Getting Creative - The Artist Within
I have been teaching art classes for over thirty years.
My students are young, old and in between.
Some students are seeking to express themselves in a specific way.
Some students are wondering wheretheir creative side is and how they can find it.
I have successfully taught people to meet their aspirations in all of these areas.
It is always a feel good experience that both myself and my students love.
Notlong ago, one of my students suggested that I make a website of all of the courses that I have taught.
"Why not share it with the world?"he said.
Wow! I had never thought of that!My teaching had always been confined to in my little studio--warm and cozy.
But, then I got to thinking about how many people out there who would enjoy taking my classes.
I could put all the coursework online ..
..
OK, but wait a minute.
What was missing?It seemed so one-sided.
Could I become my online students' instructor, too, just like I am with the students I teach in my studio?Yes!All my online students will have to do is e-mail me a picture of their work in progress with their comments, questions or suggestions!And I will respond to them with guidance and support.
And it will all be free with no cost to the student.
We all have creative abilities within us.
Being connected to our creative abilities makes us strong yet gentle, in control but not controlling, able to see the world creatively--full of potential and unified by faith and good will.
Art is a global language like music, theater and dance, and it unites us via our higher powers as human beings.
The internet is a wonderful venue for bringing together creative minds at all levels from all over the world.
This is Class Two of Beginning Acrylic Painting, as an example.
Looks like fun?It is! Class Two As you continue with the Beginning Painting With Acrylics classes, you will develop your color mixing and brushwork skills.
Class Two is all about observation and learning how to paint light and shadow to create volume in simple geometric forms.
Before you begin, however, a brief word about keeping your brushes in good condition.
At the end of each painting session, always wash the brushes you have used with soap and water.
If you just rinse your brushes, some paint can dry in the base of the bristles.
The dried paint will stiffen the bristles and limit their expressiveness.
Note: If you have a quantity of paint on your palette, you can save it by scraping it off the palette with knife.
Place the paint on a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil.
Carefully fold the foil flat, sort of like a sandwich with the paint in the middle.
Fold up the edges and put the foil in your freezer.
At your next painting session, take the foil out--it takes a few minutes for the paint to thaw so that it is usable.
Lastly, canvas board vs.
stretched canvas: I have found it is especially important for beginning painting students to experience the flexibility of stretched canvas.
Although canvas board is cheaper, its rigid, unforgiving surface cannot compare to the sensual, responsive surface of a stretched canvas.
Shading Exercise One: On a new page of your sketch book, with your drawing pencil draw a 4" x 4" square.
Use a ruler if you want, or draw it free hand.
Next, draw a circle that measures about 4" across.
Use a small plate or glass as a template, or use a compass.
Next, draw a pyramid, the sides of which are 4" and the base is 4".
Note: You are going to shade these shapes, and that is more important than how accurately they are drawn.
You can see that all of these shapes can be divided in half.
Don't draw a line dividing them, just visualize where the line might be.
Begin with the square.
With your drawing pencil, start shading the left side.
Work toward very dark on the left edge and becoming lighter as you shade towards the middle (where a dividing line would be).
Keep the shading even.
Use the pencil lightly, building up the shading slowly.
The shading can cross the dividing line, but at that point, it should be very light.
You are creating many dark, medium and light grays--starting at the left and moving to the right.
When you are finished, look carefully at the drawing.
Does it look like a box with light shining on it on one side and shadow on the other? Good! This is what we are working for.
If the gradation between dark and light looks more like stripes, you need to soften the effect and add more grays.
OK, now do the circle the same way.
Imagine where the circle could be cut in half, then start shading the left side, working from dark to light with the lightest shading just passing over the imaginary dividing line.
Work slowly to achieve all the grays in between dark and light.
Keep the transition soft and even.
When you are finished, step back and look at the circle.
Does it look like a round shape, maybe a ball, with light and shadow on it? Good! I f there are stripes on the ball, work slower and concentrate on going from dark to light gradually.
Now shade the pyramid, going from dark on the left to white on the right.
Keep in mind the imaginary dividing line as you work.
Shading is a little more challenging with acrylic paint, but now that you know how to shade with a pencil, blending color with white to shade a form, will be easier.
