Mixed-Media Girls with Suzi Blu: Drawing, Painting, and Fanciful Adornments from Start to Finish Paperback – May 1, 2012

*****I am a huge Suzi Blu fan: I have followed her blog and YouTube videos for years and taken one of her classes. I have to say that I like her latest project--this book--best of all! It is even better than taking a class because not only is it very affordable, but it is all of the techniques and instructions in one place that can be referred back to again and again (unlike a class). The book is beautiful and fun. The reader is taken step by step through basic drawing instruction Suzi-style, materials, ideas and more.One thing I really appreciate about Suzi's writing is that she tells you WHY you should do different things or use different materials, so that you really understand the process. She also is characteristically encouraging throughout, knowing that the reader will have fears and how it feels when you are a beginner.The techniques are taught through projects so that you can get creating from the very beginning. These projects are mixed media on wood with a beeswax coating, although they can be modified for almost any type of artwork, which Suzi discusses. She includes so many ideas, and they are not just for petite dolls, but for variations like mermaids, angels, animals, and scenes.There is a student gallery and list of resources for where to get materials. There is also a short 30 minute DVD included that shows some techniques that are ideal for video (like how the beeswax should be put down); it is in Suzi-style too, so fans will find much to love here.If you are unfamiliar with the author, you may think this is a book for little girls to learn to draw dolls--it can be that of course--but it is ideal for anyone who is wanting to grow and be creative and learn new and interesting mixed-media techniques. If you want to grow as an artist, you'll love this book.Highly recommended.*****

Wow, I'm surprised by some of the negative reviews for this book, but to each his own. I'm new to mixed media so from that perspective I thought it was super great, lots of very clear, detailed step by step directions for drawing a face using her style. She said she wanted to teach her way of painting because she was tired of seeing pictured of "dead victorian people" all over the mixed media world. I'm thinking from Suzi's perspective "cute girls" are her "girly grunge" (as she says) are a reaction to what she was tired of seeing. I got a little bored at the end of the book because all the faces were cute. I think ugly is cute too. She embraces imperfection but insists on perfect symmetry for the face, the rest of the body can "imply" a theme, nothing realistic. There is one picture in the book of a collection of old dolls that inspire her work. I don't know what era they came from but definitely pre-Barbie. I always thought her art work had really sad eyes but in this book all the samples have what she calls "dreamy" eyes. I was surprised to the extent to which she divulged her technique. You can also take online classes with her - her method of sealing her paintings with wax would be interesting to see on video. Btw, the cute image of the doll on the front is Marie Antoinette which she refers to as a kind girl, I think Suzi made this version of her as a kind girl, but the infamous "let them eat cake" reminds us that she wasn't so kind. Overall, even if you don't want to paint folk art dolls, as she refers to her drawings, there is great information in the book on practicing the art of mixed media - much more comprehensive than anything else I've read. Up till now it seemed like a great mystery to me but between her theory and practice explained in the book, I feel like I get this now, at least enough to start. Be prepared for a large shopping list - art is expensive. If you just want to buy artwork in this style there is a great Etsy shop called Art and Dreams by Lana Coffill where she sells her art as prints for $10 - $15 dollars. They look identical to Suzi's work. For the people who wrote about concerns over copyright issues, why not just write the artist and get her consent on what you propose to do with what you learned from the book in any kind of commercial endeavor? There was a famous knitter who was extremely popular in the 80's and everyone accused her of that too. It was a lot of hogwash and just not true.

Thank you Suzi Blu, I love this book! I have been scrapbooking for 15 years and my projects were lacking happiness and were not coming together easily. I knew I needed a jump start and a new perspective. I am interested in whimsical and this book brought whimsical right to me on a silver platter. Suzi also brought back to inspiration which I was lacking. I want to incorporate drawings of girls to my card making and Suzi has made that look so simple whether you paint, draw, or whatever medium you choose you can do this. I am so excited to begin! She is detailed in her instructions and makes the projects look totally fun! She also brings the ideas of adding textures and color and she shows you how to bring your creative style to any project. I am very pleased with this Book, Mixed Media Girls

I've never taken a mixed media class and so I didn't know any techniques used in mixed media. As others have said, the book is wonderful eye candy and it inspires my imagination. What I like most is that the book comes with a DVD where Suzi Blu further demonstrates how to do her mixed media techniques. I really needed that as I am a visual learner. On the DVD, Suzi Blu explains that although she gives you templates for her own designs and recommends that you go ahead and copy what she has done so that you can learn first, she says that eventually you will develop your own style of art. She has included some of her student's artwork and you can clearly see that some have already developed their own styles.I purchased the book not only to learn mixed media, but to also learn how to create the "fairy-like" quality you see in her paintings. Her art reminds me of the art of other artists that I admire including the art of Stephen Mackey which you can see in Jane Yolen's book,  The Fairies' Ring . I am very excited with this book and DVD set and can't wait to get started learning how to do mixed media and create beautiful art.

I've wanted this book for ages since it first came into print 10 years ago but never got around to ordering. I intended to teach myself to draw whimsical girls faces. I already own books by Dina Whakley and Jane Davenport and am finally using these despite my tastes changing and having taught myself to draw realistic composite faces. This book is full of information, diagrams and pretty photos. Styles may have changed a little since publication but there is still much to inspire you to make your own Mixed Media Girls or just to enjoy browsing through with a cuppa. Well worth the £3 something that I paid and the book was like new. Thank you to the Seller - Music Magpie and Suzi Blu, Author.

Livre fournit avec un cd pour ceux qui aiment ce genre de support.Le livre est très agréable et bien expliqué. Il convient bien sûr aux personnes intéressées par le mixed média et qui aiment les personnages féminins un peu poupées. Sa méthode pour dessiner les visages est très explicite.

This is a lovely book because it can be used stand alone without joining a class online. Each project is set out like a recipe with a list of requirements and numbered steps telling what to do. So it is in effect a self tutorial written in plain English and containing templates.

Este libro lo adquirí hace más de 3 años. Es uno de mis favoritos. El que yo adquirí viene con un DVD que muestra a Suzi aplicando sus técnicas.El libro primero se enfoca en enseñarnos como hacer que la cara sea simétrica y como darle color. Luego tiene varios proyectos, con la lista de materiales y técnicas utilizadas.

I love this book. If you struggle with faces either on a flat surface or a three dimensional figure, this is a great book to help with that. It doesn't get into the very detailed and overly precise steps to creating a face, it gives you a realistic approach to well done faces without the stress of trying to be so accurate. This is a mixed media book and meant to give you a lovely finished product and instructions that everyone can follow. It covers examples of how to create for example, textured hair. There are ideas for clothing the doll and adding embellishments. The illustrations are very good and one thing I look for are books with lots of colour and inspiration. The added CD makes this a good buy and you will come away with a finished project that you will be happy with. I highly recommend this book.