 Hello artistic visitors. I'm artist Susan Jenkins and welcome to Monet Café. I thought it was about time I make a second welcome video because a lot has changed since I first started this channel. One thing is you guys, we have so many new subscribers and we've just grown so much in so many ways. We also have a Facebook group now called Monet Café Art Group, and it is just the most wonderful group of artists of every level growing and learning together. So I thought I'd take a little short video and give you a little bit more about what our channel is about and why it's so unique. And I also would like to say that we do focus mostly on pastel artwork. Pastel is a wonderful medium and so many people are learning more about all of the benefits and beauty of this medium. But we welcome artists of every medium and every level. So let me tell you a little bit more about our group and what makes it so special and hopefully you'll subscribe too. First a little about our name Monet Café. Taken from the famous artist Claude Monet. I happen to love his work. He's one of my favorites, mostly because of his impressionistic style. But also because of his use of color. Many don't realize he was quite the pastel artist and a medium that he used quite often. His brilliant use of color and uses of value is something that I tend to focus on in my painting as well. And his landscapes are brilliant. And Café, well, who doesn't love getting together with friends for a cup of coffee? We even have our own Monet Café coffee cup. Now let me tell you a little about myself and why I chose this beautiful medium of pastels. Can any of you relate to this picture? Even though I was artistic as a child when I grew up my life took on too many responsibilities for me to focus much on my art and My family took priority to any desire in my art. So I had to sneak in artistic time when I could and I found that the medium of pastels is such a user-friendly medium for busy lives like mine and unlike wet mediums that will dry up when you walk away from it. The pastel medium will sit there patiently waiting for you when you return to your project. So I had a lot to learn, but I learned so much about pastels from the convenience of my home without having to spend a lot of money on workshops and Going when I didn't have time to go to these in the first place. So this is why I created Monet Café to share with you how you can create and learn from your home and in a convenient way and a freeway in our Monet Café art channel. Another reason that I created the Monet Café YouTube channel is because I want to encourage others that I had a beginning where all I had was a corner in my kitchen or a little place at my kitchen table for many years and I just kept at it and took the time when I could get it and eventually learned and grew as an artist And so I want to encourage you that you can do the same. After years of working hard to become a better artist, I finally started to see some success. I was able to become an illustrator for book covers and also to be able to have my art in some shows. I was also able to put my art on products and have various product sales and One of my favorite things was becoming a teacher, which is why I started the YouTube channel. I thoroughly enjoyed sharing what I've learned over the years with others. A project that was near and dear to my heart was the completion of a book that I wrote and illustrated exclusively in pastels which was completed after a battle that I had with cancer. So I love to encourage others that you can get through whatever challenges and overcome and enjoy this beautiful therapeutic gift of art. So if you're tired of feeling alone and frustrated in your art endeavors, perhaps it's time to join our beautiful Monet cafe art community on our YouTube channel and in our Facebook group. It's so exciting because we have people from so many countries all over this beautiful earth joining our movement in Monet cafe and growing and learning together, which is the best way to learn. So please join us on our YouTube channel or our Facebook group or both and as I always say happy painting.