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January 2025 - lets go!
Students are making great progress on their acrylic paintings. Most are about half-way through their starry nights, while others are finishing up alternative paintings.
One of my favorite things about the painting classes is getting to see how different everyone's styles are. We all have something to learn from each other.
Here is the 1st completed painting of the year: Starry Night by Scarlet!
Gr
Week 7 & 8 - pausing watercolor, up next: acrylics
Finishing watercolors
Coming up next...Acrylics!
Coming up next...Acrylics!
Some of the students have now completed their fish or bird watercolor paintings, and have started small watercolors to work on while the rest of the class finishes.
There will always be several options available to those students that finish early or need something inspiring to work on.
Today - frogs and lighthouses.
Coming up next...Acrylics!
Coming up next...Acrylics!
Coming up next...Acrylics!
For our next round of paintings we will be working in acrylics. Our classes will bounce back and forth between watercolors and acrylics for the rest of this year and the beginning of next.
Starting in the spring, after students have sufficiently learned the nuances of both mediums, they will begin to choose which one they would like to use for each painting.
This paint will be MESSY
Coming up next...Acrylics!
Texture by sight and touch
Acrylic paints are much messier than watercolors. Clean-up is not as easy as the paint dries fairly quickly. With watercolors, most pigments come out in the laundry. But with acrylics, prevention and catching it early is key to saving students' clothes.
STUDENTS: Consider bringing an apron, or finding an old button-up shirt to use as a smock during class. Acrylic accidents are common.
Texture by sight and touch
Basic LED Fairy lights (battery-operated)
Texture by sight and touch
I brought in a very special Starry Night painting to show students - an option open to them.
This painting has been texturized by "painting" hot glue lines over the surface. You drag the hot glue gun across the painting in a single stroke while evenly applying even pressure to the trigger. These lines are in the direction of the sky spirals, tree shape, and city scene to make the scene come together.
Overhead lights OFF, painting lights ON!
Basic LED Fairy lights (battery-operated)
Basic LED Fairy lights (battery-operated)
When the painting is lit up, the lights from the fairy bulbs reflect and diffuse in the surrounding hot glue lines.
This effect is even more noticeable when the painting is lit in a darkened room! My daughter liked using it as a nightlight when she was little.
This painting was sealed with varnish after the hot glue was applied - creating an even sheen.
Basic LED Fairy lights (battery-operated)
Basic LED Fairy lights (battery-operated)
Basic LED Fairy lights (battery-operated)
If you would like to make one yourself, go ahead and find the lights that you will be working with. They can be white or colored.
These are basic led lights, commonly known as fairy lights, with the lights being very small bulbs on a set of thin wires linked to a battery pack. They can be found online, and in several stores. I found mine at Target a few years ago in the bargain bins up front.
More photos soon!
Week 5 - watercolor - birds & Fish
Students are always given options when it comes to reference images. I believe that if students don't enjoy the subject of what they are working on, they are less likely to appreciate the outcome. So I try to have at least 2-3 options for each lesson.
That does mean that only some of the reference images will have demonstrations like this one. As I make them I try to document the steps to be abl
The first step for a painting is to draw in a light sketch of your subject. Pressing lightly is key to being able to erase the drawing and prevent it from showing through the watercolor.
TIP: After drawing your subject, drag an eraser over the pencil lines - careful not to scrub too hard and remove the drawing entirely. This pulls up any remaining graphite bits sitting on the paper's surface,
Once your drawing is ready, the first step is to pre-wet the paper. A spray bottle on mist setting is an easy way to do this.
Once the paper has absorbed the water I begin by dropping yellow paint into the chest area. I can use my cloth or sponge to manage the color that creeps (Don't worry about it too much, we learned how to lift paint out!)
Before the paper has dried completely I dropped yellow orange on the chest, with bits of orange in the shadow sections of the bird's chest. This adds depth to the feathers.
Seem a little orange? The appearance of color changes based on the surrounding colors.
I won't adjust the orange parts until after I put in the blue wing & back. This will allow more of the yellow to come through, ultimately ch
Because we know the appearance of color changes when we add other colors next to it, I decided to go ahead and add a light background wash.
Backgrounds need to help the subject shine; not to steal the show. Are all of the leaves important? No. I can hint at a few and leave the color wash in the background to fill in the gaps.
You can also change the background to whatever pleases you the most. F
week 4 - tree silhouettes
Tree silhouette reference image
Painting the tree silhouette, using lighter colors, working from the trunk up towards the tips.
Starting with a very basic skeleton. Working LARGE to MEDIUM to SMALL.
The basic tree silhouette used for the in-class demo. I explained how I build a tree from the trunk up, allowing for an organic look to the tree - as if it grows up on the page.
Starting with a very basic skeleton. Working LARGE to MEDIUM to SMALL.
Painting the tree silhouette, using lighter colors, working from the trunk up towards the tips.
Starting with a very basic skeleton. Working LARGE to MEDIUM to SMALL.
We traced the tree with transparency to see the skeleton we can follow. It is easy to get too busy and distracting.
Painting the tree silhouette, using lighter colors, working from the trunk up towards the tips.
