Art in August
On Saturday 16 August we had a fun beginners watercolour class with a great group of girls. Some had done art before, others not.
All the results were good, and a great time was had by all!
still life
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My attempt at contour drawing!
I attempted the contour drawing excersise today to see how I would fare.
There are a few things that I would do differently.
I set up a simple still life with a desk lamp lighting it from the back. There was a bit too much ambient life to emphasize the shadows dramatically enough, a stronger light would have been better.
Marking a border inside the edges of the page was helpful. I sketched the basic shape of my objects and the shape of their shadows, but instead of refining the various shadow and highlight areas with more contour lines, I started filling in the shadow areas from the lightest to the darkest.
I used my eraser extensively to get rid of unwanted lines and I also used it to smudge the pencil and create a smoother texture. Later as I went darker with my B6 pencil, I erased the lightest areas to make sure that they were not smudged over. I spent about one hour on the drawing.
It was a good excersise and one I will try again!
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still painting
I am trying a new base surface for my oil paintings.
I love canvas, but its a bit too fancy for experiments. So, I got a stack of A4 sized masonite boards. I painted them with universal undercoat over which I applied a gesso paste with my palette knife. Once the gesso paste is dry it won’t crack and you can work on it with oils or acrylics.
Next I mixed up neutral colours with genuine turpentine and an “oil painting medium” (honely coloured, like a pour-able gel, it thins the paint and lets it dry quicker) to make it spread better and it is transparent. Then I rubbed it on to the prepared surface
Now I am ready to paint!
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crash course art or social art?
Have you been enjoying the fantastic summer weather?
I have some suggestions for different types of art classes, depending on what your goal is. Lets find out who would like what kind of art session.
1_ WEDNESDAY EVENING SOCIAL ART:
at willing participants homes or in my studio, with coffee or a glass of wine. We can do them once per month.
7.30pm – 9pm
Cost: R100 per person, materials included
2_ SATURDAY MORNING ART:
various fun and colourful excersises with relaxation in mind, very much like we have been doing.
10am – 1pm
Cost: R160 per person, materials included
3_ ART CRASH COURSES:
serious sessions covering drawing and painting, the sessions will follow on each other. I would like to book these for specific dates with those who are interrested.
SATURDAY MORNINGS
10am – 1pm
Cost: R180 per person
Depending on the medium, there might be an extra cost for special materials.
Here are possible dates for art workshops on Saturday mornings:
MARCH: 15
APRIL: 12
MAY: 10, 17, 24
Please let me know if you are interrested in any of the options.
Janette and Tonto
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Here it is: latest painting class!
Its been a month since our last art workshop, but don’t worry, the next one is in the planning stages!
Thanks to all the lovely “students” who come and are eager to try something new. My aim is to have many more such sessions. In the pictures you will see paintings of a little still life executed in acrylic paint. Not easy, but the results are fantastic!
Click on the image for larger view.
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