January insights

Our

assignments last week led us on a rich dialogue! We looked at paintings that inspired you in the New Year. I was impressed with your choices, and inspired in turn.

After our discussion I set some homework for you:

Tami:

1. Work on brush handling. Check out the step by step painting web site for some exercises to try. (She also has a buying guide if you ant to get any new brushes.)

2. Your goal is to finish some of your paintings, so please choose the one you want to work on and be prepared to work on it!

Becky:

1. Explore Red. One of your choices for inspiration was this one, below. Your assignment is to buy some new tubes of red and paint splotches of many different mixtures of red, taking some notes, and make a list or a chart of colors you like best so you can begin to incorporate them into your work.

2. Bring a photo of a landscape that means something to you, and be prepared to riff on it in an abstract way.

Abstract Landscape No 1 Mixed Media By Lelia Demello

My choices were these:

This one called "Rock" by Chilean Abstract Expressionist painter Roberto Matta, who coined the term “inscape” for abstract paintings he made exploring the psychoanalytical landscape of the human mind.

And this one by Wassily Kandinsky - Winter Landscape, 1909

And my goal is to finish the paintings I start. To that end, I've been working this week on my Winter Landscape of the Coburg Hills:

Comments

Paint Application and Mark-Making

We've been talking about brushwork and palette knives, and I want to talk a little about paint application and mark-making. Paint can be applied with so many different tools. We all started out with finger painting, and brushes seem to be an extension of our fingers, but you can put paint onto a ground with a palette knife, old credit card, sponge, roller, etc. And besides the tools you use, you have options with the techniques. I took the following list of paint application techniques from a Craftsy Post: 1. Dry brushing: This is where you scrub layers of colors on using small amounts of paint. 2. Washing: This is when you apply a thin layer of diluted paint over the colors already applied. The thin veil of color allows the colors underneath to still shine through. 3. Dabbing: For adding texture. Apply thick paint with a stiff bristle brush or a sponge, with a pouncing motion or with quick dabs. Dabbing can be done in multiple layers to build depth. 4. Detailing: Thi...

Nature Sketching

A nature journal is a collection of drawings from observation in nature: Get a sketch book and some drawing tools and take them with you when you go to the woods or the beach. Draw what interests you, and take notes. Drawing in nature can help you to understand how plants and animals are put together, and also help you to really see and remember. I usually combine nature drawing with photos, so if I decide to do a larger drawing or painting in the studio I have plenty of reference material. A page in your nature sketchbook doesn’t have to be a pretty, finished drawing. It’s a practical tool and it can help you learn new things. Add some metadata to your page, like the date, the weather; note the size, the color, the habitat or the smell. What does it feel like? Where did you find it? Add questions that you want to look up later. Here are different ideas and methods that you can use in your nature journal. Draw one item in natu...

Art with Cynthia

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