Painting the tree silhouette, using lighter colors, working from the trunk up towards the tips.
Painting the tree silhouette, using lighter colors, working from the trunk up towards the tips.
Students did an excellent job with this assignment! Blending across colors in watercolor is extremely challenging. Sunsets offer a great way to practice this skill.
week 3 - completing the watercolor chart
Middle column - LIFTING OUT (WET wash)
Middle column - LIFTING OUT (WET wash)
Middle column - LIFTING OUT (WET wash)
We started the class working in the middle column. First, students painted a solid flat wash in the lower square to allow it to dry. Second, students painted a solid flat wash in the upper square and allowed the paper to dry slightly for a few moments.
LIFTING OUT from WET - using a dry brush, students blotted a shape in the wet wash that was just created. I chose a cloud for the class example. The brush must be dried after each blot to work. Adding more water to an area allows the paper to release the pigment further, allowing more lift. The trick is in the dry brush.
Middle column - LIFTING OUT (DRY wash)
Middle column - LIFTING OUT (WET wash)
Middle column - LIFTING OUT (WET wash)
Students were impressed at how you can "erase" something by lifting out paint. This technique is also great for making textures and to lighten an area as needed. Water is used to reactivate the pigment on the paper so it can be blotted up with the dried brush.
LIFTING OUT from DRY - using clean water, students rewetted an area in the same shape as the first example. The water is left to sit for just a few moments, the longer the wait the more the water will saturate into the paper. A dry brush is then used to blot up the shape. The brush must be dried after each blot, and more water can be used to with caution as it is easy to overwork the paper fibers with this technique.
Third column - Dry brush & scrubbing
Third column - Dry brush & scrubbing
Third column - Dry brush & scrubbing
Dry-brush involves loading a brush with pigment and painting or scrubbing it across the texture of the paper. Students first cleaned their brush, dried it off, and loaded it with pigment by tapping it into paint on the mixing tray (not straight out of the paint well).
You can tell a brush is dry enough for texture when the bristles begin to separate themselves even with paint. The firmer you press, the more paint that is transferred. Different sizes and shapes of brushes creating different effects.
Third column - Splattering
Third column - Dry brush & scrubbing
Third column - Dry brush & scrubbing
Students always love this one. Splattering involves the flinging of paint onto the paper using tapping, flinging, or fanning of bristles.
Brushes loaded with paint will release larger drops of water, especially if tapped on another brush. When the brush is fanned with the tip of the finger it creates a softer mist. An angled flat brush makes a nice, straight and controlled splatter.
Take caution to not fling paint on others and make a mess!
practicing washes - gradient sunsets
Blending colors together and letting the paper do all the work!
We finished the class off with our first watercolor assignment. This is a two-part assignment:
First, the watercolor sunset. Most students were able to begin this in class. The goal here is to create a smooth gradient wash between blue and yellow before blending down to red. It is very challenging to blend primary colors into each other without creating secondary colors in between.
(No scary green skies here!)
Second, the tree silhouette. We will be completing this step when we return for week 4. This will include how to create an organic, realistic tree using purple that has been neutralized to be dark. Students will be learning how and why I avoid black in my watercolors whenever possible.
Week 2 - watercolor technique chart
Starting the year off right - with everyone on the same page
Creating the watercolor technique chart accomplishes many things.
- It ensures everyone knows how to use the medium correctly.
- Gives each student a chance to practice each skill and make simple adjustments without messing up an artwork
- Sets up the foundation of watercolor terms we will be using this year.
First, we divided up our page into 3 columns, and then into different sized sections. In the first column we learned about different types of washes and how to do each one. Learning how to effectively create a wash is the foundation of watercolor painting. This does take time and we were only able to complete the first column.
Next week we will be finishing our charts and beginning our sunset gradient assignment. For the second column students will be learning about erasing, or lifting out paint, to lighten, erase or create textures. And in the third column, students will get to explore various dry-brush and texture tehniques.
Returning student?
Students who have previously taken a painting class with me and have already created a watercolor technique chart were encouraged to practice their variegated washes across many colors. Practicing your washes and blending between colors will always be helpful and necessary.
It also gives me a chance to see where everyone is skill-wise.
Week 1 - intro to the year & supplies
Watercolors needed for class
Painting! Painting classes will work in Acrylic and watercolor only. We have very limited time together. We will be starting in Watercolor and students will need a watercolor sketchbook for the year. Please only use PRANG 16-count semi-moist watercolors - they offer the brightest quality medium for students. Many others put binders in with their pigments making them opaque or chalky.
Examples of brushes that can be used for both watercolor and acrylics.
A basic set of brushes (synthetic recommended) will get the students going. We will always have brushes available, but as they are shared across classes, I cannot guarantee the quality and cleanliness of the supplies. It is always best to take care of your own supplies, making your experience better. They will be suggested to collect a few other supplies to make their painting experience easier. A brush pouch or bag is recommended because it is easy to drop brushes and loose track of them. A brush roll can be very convenient. Students are able to leave their watercolor palettes and brushes in the classroom each week if they wish to. I have a small container for our palettes to keep them separate from the class supply and the youngsters in the other art classes.