Shading Exercise Two: On your paper palette, squeeze out a quarter-size dab of white and a quarter-size dab of blue.
Take up a some of the white paint with your Flat brush.
On a new page in your sketch book, make a white stripe approximately 1" wide and 3" long.
Now, carefully take a very small amount of blue on your brush and make another stripe the same size.
Pick up another small amount of blue and make another stripe, then repeat this again.
Now you have four stripes getting bluer and bluer.
Clean your brush and wipe it as dry as possible.
Now start from left to right, stroking the brush up and down in the white then moving slowly to the right, continuing to stroke the brush up and down, blending the stripes together.
Continue moving slowly to the right until you reach the bluest stripe.
Are the colors blended well? Is the transition from white to blue fairly smooth and even? On paper, acrylic paint dries rapidly.
If the paint is drying, it will be hard to blend.
Start a new exercise, making a white stripe, adding a little blue to your brush for each of the next three stripes.
Practice this exercise until you have a feel for smoothly blending two colors from light to dark.
This exercise is invaluable for painting light and shadow! Shading Exercise Three: On your 6" x 6" stretched canvas, lightly draw a 4" x 4" square in the center.
On your paper palette, squeeze out a quarter-size dab of white and a quarter-size dab of another color (your choice!) Now paint the white stripe on the left of the square and, by picking up a small amount of color on your brush for each stripe, continue across the square until it is full of stripes (this may take more than four stripes, depending on the width of your stripes.
) Now blend them together, cleaning your brush before you start again at the left.
Don't worry if you go over the pencil line of the square.
When you have completed the blending, paint around the square using the color you chose.
Cover the area around the square completely.
The entire canvas should be painted, with no white showing.
Now stand back and look at the canvas.
If you see a box-like shape illuminated with light, you can claim success! Note: the color surrounding the square should look like a back ground and place the square in a kind of environment.
Practice this shading exercise in your sketch book.
Do three of them, all with different color combinations.
Surround the shapes with color to add volume.
Note: A gradation of white to yellow looks very different from a gradation of white to red or blue!
My students are young, old and in between.
Some students are seeking to express themselves in a specific way.
Some students are wondering wheretheir creative side is and how they can find it.
I have successfully taught people to meet their aspirations in all of these areas.
It is always a feel good experience that both myself and my students love.
Notlong ago, one of my students suggested that I make a website of all of the courses that I have taught.
"Why not share it with the world?"he said.
Wow! I had never thought of that!My teaching had always been confined to in my little studio--warm and cozy.
But, then I got to thinking about how many people out there who would enjoy taking my classes.
I could put all the coursework online ..
..
OK, but wait a minute.
What was missing?It seemed so one-sided.
Could I become my online students' instructor, too, just like I am with the students I teach in my studio?Yes!All my online students will have to do is e-mail me a picture of their work in progress with their comments, questions or suggestions!And I will respond to them with guidance and support.
And it will all be free with no cost to the student.
We all have creative abilities within us.
Being connected to our creative abilities makes us strong yet gentle, in control but not controlling, able to see the world creatively--full of potential and unified by faith and good will.
Art is a global language like music, theater and dance, and it unites us via our higher powers as human beings.
The internet is a wonderful venue for bringing together creative minds at all levels from all over the world.
This is Class Two of Beginning Acrylic Painting, as an example.
Looks like fun?It is! Class Two As you continue with the Beginning Painting With Acrylics classes, you will develop your color mixing and brushwork skills.
Class Two is all about observation and learning how to paint light and shadow to create volume in simple geometric forms.
Before you begin, however, a brief word about keeping your brushes in good condition.
At the end of each painting session, always wash the brushes you have used with soap and water.
If you just rinse your brushes, some paint can dry in the base of the bristles.
The dried paint will stiffen the bristles and limit their expressiveness.
Note: If you have a quantity of paint on your palette, you can save it by scraping it off the palette with knife.
Place the paint on a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil.
Carefully fold the foil flat, sort of like a sandwich with the paint in the middle.
Fold up the edges and put the foil in your freezer.
