Artist Brittany Soucy lives on the seacoast of New Hampshire, where she has a separate barn that is her studio. For Brittany, being artistic is a pleasure and a sacred responsibility. She paints in oils, creating abstracts and landscapes that are inspired by her surroundings. She offers online classes through her website that include art journaling using acrylics and mixed media. This past year she has concentrated on painting as well as taking business classes.
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Brittany Soucy
Brittany’s website is brittanysoucy.com.
She is on Instagram @brittsoucy.
Her online classes can be found here.
Here are some great takeaways from our conversation:
- Brittany paints with oils, but she does the underpainting with acrylics because it dries much faster. You can put oils on top of acrylics but not acrylics on top of oils.
- When Brittany first started using oils, the smell gave her headaches. She found that it was the brush cleaner that was the culprit, and she switched to Chelsea Classic Studio brand with a lavender scent.
- We talked about how artists need to take some business classes because they’re going to most likely be self-employed. She mentioned that some artists offer business classes so even if college is a long time ago for you, you can find some relevant classes that can help you now. She mentioned Emily Jeffords’ business class and I mentioned Jeanne Oliver’s business class.
- Brittany does landscapes, some abstracts, and occasionally figures. She just goes with what she feels like painting at the time and doesn’t stick to one thing. You should create what you want to create and not try to be something you’re not.
- Some of Brittany’s paintings are hanging at businesses on a rental basis. If any piece sells, then the renter would get a portion from the payment. This is a great way to get your artwork seen and make a little money.
- Local art associations are a great way to meet other artists and find some classes to take.
- Brittany passed on some advice she got from Jeanne Oliver when she was making her first online class. Jeanne said that some artists can talk while they paint and some can’t, but that’s O.K. Just create the class in the way that suits you best.
- Art journaling is a great way to try new things and not feel the same pressure you would when you’re painting on a canvas. You can just create in a journal, then turn the page and no one needs to see it.
