Quarantine Cuties: Abstract Paint & Sip with Crystal Davis

In Full Color's skillshare and chat series, Quarantine Cuties, got artsy and boozy this Thursday!

The weekly IG Live show hosted by Summer Dawn Reyes features women artists, entrepreneurs and hustlers sharing knowledge and skills. Each episode gives viewers a chance to support these women through #COVID19 or raise money for causes they support.

On May 14, we hung out with Crystal Davis, a poet whom many will recognize from her work as the founder of Crystal Letters and as an in her words poetry zine alumna. In addition to being a wordsmith, Crystal is also a skilled visual artist and painter! She shared some basic tips for creating abstract compositions during our Paint & Sip!

Crystal Davis is a mixed media artist and freelance writer, editor, and social media marketer. She was born and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey and is the author and creator at Crystal Letters, and the Co-Producer of OpenRoad Poetry. Her art and writing projects, Crystal Letters and OpenRoad Poetry, have collaborated with local arts non-profit organizations and artists across the Tri-State area. Her work has been published in several print and online publications, including MookyChick, In Her Words from Thinking in Full Color, Emerging Poets 2019 and 2018 from Z Publishing, Megazine VOL. II, Unapologetic Women, and PATHS from New Jersey City University. Her work is inspired by nature, color, and the utilization of practical craft through art in the visual and written form.

Crystal's demo was inspired by this painting:

Here are some basic things to keep in mind when creating abstract works, no matter the medium!

- Have fun : Abstract painting is wonderful because it is forgiving and freeing. You choose the colors, shapes and textures you want to incorporate and no one can tell you you're wrong! Just let loose and feel free to experiment.

- Use color and variety: Choose colors that excite you and use them to create contrast. In Crystal's demo, she created a rainbow of colors and blended some of the colors together by rotating her canvas, watering down paint at the top of the new orientation, and letting paint do the work. She also chose colors that would contrast each other and used media with metallic and glitter finishes (including dollar-store markers!) to add variety.

- Start with what you have: If you're not a painter (yet), it doesn't mean you can't create art! Crystal has used fruits, vegetables, and even dried flowers hot glued right onto her material. When she works with canvas, she often stitches in beads, designs or braids into the actual fabric.

- Turn to Pinterest for inspiration: Crystal likes to end each day with a quick Pinterest binge looking for creative goals for the next morning. She found the tree for this demo during one such browsing session!

By the end of the second half of our demo, here's how Crystal's creation looked!

View the second half of Crystal's demo online here! If you loved this episode, tip the artist by sending a donation on Venmo (crustl) or CashApp (CrystalMDavis)

Tune in for the next Quarantine Cuties on Thursday, May 21 at 7 pm EST on IG Live on @infullcolorus_

The next episode will feature Amel Khalil sharing How to Shoot a Self-Tape Audition! These tips will also help you create any selfie film. See all upcoming episodes here.