When we started this Dare to Create Challenge it was kind of a joke that Andy Skinner and I suggested at CHA. Then the wheels were in motion. I thought nothing of it and how fun it would be to collaborate with an artist I admire. Soon the wheels were spinning faster and there was no turning back! Then it came down to actually having to paint the piece and the panic set it. I have always made it a practice in my Studio to enjoy the process, let it go, find me in every piece and see where the art takes me. This time though I was self-doubting, comparing myself and soon a 12″ X 16″ canvas, 192 square inches felt like 192 ACRES of white space……
Last weekend I was determined to use this color palette Andy Skinner selected for me…..
I was up for the challenge and I am excited to present my piece. I put aside the self doubt, fought the urge to compare, and decided that this collaboration was about stretching ourselves and using elements from our mutual styles. Yes there are flowers and hearts…..but there is texture, crackle, a color palette I may never have put together myself, metal, gears! The flowers and hearts are me….
This painting took about 2 hours of video……enjoy this 8 minute VIDEO as I break it down….
and in photos HERE…….
The devil was truly in the details on this one…
Andy it is your turn to present your work of Art………
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Before I start I would like to say a huge massive thank you to Tracy, she has drafted all the posts and done much of the hard work and organizing in bringing you this challenge.
I can’t believe that we have only really known each-other since CHA this January, they say that best friendships are built on alcohol, sarcasm and inappropriateness and we do all three to excess 😉
I was determined at 3am this morning (which is when I started the painting)… long story!… to get even more out of my comfort zone by not allowing myself to use any texture mediums, and I did not. I would also try to complete the painting in an hour excluding drying times, and I did not!! However I did manage it in 90 mins.
All was going well and I was really happy with it until it came to adding those dreaded flowers, I had to fix myself another stiff drink before even attempting!
Believe me when I say this challenge was far tougher that I had ever imagined, that said I recommend anyone to take themselves way out there comfort zone on occasions, it’s very good practice.
Ok here is my finished canvas, just ignore the awful flowers lol!
Here is the time lapse VIDEO of the process!
We want to finish this by saying THANK YOU to everyone! There are no winners or losers. As someone nicely pointed out, the winners are everyone inspired to carry this on. We plan on doing just that. Sure we love to banter and tease one another but that is who we are as people. As Artists we were both up for the challenge. I know I enjoyed it! The fun is not going to stop there. In April Andy and I head to NAMTA in Denver, Coloardo with DecoArt. We will both be demo’ing, teaching and you can bet we will be bringing the fun to you! Make sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram:
- Facebook Pages: Tracy Weinzapfel Studios and Andy Skinner
- Follow us on Instagram: @twstudios and @andyskinnercrafts
- Tag us on Twitter: #andyandtracy
Special Thank you to DecoArt for bringing our creative worlds together! Make sure to sign up for their Mixed Media newsletter HERE: http://decoart.to/medianews where you can find more of our work. And YES, we will award prizes this week so stay tuned!!!
Feel free to leave us a comment! WE LOVE hearing from you.
Tracy and Andy…you guys totally blew me out of the comfort zone waters with your canvases! WOW! You both did fabulous jobs on your paintings. Your finished pieces look as though you were totally comfortable with not only the color palette but the style. What an inspiration and a reminder that sometimes your greatest growth is to jump way outside of your comfort zone and conquer the fear of the unknown or the uncomfortable!!!
Thanks Candy!
Both Fabulous pieces of art. Well done to the both of you. I have enjoyed following the challenge 🙂
I got the biggest chuckle when I saw the skull inside Andy’s heart … you two are great at collaborating together and inspire us all with your creativity and love of art, not to mention some really amazing talent.
Wow! Both finished pieces are amazing! How cool that you both stepped out of your comfort zone and excelled at it!!Great fun and beautiful pieces,Tracy & Andy! “)
wow, well worth the wait!!! I love them both, I think Andy had more of a challenge coming out of his comfort zone but both are exceptional done well. WTG both of you! I think there should be another challenge in the future.
Both stunning (naturally Mr S gets my vote!) and I truly admire you both for the journey you have each taken. It’s been fun watching from the sidelines and even doing some heckling from time to time! Andy, can I have this one as you didn’t give me The Pear??
