Fox Hollow Studio

Donna Downey There are 3 blogs that stand strong in my mind, that inspired me to find my creative side that I had lost over the years. I remember reading these blogs...all were young women taking their passion and making a career of it Ali Edwards Alicia Paulson  I am going to feature them in the next few weeks. I would like to start with Donna Downey...her blog is entitled " Simply Me " .  I met Donna a week ago for the first time. I attended three classes taught by her. She is talented beyond words,  down to earth, and a great teacher.  My favorite thing on her blog is the Inspiration Wednesday. There she paints a page in her journal every week. So  inspiring! Here is a recent example. I have been following her since she was a scrapbooker. Bought a couple of her books on crafting with photos. Seems like I have watched her children grow up, watch Donna grow as an worldwide known artist, and watched her & her adorable husband for

“The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting.” - Vincent van Gogh This past weekend I took classes from the famous Donna Downey. I have followed this gal for years on her blog and felt like I knew her personally. She was an absolute joy, Great teacher, down to earth, and totally fun to be around. The classes were held at My Heart's Fancy a wonderful store in Oklahoma City. This was my first visit to the shop, it is packed full of great stamps, stencils and paint supplies. If you are in the area you should check it out.  The first class I took was Paint like an Artist. This was a canvas painting strictly using stencils.  Using stencils (lots and lots of them) and acrylic paints I learned how to use color to create depth and texture.  Then the class learned how to isolate pieces of your background design to build your design in the foreground. Here is my painting below with the stencil of the lotus flower in the middle.   Next class was using pan pastels. we le