Week Five of Our Painting Class

I've been leading some painting classes on Tuesday nights and last week we painted a rooster. To everyone's surprise, including my own, it was an easy piece. All bright colors, mostly primary, and keeping an eye out for the major value change on the bird's neck.

Final Painting Class

I taught a group of artists on Tuesday afternoons in October and November and the class ended with this painting of a swan. I am always amazed when I see the progress students make over such a short period of time. This session I had two people who had never painted before along with some of my 'regulars'. By the fourth class the new people had caught on to color mixing. We worked with a limited palette so there really weren't many choices.

This painting, on the surface, appears difficult, but the key is the shape of the swan, so I had them spend a half hour on the drawing to get the swan in the right place. The values are stark, and there isn't a huge variety of color so everyone finished in the two hour window.

I know some artists who have the painting completed when they arrive and do another demo in front of the class. I really hate painting the same thing twice though, so I figure out what I'm doing as I paint, and it's easier for me to explain WHY I'm doing it that way, because the experience is fresh.

Tuesday Painters

Sharon, Art, Cora, me, Diana, Cherie, Clara and Scott-(missing Donna and Angie)

The Swan (after I touched it up at home)

Sharing the Joy

Every year I teach a fall and a spring class at the local Senior Center. I ask them to commit to four sessions because I really don't want people who expect a paint by numbers class. I enjoy teaching retired folks who have a genuine interest in learning the craft.

When you retire you should try all the things you wanted to do when you were working but didn't make time for. Notice I didn't say "have"time for. That's because I believe if you really want something you will make time for it. The time may only be available if we're willing to give up another activity. I stopped watching television in order to have time to paint. I'm pretty sure I didn't miss anything. When I play Trivial Pursuit I don't so well in the Entertainment category, but that's OK.

In our  four two-hour sessions at the Senior Center we don't have time to learn much more than the basics, but you can do a lot if you have just a little knowledge about painting. We cover value, color, proportion, line and color mixing. Some of the students have paints at home and they work on projects between sessions. Those are the people who do some good work.

One of the most important aspects of the class is mutual encouragement. We all paint a little differently and there is no right or wrong way because marks and style are very personal. The truly wonderful thing about this group is they all make a point of building one another up.

They prefer to paint landscapes, and those kind of subjects are more forgiving for beginners. Here are a couple of the paintings we did from the last two weeks.

Two Hour Painting Classes

I am teaching a two hour class at the Senior Center near my home on Tuesday afternoons. The students must sign up for four weeks and we all paint the same thing from a photo I borrow at http://paintmyphoto.com. 

Last week everyone did pretty good. It's a challenge for people who don't paint very often to start and finish a painting in this amount of time. I'm sharing their efforts here. It's amazing how different they all turn out. Each has their own personality. My version is below the collage.

 11' x 14" oil on canvas

Indiana Barn