Greetings from our creative hub, where we have been as busy as ever on our various artistic endeavours, waiting for the time that it is safe to re-unite with friends. Until then we have much to ponder, on not only the way forward for everything that we’re creating, but also about memories of times that have given us so much pleasure. Whether memories of huge significance, or simple highlights, there have been times over the past 14 months when these have been triggered by an everyday event. So it was when we came to share our wee video featuring a reveal of Paul’s miniature oil painting ‘Soul Mates’ – which is FREE-TO-VIEW here on our newly launched account on Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/posts/49147416
Why have we added Patreon to the suite of online platforms that we use? Well .... we are acutely aware that there are many folk who cannot afford a one-off purchase price for our box-sets, even though we keep them as low as we can. So ... over time we’ve been keeping an eye out for somewhere to stream our videos at a manageable financial outlay and having been around for a while now, Patreon is definitely the answer – for one important reason – no-one is locked into a contract. It is a simple solution ... pay a regular monthly fee, or pay when you can and stream what you can - it is still cheaper than attending a regular course in the live world.
We have been hard at work rolling-out our videos onto Patreon – starting off with Series 1 in ‘Learn to Enjoy Painting with Paul Taggart’ and ‘Topical Techniques’ covering Oils, Acrylics, Pastels and Watercolours plus Equipment Focus and Colour Mixing (the basics). There are a number of free-to-view videos, as well as ‘ArtBytes from Paul’ and a qualifying discount for anyone wishing to purchase the box-sets outright via Vimeo. Do pop over and have a look-see at what we’re doing on Patreon - there’s plenty of free stuff to watch and more will be added as we continue to upload our various tutorials.
Made some eleven years ago, ‘Soul Mates’ was one of the first filmed reveals we made, at the same time as we started to film and share online art tutorials. Memories of the ‘first’ of anything are so powerful, especially when they become the first steps on an onward journey; a journey that we had not planned, but one that became a wonderful experience for us and a chance to share our mutual passion for creativity with others.
Had anyone said to us back when Paul’s first books and videos were released in the early 1990’s, that thirty years later we’d have the technological wherewithal to film, produce and release our own videos from our studio we’d have been flabbergasted. The two videos that were made then, required a full outside broadcast unit, of several static TV cameras, a sound recorder, a sound engineer, a director and a producer, with hours of filming, followed by days and days spent in a TV editing suite – a horrendously expensive procedure, not for the faint-hearted.
Yet here we are, with more than 700 videos currently available from our Vimeo account filmed and released by us personally, from our studio here in the Highlands of Scotland. All thanks to technological advances and the internet – what a wonder, wouldn’t you agree? And it isn’t simply about the wonder of these being out there, it is also about the convenience of folk not needing to leave the comfort of their home to ‘attend’ an art course and at a fixed time – everything can be enjoyed in the comfort of your home and at a time that suits you – which has become so, so important, as witnessed by the events of the past 18 months. Then there is the all-important difference between attending an art course at a local school/college and our downloadable videos. Once the art teacher in a ‘live/local’ class, has spoken the words or painted the stroke, these in effect disappear forever ...... whereas our videos remain in your possession, available to refer to time and time again. Just as we can watch the video of the swans building their nest, a precious memory that has not been lost to the mists of time - so too the considerable amount of information that is contained in each of our videos can never be ‘erased’ and are not reliant on your memory to recall them.
In a live class you could never have seen his colour mixes, yet in our videos that is precisely what you get. You could never have seen his exact strokes on the surface of the painting, yet these are filmed in close-up in our videos. A living-world art class is transient, what you are paying for does not last forever, never mind the cost in time and money to travel and attend.
Please stay safe to keep well, and as ever, thank you for reading and for your continued interest in our work.
With all best wishes from both at this end, for your health and, for your painting, Eileen and Paul Paul Taggart Artist, Author, Presenter, Producer Oils : Watercolours : Acrylics : Pastels : Drawing www.artworkshopwithpaul.com www.vimeo.com/artworkshopwithpaul www.patreon.com/artworkshopwithpaul NOTE : This newsletter contains information pertaining to Paul W. Taggart and Eileen M. Tunnell and contains copyrighted material. It should be read as privileged or confidential and protected by International Copyright law and DMCA.