FALL 2011 ACRYLIC CLASS

There was no actual demo in class this past week as people tried to finish up the value study but I would like to remind everyone to bring in something that you want to paint. It can be a photo graph you have taken yourself or something you found in the paper or on the Internet it just needs to be something that interests you.

I am going to do a demo showing how to use the hake brush and the liner two brushes that give you the most problems yet they are two brushes that can really help you with your painting. You might want to have a scrap canvas (and old painting that you have gessoed over) or something to practice on if you want to follow along.

See you in class.

ACRYLIC CLASS FALL 2011

Acrylic Demo – Value Study

I hope that you have learned something from doing the value study, it was a great exercise and I hope it taught you to see the various values in a subject that brings it to life – even in black and white.

My final day on my study was to just look to see where I could add some more detail and to fine tune the shapes of the elements of the painting. All I was interested in was the shape and the value of that shape. I know I sound like a broken record, but most of you are still way to concerned about the "flower" or the "vase" or what it is in the reflection. All of those things do not matter, the only thing that matters is the shape of the thing you are painting, then the value. If you get the shapes right the vase, flower and reflection will be there when you are done and that is the only time they may matter.

Once I had my black and white painting done, I made sure that my highlights were bright and I could call it done at that point. You can also stop at this point if you like the black and white version color is only an option, the lesson were the values.

If you do plan to add color as I did, remember that these are just glazes. What ever color I used, I added water to it so it was very transparent. In watercolor we would call them washes in oils and acrylics they are glazes. You want the transparency of the color because you want all the work you did on the values to come through not hidden behind thick paint. You may have to go over your highlights again because acrylics do dry darker but if you keep your glazes thin you shouldn't have any need to lighten the areas you go over with color.

Next class I will be going over some basic strokes and techniques so there won't be any reference material you need to worry about. If you need to finish up your value study or if you are ready to move on, please bring in something you would like to work on and I can help you get started. See you all in class.

Fall 2011 Acrylic Class

ACRYLIC DEMO – Value Study

I think one of the hardest things for the beginner to intermediate artist has to over come it the urge to finish an area as you go. A good painting is built form the big shapes to the small detail and from the dark to the highlights. A good habit to get into is working around your painting, don't stay in one area or one color too long. What happens is the painting will be very tight in that area you spent so much time on then the rest of the painting suffers and the finished work is uneven and disappointing.

Even working on a value study, moving around your painting is important. It may be just shades of gray, but as I walked around the class I noticed that not only were students trying to finish as they painted, they were using the same value of gray for everything. This exercise is to get you to see and use the whole value system to create more interest in your paintings. Please take the time to really look at the reference photo before you paint. Look for the subtleties between the values of gray.

Another thing to remember is all you are painting are shapes. You shouldn't be naming the thing you are painting such as I'm painting the vase or I'm painting the flower you are only painting a shape such as a curve. Think more along the lines of does this shape curve in or out? Is this shape lighter or darker than the shape next to it? Is this line thick or thin? If in the end you have a value study of a sunflower in a vase then that is icing on the cake, just don't worry about it until the end.

Another way to paint is to turn it upside down along with the photo you are working from. I mention the book "Drawing on the Right Side of the Brain" by Betty Edwards because it is a great way to learn to draw and it also explains how your brain works. Most of us are in our left brains in our day to day lives because it is our language, time, and logic, while our right brain is working in the background. However, when we are trying to paint we need to bring that right side up to bat. The right side is our spatial orientation so we can walk through a room and not have to feel our way, it recognizes the differences between faces, it sees the beauty of the world. The left brain has its own "short hand" so it sees anything that looks like a chair as a chair, names it and moves on. The right brain can tell the difference between a folding chair and a throne and wants to linger and appreciate the differences. When you turn something upside down, your left brain can't make sense of it because it becomes just shapes that is when the right side can take over and you will "see" more and your painting less forced. Try this until you can switch that left side off, it is a way to train your right brain.

All of this said, this is how I was painting the vase and flower. I worked from the back – which would be the reflection behind the flower – to the front looking for the shapes and the values that make up the image. It didn't matter if I was working on the reflections or if I was working in the petals of the flower, shape and value were the only things I was concerned with as I moved around the painting. I did notice that I tend to work counter clockwise as I worked but I do keep moving around my painting.

I also wasn't trying to finish the painting either. I want to get it up to the point where all I have to do is the final highlights and detail. If I didn't like a shape, I could just use the black to paint it out and then I could try again. Don't sweat the small stuff. This isn't a class in carving stone, if you do something you don't like, paint it out and do it over, that is why they make gesso in all colors.

I will be finishing up the value study this week and I may add some color to it when I'm done. I hope that you are all looking for something new to paint once you are finished with this study and apply what you have learned in a project you want to paint, that is the real challenge, I'm sure you are all up to it.