You both did a great job, both winners well done.
These are both fantastic – you are both winners in my opinion
Brilliant pieces – I’ve really enjoyed following your banter too :o)
OMGee!!!
I knew that your collaboration was going to be good but these projects are so far beyond good.
Both of you need to be very proud of what you created – both of these projects are wonderful and beautiful.
They are completely and utterly stunning – my huge thanks to both of you for sharing them with us and for keeping us amused with your wonderful witty banter.
I need to get more DecoArt paints and get practicing my own art Karen x
Love both pieces! Andy, your flowers are great! Lots of inspiration in these 2 videos!
What a great post. I love both of these works of art. Tracy, the gears are super cool and now I am going to try to do this in my work. Andy, love how you incorporated the colors. Both of you used the color palette to create intense pieces. It has been so much fun following this challenge. Thanks for including us in the fun.
It was a total pleasure and I think Andy would agree to that!
Great results from both of you, same time next year?
LOL Mark! We may need a year to rest up 🙂
WOW WOW WOW!!! Eye candy overload and so very inspiring. Thanks for the videos too. I love the use of gears for the flower centers by Tracy. Andy’s little flowers were exquisite. You guys are a great team and I have really enjoyed watching you play. Thanks for sharing your love of art and your techniques.
Are you kidding me-these are both knock your socks (bright happy colors of course) off stunning. I know you struggled-but they look like you do this everyday. And the skull-you used a skull-omg I am jumping up and down. You a wonder beautiful lady and a true creative superstar-party on.
Amazing!! Love both versions. WOW!!!!!!
love the art work, great challenge, can’t wait to see more. I need to get some more paints and do some art with my daughter. feeling inspired. ♥
I hope you both continue to do these challenges with each other because what you’ve both created is by far the most amazing pieces of art work that you might not ever have created otherwise. I am an eclectic person and enjoy bits and pieces of all types of things so cogs, skulls, hearts and flowers naturally go together. Morphing Tracey Weinzapfel and Andy Skinner together? You betcha!
Thank you both for such and entertaining and inspiring challenge!!!!
Loved both pieces! You know you are watching true artists when they can go out of their comfort zone and still create a masterpiece! You two rock!
Wow! Check out those amazing pieces. Well done on both!!
it’s been so great watching this challenge evolve! and watching the process of each one being made was so cool and educational (painting with a key card, genius, andy!). both are amazing! thank you for your awesome inspiration, andy and tracy!!
Tracy and Andy, this was a awesome Challenge, both pieces were great it is so much fun to see two artist work together and play out of their zone. I have to say Thank you to Decoart for this Dare and You both Rock, Tracy you are the most inspiring teacher in your work . Just keep on Rockin on Monday Nite, Love both pieces …
Thanks Sharon!
love both artwork. great challenge it was.
Wowza! Love them both! I think you should exchange the artwork to hang on each other’s walls. I can only imagine the smiles and memories seeing these paintings would bring to you everyday. It
sounds like you both are kindred spirits.
Thanks JC!!!
This was so fun to follow along with! I hope you guys continue to play together! You both won, you gained extra followers and much admiration!
Great job Skin and Zap!
LOL….love our nicknames!
Wow- what wonderful art created out of your comfort zones- but so very awesome!!!! Love the colors on both!
Both paintings are fabulous and show how your styles remain your own even as you venture outside your comfort zones.
Thanks for the videos. It’s always so exciting to see how a piece of art is created.
Lastly, thanks for the entertainment and amusement that your friendly ripostes and rivalry have brought to us!
I have great admiration for both of you – this was a fun challenge and the results are amazing
Love both the great works of art.. You are both so talented and love the banter. Thanks for so willing to share and inspire us all.
Wow.. These are both amazing. Your both did such a wonderful job. I love how you both came out of your comfort zones and still created awesome stuff. And we all were very much entertained by all your posts. I actually think the back and forth makes the final that much more rewarding and inspiring for us all. Thank you to both of you for the fun and inspiration.
Absolutely loved watching the process, you both have inspired me to pick up my paints again! Thank you!!!
So awesome to see these projects unfold!
