the end of your dining room table.
The key is separating that space not just physically, but mentally. Think of setting apart that space by sound, sight, and smell. Triggering your senses creates a habit of focus!
SMELL: Have a special candle you only light when working in your space.
MUSIC AND SOUND: Play music and sounds that you enjoy, but don’t listen to in other parts of life. My husband loves the sound of an airplane while he needs to do deep reading. Lately I listen to Scottish highland vibes for deep focus, or if I need the sound of people I put on Netflix. I choose a show I don’t need to look at. Example I love a good Escape to the Country episode, but it is not story driven it is visual driven, so I have to watch. I also put on coffee shop sounds when writing.
INSPIRATION BOARD: Make an inspiration board that you can keep in your gaze so you can influence your visual thought life. I collect everything from left over pallets, postcards from travel, magazine clippings, inspirational master works, brand tags, fabric pieces, and paint swatches. Anything that will help me spark inspiration and I put it in one place for six months - year then I redo the board to stay fresh.
CLEAN: Try your best to clean up after a days end… Or the very least, after the completion of a major project. You will gravitate to a space that feels open to new ideas, but a cluttered worktop will clutter your creativity.
LIGHT: I worked from a basement with no windows, but I found I was less affected by weather. I love good window, but it is more necessary to make sure you control your light and not have too yellow casts especially if you are constantly working with color. Test different bulbs till white looks true white in the room.
SEATING: Even if you don’t have a desk of your own consider optimizing your seat. You’ll linger longer if you have something supportive, but also makes sense with it’s space. Don’t buy the biggest rolling chair that is comfortable, but looks more at home in a space rocket. Find a chair that fits with your space and makes a low impact on it.
STORAGE: Storage can be as simple as stacked apple crates or book case with baskets and photo boxes. You also can dedicate space in a kitchen cabinet, or closest and use a laundry basket to easily store and move items if you can’t store items in your space. Make some of your supplies decorative. Like a pretty vase filled with brushes, a nice tray with your favorite tubes of paint or a tall basket with rolls of paper. Command strips also work really well to hang works to dry and make a fun always changing gallery wall. Don’t over buy your supplies unless you have the space to store.
I hope these tips help you find that creative workspace you crave!
Down in the Ham Interview with Shelby Living
‘Down in the Ham’
“The women who teamed up to create this children’s book are eager for readers, young and old, to discover the downtown Birmingham they know and love. “
Check out the article all about Down in the Ham with my dear friend and author Ashley Chestnut.
I told about how I illustrated this project and more!
“This is the gift I want to give to the children of Birmingham because I was a child of Birmingham. I cried the first time I saw a picture of a child reading the book. It’s in these children’s hands and in these parents’ hands. It has been such a privilege to see people get excited about it and tell others about it.”
West Elm Workshop
We had a fantastic time at West Elm this summer! We created bright and fun citrus and learned how to currate inspiration through color, subject, and limitation. I really enjoyed working with West Elm and with the wonderful folks that came out to paint with us!
