Welcome to the Creative Crypt
If you’re a regular to my website, welcome back! If you’re new here, I’m so happy you’ve stopped by this cozy little corner of the internet—thanks for stopping by. I’ll keep the intro short and sweet, as you can always head over to the bio to learn more about me.
My name is Stephanie Buscema, and I’ve been passionate about art-making and creating for most of my life. I can’t think of a time when I wasn’t making art for the heck of it, learning a new skill/technique, or working full time/day-to-day making art. For the past 20 years, I’ve devoted my life to making art and working professionally as a painter, illustrator, and designer. During my time on this path, I’ve had mentorships with professional artists, did the art school thing many moons ago, worked for art agencies as an illustrator, and tackled a broad scope of projects and assignments. It’s since led me down my unique weirdo art path—and I wouldn’t have it any other way. I was extremely fortunate to have learned a lot from amazing folks and teachers along the way, but I had to learn the bulk of it on my own time, being thrown in the fire (on more than one occasion) and having to start and learn from the ground up.
I wanted to create this space to share what I know about working with watermedia, primarily gouache, acrylic gouache, watercolor, and various acrylic supplies I work with daily. Further, I’ll share works in progress, what I’m working on/releases, different supplies and products I’m working with (and how I work with them), and honest art supply reviews. I’d also like to sprinkle in some posts about what inspires me in my work and life (books, magic, art, artists I love, tarot, and the like). I’d also like to offer some workshops and tutorials along the way, and I’ll be sure to post them as I can provide these to anyone interested.
In this house, we don’t judge skill level or lay down hard rules. We have fun and experiment. Art making should always be a positive experience for all—whether it is for your profession, used as a form of self-growth, therapy, relaxation, sketch booking, or otherwise. We tap into our most creative side when we’re at ease and play. It’s there we make discoveries and, in turn, find our own unique voice and artistic style.
Why gouache and water-based media?
I fell hard and fast for gouache—for one (as a true color junkie), the color payoff was enough to fall in love from the start! When I began on my journey with gouache, it was SO intimidating! Where do I start? What do I use? How could I get this magical medium to work for ME? I was hungry to learn, but nobody was around to show me the ropes as a beginner. At the time, around 2000, folks weren’t working with gouache often or regularly (a much older school of illustrators primarily used it, and they weren’t so easy to track down), and a lot of legwork had to be done to sort of seek out sources, techniques, and info. Working with water media is versatile for me, but you can continue to learn from it the longer you work with it (you can also combine them, which I hope to get into here as well!). I aim to break things down quickly and give you the tools to start. I want this to be a place where you can get inspired to use these paints regularly without fear of them or feeling intimidated.
Let’s go!
This blog will start with several posts focusing on supplies I use and recommend. We’ll then move onto posts focusing on getting started with your supplies, some exercises to play around with, and then processes and techniques.
An important note: The information I share about art making is focused on what has worked for me—there are no hard rules here. Do what works for you, feel free to take it and tweak for your needs. Lastly…EXPERIMENT! This is about making discoveries, playing, and forming a relationship with your paints—no stress, no pressure, and have fun.