At your next painting session, take the foil out--it takes a few minutes for the paint to thaw so that it is usable.
Lastly, canvas board vs.
stretched canvas: I have found it is especially important for beginning painting students to experience the flexibility of stretched canvas.
Although canvas board is cheaper, its rigid, unforgiving surface cannot compare to the sensual, responsive surface of a stretched canvas.
Shading Exercise One: On a new page of your sketch book, with your drawing pencil draw a 4" x 4" square.
Use a ruler if you want, or draw it free hand.
Next, draw a circle that measures about 4" across.
Use a small plate or glass as a template, or use a compass.
Next, draw a pyramid, the sides of which are 4" and the base is 4".
Note: You are going to shade these shapes, and that is more important than how accurately they are drawn.
You can see that all of these shapes can be divided in half.
Don't draw a line dividing them, just visualize where the line might be.
Begin with the square.
With your drawing pencil, start shading the left side.
Work toward very dark on the left edge and becoming lighter as you shade towards the middle (where a dividing line would be).
Keep the shading even.
Use the pencil lightly, building up the shading slowly.
The shading can cross the dividing line, but at that point, it should be very light.
You are creating many dark, medium and light grays--starting at the left and moving to the right.
When you are finished, look carefully at the drawing.
Does it look like a box with light shining on it on one side and shadow on the other? Good! This is what we are working for.
If the gradation between dark and light looks more like stripes, you need to soften the effect and add more grays.
OK, now do the circle the same way.
Imagine where the circle could be cut in half, then start shading the left side, working from dark to light with the lightest shading just passing over the imaginary dividing line.
Work slowly to achieve all the grays in between dark and light.
Keep the transition soft and even.
When you are finished, step back and look at the circle.
Does it look like a round shape, maybe a ball, with light and shadow on it? Good! I f there are stripes on the ball, work slower and concentrate on going from dark to light gradually.
Now shade the pyramid, going from dark on the left to white on the right.
Keep in mind the imaginary dividing line as you work.
Shading is a little more challenging with acrylic paint, but now that you know how to shade with a pencil, blending color with white to shade a form, will be easier.
Shading Exercise Two: On your paper palette, squeeze out a quarter-size dab of white and a quarter-size dab of blue.
Take up a some of the white paint with your Flat brush.
On a new page in your sketch book, make a white stripe approximately 1" wide and 3" long.
Now, carefully take a very small amount of blue on your brush and make another stripe the same size.
Pick up another small amount of blue and make another stripe, then repeat this again.
Now you have four stripes getting bluer and bluer.
Clean your brush and wipe it as dry as possible.
Now start from left to right, stroking the brush up and down in the white then moving slowly to the right, continuing to stroke the brush up and down, blending the stripes together.
Continue moving slowly to the right until you reach the bluest stripe.
Are the colors blended well? Is the transition from white to blue fairly smooth and even? On paper, acrylic paint dries rapidly.
If the paint is drying, it will be hard to blend.
Start a new exercise, making a white stripe, adding a little blue to your brush for each of the next three stripes.
Practice this exercise until you have a feel for smoothly blending two colors from light to dark.
This exercise is invaluable for painting light and shadow! Shading Exercise Three: On your 6" x 6" stretched canvas, lightly draw a 4" x 4" square in the center.
On your paper palette, squeeze out a quarter-size dab of white and a quarter-size dab of another color (your choice!) Now paint the white stripe on the left of the square and, by picking up a small amount of color on your brush for each stripe, continue across the square until it is full of stripes (this may take more than four stripes, depending on the width of your stripes.
) Now blend them together, cleaning your brush before you start again at the left.
Don't worry if you go over the pencil line of the square.
When you have completed the blending, paint around the square using the color you chose.
Cover the area around the square completely.
The entire canvas should be painted, with no white showing.
Now stand back and look at the canvas.
If you see a box-like shape illuminated with light, you can claim success! Note: the color surrounding the square should look like a back ground and place the square in a kind of environment.
Practice this shading exercise in your sketch book.
Do three of them, all with different color combinations.
Surround the shapes with color to add volume.
Note: A gradation of white to yellow looks very different from a gradation of white to red or blue!