Tea and Cake with Gracie featuring Micki Wilde

Hello Friends! Welcome to a series we run on the blog called: Tea & Cake with Gracie :) Gracie interviews inspiring artists and posts the interviews (including some free offers not published elsewhere before) here on the blog every 2 months or so. I love to create art and bring amazing artists & people together in my classes, in person and on social media. I want to help bring more exposure to some of the amazing artists out there! Today Gracie’s interviewing Micki Wilde. Micki’s giving away a spot on one of her online classes – winner chooses which class :) Make sure you check out Micki’s class giveaway, video tutorial and exclusive 25% discount coupon code below! Tam xoxo

Oh it’s hot here on the English coast! The sun is shining bright and many ice creams are being devoured in our household :) I hope, wherever you are, you are finding joy in life and, whatever is happening for you, I am beaming you love and peaceful thoughts. Today I am super chuffed to be interviewing the wonderful Micki Wilde. I’ve been a huge fan of Micki’s for a while now and am so happy I get to share her work, thoughts and freebie offers here with you today :) Micki’s giving away a spot on one of her online classes and shares with us a video tutorial and exclusive 25% discount coupon code too!! Love, light and blessings :) Gracie x

1. Welcome Micki! Tell us a bit about yourself and what you do.

I am Micki Wilde a self taught artist from Leicestershire UK. I paint and teach online classes as well as snuggling with my art room buddy ‘Shadow’.

I am also mum to two wonderful teenagers and wife to a very supportive husband.

Micki Wilde Giveaway!

*GIVEAWAY NOW CLOSED *
*GIVEAWAY WINNER ANNOUNCED*
Thank you to everyone for joining in the giveaway, we loved reading your lovely comments! The randomly drawn winner is:
Gaylene Garney Davis
who said:

Congratulations on winning a spot on one of Micki’s online classes!

Checkout all Micki’s online classes -> HERE!

Micki’s Freebie Offers!

Watch the video below to see Micki create this beautiful wood panel painting:

Click the ‘play button’ to watch the video or click on the review link here: Review Link

PLUS all readers get a 25% discount for any of Micki’s online classes in her Etsy shop!

Use coupon code: TEACAKE18 to claim your discount. Coupon valid until 1st Aug 2018 :) You can find Micki’s shop here: The Secret Hermit on Etsy

Learn more about Micki in the following interview:

2. I see that a lot of your artwork includes animals, especially your recent work, where animals seem to have taken more of a focal point in your art. Please can you talk to us a bit about that and also how and why you choose the animal you are going to create?

Animal muses have been leaping, stomping and hopping in to my artwork for several years now and for the last 2 to 3 years I have been inspired to focus on painting animals alone. I find their beauty and mystique fascinating and have found that my favourite places to be in this world (other than my painty table) are places where animals naturally reside. I take a lot of walks in a deer park close to where I live and find the deer there to be gentle, majestic wonders. I often sit and watch them and make up stories in my head about their intriguing lives. They bring out a magical and playful wildness within myself and today that is why I chose this special creature to paint. I find the more I paint animals the more I want to paint them. It never seems to get boring and as soon as I am done with one, another springs in to play for a while.

3. You go under the name of ‘The Secret Hermit’ and beautifully say ‘As a self confessed hermit my work to me is a source of escape from the man made world outside my door, a safe haven where fantastical dreams are born and wild animals are free to roam.‘ Can you talk to us about that? I wonder what appeared first for you, the Hermit, or the Artist?

The Hermit definitely appeared first for me…..Around 2007/2008 two significant things happened in my life: A close friend died at a young age of cancer and I also had to have an operation (to remove my gall bladder) which afterwards left me depressed and suffering with Agoraphobia (Hence the Hermit side of my business name) My recently passed friend had previously encouraged me to try painting and so I started my painting journey as a way to try and ‘make myself happier’. I found a freedom in art that life had never provided for me and my imagination was free to run wild where my physical body was unable to. It was my safe haven, a place that I played in with no rules or restrictions. Over time and with hard work my Agoraphobia passed (though I still struggle mildly with it at times) but the art stayed with me and for that I will be forever grateful. I found art in a dark time in my life and I truly feel it saved me from sinking into an even darker place. It helped me to see the light, to laugh, have fun and run wild, all within the safe walls of my home.

4. You seem to work with a range of different mediums and layers to create your artwork. Please can you talk to us a bit about your relationship with your supplies? :)

Nowadays I mostly work with acrylic paint, pencil crayon and watercolour crayon but over the 10 years I have been painting I have tried many different mediums. When I first started I was big on anything that created heavy texture and layers but now prefer to make smaller more subtle textures using pencil crayons and a stylus/scratchy tool into the wet paint. I also still love to use Craft paints (which were the first paints I ever used) especially in white to create a matt/chalky look which I have never managed to achieve with any heavy body acrylic paint. Heavy body acrylic paints do though make up the majority of my paint supplies on my painty table. I have always allowed myself the freedom of change when it comes to my art and would never say no to trying anything new if it took my fancy. Today it might be subtle textures, tomorrow I may reach for a heavy texture with molding paste….The choices are limitless.

5. What’s on your art table right now?

On my art table right now is all my art supplies….everything I have/own arty wise goes on to my table so I can reach out for it whenever I get the whim to use it. I don’t have works in progress lying around unless I am painting something big. I tend to paint fast and let my muse start and end her journey in one sitting, allowing me the chance to walk away from my painty table feeling ‘done for the day’ and satisfied. At the moment my muse is leaning towards bright and cheery colours. I think the recent warm weather we have been having here in the UK is affecting my palette choices.

Thank you Micki for sharing and being here with us!

Find more about Micki Wilde on her website: secrethermit.typepad.com

or through the links:

Etsy shop: etsy.com/uk/shop/thesecrethermit
Facebook:
facebook.com/The-Secret-Hermit-127762774073840
Instagram: instagram.com/mickiwilde
Website: secrethermit.typepad.com/my-blog

Micki is teaching on Ever After this year! She will be showing us how she creates ‘Baloo’ from the Jungle Book and she will be sharing her artist style development hints and tricks too! :)

Come and join us on EVER AFTER 2018! :)

“Ever After” is a mixed media art & style development course with a fairytale theme hosted by Tamara Laporte from Willowing Arts. Tam is joined by 14 popular mixed media art teachers who will all share beautiful fairy-tale inspired lessons with you AND they will also divulge all their hints and tips on how they developed their own style and how YOU TOO can find your own unique voice as an artist! Click HERE for your Ever After 2018 Awesomeness! ;)