Painting For Absolute Beginners - Week 5 &The End

During our fifth week, we were introduced to other types of media. Note how savvy I've become with the lingo?

We had a demonstration using watercolour pencils. Good thing too because I had been dipping the ones I owned into water...incorrect! I couldn't imagine how else they would work. Now I know. The right way to use these is to draw and colour, then wet the work using a brush and water.

Next, we were shown techniques for the use of acrylic paints. These are very vivid and lovely and can also be thinned with water for a paler, watercolour type of look. Brushes, trowels, pretty much anything can be used to apply paint.

After viewing this, we sat and painted our fruits of the week...with watercolours. I had brought a pear and a lemon...not challenging unless you don't like the colour yellow. I doubt I put enough layers of paint on the page. On the other hand, my paper was starting to turn back into pulp. Bring on the hair dryer!

During our final week, we were unleashed. "Create an abstract", we were told. We were each given a tray of acrylics. I thought mine looked like a clown and so I got a slow start ...too busy playing with the clown.

I messed with my paint until I got bored. I ended up with colourful globs before I decided to create something that more likely could be found in the movie "The Rocky Horror Picture Show". What can I say? Limited attention span. (No...mom didn't smoke during pregnancy or ever in her life).

Then came the dreaded critique..."It's alright", said the instructor politely, rather than tell us what he really thought.

Time to use something else now. After a brief lesson in the care and feeding of pastels, we were set free with three pastels each and told to go for it. I hate pastels. I have a terrible history of pastel art lessons, both oil and chalk with children of varying ages. There is no way of using pastels without making a mess...huge mess...on paper, on arms, on legs, on clothing. Big mess! Did I mention pastels are very messy?

I soon realized I was not going to be trying many of the pastel techniques...nope, nyet, nein, not happening. Instead, I made a chubby Bob Marley and overpainted with thinned out watercolour. That was my experimentation. A watercolour background normally goes first, but hey...ever heard of pastel resist?

Finally, so that we all might go home with a reasonably successful piece of art, we were given a step by step instruction to create this. Lovely, and this one was made by our instructor.

Mine wasn't quite finished (and won't be), but ended up looking like this.

 What can I say? It's alright.