Just One Step Ahead

It is not often that a student asks to learn something that I don't know how to do but Jeannie surprised me by wanting to try an abstract. Thankfully there is the internet with hundreds of photos to for viewing and learning.

#1017 - Blended Blooms - 5 x 7 watercolour

Not being sure what Jeannie was interested in, I did 'Blended Blooms' as a trial. I liked it but, when she came for her lesson, Jeannie felt that she wanted a more abstract look and less impressionism.

#1015 - Bold Burst - 5 x 7 watercolour

'Bold Burst' started as a demonstration of applying colour somewhat randomly. I finished this after the class by adding more colour and water and letting things flow together.

#1016 - Blended - 5 x 7 watercolour

'Blended' is the painting we did together and, of course, I forgot to take a photo of Jeannie's painting. Jeannie liked her painting in landscape format but I prefer portrait format for mine. It was fun doing this piece so I used the idea for a birthday card I made for a friend.

Card #87 - Birthday Balloons

For the lesson with Jeannie I was just one step ahead so I was happy to get back on track with this week's class with Heather and do something I was more familiar with - skies and mountains!

We used one of my older paintings as a guide for our first piece.

#967 - Clouds on the Mountain #2 - 5 x 16 watercolour

Heather wanted to learn how to achieve the tonal perspective needed for the mountains and she liked the clouds over the mountains. When I mentioned taking photos of her work she was reluctant so I didn't push. We left the foreground for homework because I wanted Heather to try a more dramatic sky.

#1019 - Sunset Storm - 5 x 7 watercolour

We stared out doing a bright sunset but ended up with a 'Sunset Storm'. Many beginners are afraid of using too much colour and I wanted to show her that adding the dark clouds over the sunset could make a more effective painting.

I hope to show my students that painting can be fun! I want them to loosen up and play a bit more; to let the brush dance over the paper and just see what happens. It will come with more practice and confidence and then they will have the skills to paint different styles, from abstract to realistic. Here's hoping!

No Photos Again!

I just can't seem to get my head around the need to take photos when I give a class. This afternoon I again spent some time with the TAPS people and the students from Wildflower. I was so busy talking and teaching that taking photos completely slipped my mind.

I can, however, show you the pieces I did to prepare for the 'class' and outline what was done.

When I first started teaching beginner art, I used the 'basic shapes' method to show people how to draw. People seem to get bogged down and I often heard things like 'I can't draw a circle' or 'I can't draw a straight line'. My response? "Can you print the alphabet?" Thus was born my version of "Alphabet Art".

Life on the Prairies

 Except for the rolling hills, everything in the above picture was drawn using these letters: H, L, B, V, O, T, A (with out the cross bar) and I.

Life in the Valley

For this picture I added a row of K's to make the mountains in the background. I also took an unfair advantage when drawing the barn because I couldn't think of a letter that would give me the right shape. For those of you shaking your head's, in some cases you need to turn the paper sideways to get the right effect.

Life in the City

Today I started by showing everyone how they could draw certain subjects - houses, trees, bushes, windows and doors. Once they all had the idea I invited them to draw a picture of where they grew up or the best place they ever lived and to share their stories with the group. I spent the rest of my time visiting, listening to their stories and offering suggestions of things to add to their drawings (it surprised me to see a few outhouses in some of the pictures- lol). Everyone seemed to have a great time and it was nice to bring back some memories to some of the seniors.

After seeing that some of the kids put stick figures in their drawings I added a few more letters to the lesson.

Not the best photo but I hope you get the idea. The boy starts with an H for his body, V's for the arms, O for the head, and W for the legs. The girl starts with an X and the rest is the same.

Of course, the letters get a bit distorted and the final result is tidied up but the basics are simply letters that we use everyday. I hope this encourages you to think up your own drawings based on the alphabet and if you do please share them!

Always Learning

Whether I am taking workshops or teaching beginners I feel that I am always learning. Sometimes the lesson is something old revisited, sometimes something new that I am not sure what to do with, but always useful even if you have to wait for inspiration.


A project that I always get my students to try is drawing an upside-down picture - something they can't recognize so they can only try to reproduce what they see with no preconceptions.

 

 Try something like this yourself if you have never done it before - or even if you have! I got this idea from a class I took many years ago when I lived in Edmonton.

Something else I use with my students is Alphabet Art. I developed this when students were having trouble with basic shapes - the old 'I can't draw a circle' excuse.

Although the letters are adjusted they are recognizable. Try this exercise too and see what you can come up with. More pictures done this way can be found on my Facebook page  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Mellowood-Studio-and-Art-Gallery/120412094734638?ref=hl

Today I picked up the painted papers I did at a workshop with local artist Win Dinn (see last entry for contact info). These papers will be used in some of my mixed media art but I plan to keep some until next spring when I take 'Painted Paper 102'.

Wonderful colors which are making my mind spin and my imagination soar. These papers are made with mulberry paper and as they needed to dry before I could bring them home I thought I would try some different papers at home. Rice paper - it looked and felt like the mulberry (or so I thought), Artist's tissue paper - flimsy, it will probably rip, Parchment paper - hmm -let's see. Well, the first two worked reasonably well, the third not at all. BUT, I learned something didn't I?

Mostly Blue

 Here is the mixed media piece I did using the painted rice paper, some cheese cloth I used to mop up left over paint and a 'skin' I made last year. Color and fun - What more could one ask for?