Imagine all the people sharing all the world . . .

I have a unique method of layering digital paintings that I create on a tablet, with acrylic paints, gel mediums, powders, pastels, wax, and more. Interestingly enough, this method was born out of desperation, which I’ll explain in a moment, but I have come to absolutely love it!
So what happened? While working on Ballerina Boots, a children’s book about self love and empowerment that I wrote, illustrated, and self-published in college as part of my final project, I began reacting very badly (with nausea, shakiness, and headaches) to oil paints to the point that I couldn’t finish the paintings for the book. Not only was I panicking, and unsure if I could use any kind of paint at that point, but oils were also my preferred medium and main method up to that point, so I was worried my life of painting as I knew it might be over! I worked at a graphic design shop at the time, and learned through a design course about a tablet, along with some painting software, that can you can plug in to your computer, and paint on it with an electronic pen, just like you would a canvas. Well, long story short, I ordered one without even thinking, fell in love with the process, the possibilities and extra creativity it opened up, and became very good at it. The only downfall, was that I missed TEXTURE! So I eased in to dabbling with acrylics (still haven’t spent too much time with oils since, but would like to try again some day) and other mediums, which I now layer with my digital paintings.
While I will always continue to experiment and play with other methods and mediums for the sake of learning and creativity, I feel like I’ve truly found my unique niche, and have no doubt this process of layering digital paintings with acrylic (and other textures) accidentally born of desperation will be my life-long “go-to”.