Wow, cool results. You both kept true to yourselves and beautifully.
You guys knocked it out of the park! You both created masterpieces that took you out of your comfort zones, but you met the challenge and even though Andy had to drink his way through the flowers, you survived the experience and proved yourselves superior! Way to go….
he may not have been the only one to have a sip 😉
It’s been so fun to watch you two!!! You tow are hysterical!!! Nice job on the canvas to both of you!!! I noticed that Tracy really had a hard time going to the dark side!!! She still has her happy flowers in toned down color!!! That’s what we love about her…pure heaven!!! Nice job Andy on finding the flower in you!!! Thanks for the laughs!!!L
Thanks my Friend!!!!!!!! Great when you find fellow artists to collaborate with! More to come!
Tracy and Andy, you both rock!! I loved watching your process and as a bonus, I learned some great techniques!! Thanks for the fun!
Hugs, Carmen
Thanks everyone for your comments and support, it really is appreciated.
Thanks for the inspiration they’re both wonderful.
It has been fun watching and listening to the two of you! I think there should be more of these collaborations!
Thanks Jean!
What amazing works, to work only using set colours is hard enough yet alone ones you never use or really like…Thank you both so much for sharing your thoughts and techniques its been great.
Great canvases-next time-how about sharing one,and do like a round robin-the results would be very interesting, I think!
fun idea…maybe at NAMTA we do something like that 🙂
Absolutely inspiring! I’m so thrilled that you two came together to do this challenge. I feel these two sides of me tug at each other and you two definitely showed me how to embrace both to challenge myself as an artist. Bravo! I can’t wait to see what else you have up your sleeves. Maybe one day I can exchange drinks and sarcasm with you both!
how awesome!! We are good for that drink and toast 🙂
Hello,
How wonderful these two creations are, my goodness you are both very inspiring to any budding artist. Thank you for sharing such amazing work.
Smiles:)
Sue:)
Thanks Sue!
Wow guys these are stunning and you would never guess by the finished pieces that you were both working way out of your comfort zones!! It makes me feel better as I seem to feel way out of mine on all to regular a basis but the end results are not normally as spectacular as yours!! but I keep trying and keep learning!! thanks for the inspiration!! xxx
Both of these pieces are absolutely beautiful! Tracy, I love all that texture and the gears at the centers of the flowers. The patterned leaves are absolutely wonderful and as always the flowers are utterly fabulous. The texture looks absolutely diving. I can just imagine petting the canvas to feel it.
Andy, your painting it wonderful! The way you created the look of texture just with paint by adding the lines and fine splatter is amazing. And don’t kid yourself, those flowers are gorgeous! What i love about your painting Andy is that the longer I look at it the more things I notice. At first I didn’t notice the skull or “caution” in the heart or the squiggles (snakes? they look like snakes to me) surrounding the heart. So much detail and such beautiful layering of paints and images!
Thanks Amanda!
Tracy and Andy, I love how your projects turned out! Creating out of your comfort zone I think is a great way to improve one’s skills.
Wow love both these projects. Well done both of you for rising magnificently to the challenge. Looking forward to Playing myself inspired by both your art. Xx
Dueling Paintbrushes!!!!!!!!! It’s a DRAW!!! Hehehhehe – how about that for a pun!!!! These are both wonderful. Thank you so much for the videos – they were so great to watch. SUCCESS for you both…. FANTASTIC artwork. j.
too funny! Yes it was and happy to say so. Thanks so much!
I think you both did a great job! I was more surprised about his though-the colors were SO different from his normal….
Painty handbags at dawn eh! Wonderful challenge and so inspiring to see that Andy didn’t use his beloved mediums and that Tracy used cogs and texture on hers. Both are unique and i hope you challenge each other again as i got to learn a lot from watching the videos. Fantastic inspiration, thank you both 🙂 xxx
Love both pieces and the time and effort that went into each. Truly different feelings from each painting! What is there not to like? Nothing, because both are fabulous. So nice to see artists having a go at each other in a positive manner and the outcome is inspiring. More Chalky Paint artists should have an open mind like this. You both inspire and are so nice! Keep up the lovely work! ~Niki
THANK you so much Niki!