Let The Paint Class Begin!!

Green apples and strawberries make our composition for the Spring Paint Classes this year.

A very pleasant arrangement without too much fussy detail but still a very "meaty" composition.  The pottery plate is by a friend named George Griffin of Sopchoppy, FL.  Many of my students have visited his studio in the itty bitty town of Sopchoppy near Apalachicola, FL. 

Our Spring Composition

The white linen table cloth will give us a chance to paint the gentle folds along the tables edge... and we will learn to do this with just a few strokes so it is fun and not fussy.

The detail in the bowl will be omitted in the painting.  Too obscure to add meaning to the painting.

The Teacher's Homework...

I like about 12 painters  in each class, but I always prepare for an extra in case of a surprise or accident.  For this composition, we will be painting on a black canvas.  I chose to gesso my own to save the money.

If you would like to make your own black gesso, pour about a cup of white gesso in an empty quart jar.  Add 1/2 cup of flat black acrylic paint and stir.  Add black paint until you get the desired shade of black. Hobby Lobby sells black gesso.

One coat worked well for me.  

I did my composition on a large tablet.  It is important that I have a master sketch so as I transfer it to each of the canvases, they will all be the same.

The master sketch.

All the rules of a good composition must apply.  The horizon line (back horizontal line of table cloth) must not be dead center of the canvas.  I used a dark cloth in the back of the composition photo, but we will paint it in a wet into wet style using a variety of colors to add drama and interest.

Notice how there are odd numbers of each element.  Three apples, three strawberries, one bowl, and one plate....  Always use odd numbers of items.  It is more "artistic" as our minds will go mathematical and count them if they are even numbers. 

Sketch is transferred to black canvas.

I used carbon to transfer the sketch.  The black pencil was easy for me to see, but to make it more comfortable for my class, I used a white pencil to go over the lines.  The pencil has a oil quality so I did not have to spray "fix" (fixative) the sketch to make it durable.  If you have not had this experience, a sketch put on canvas using a pencil will smudge and wipe off very easily. 
To fix this problem, I spray fixative over the canvas.

 This also has a nice effect of sealing the canvas so that the first layers of paint will go on very smoothly.  This is more of an issue on an affordable student grade canvas.  They are very "thirsty" and quickly absorb the paint.

This step of getting ready for my class is always very time consuming.  I usually take a couple of days finding the right composition and the items needed.  Taking photos and thinking it all through takes more time than you might think.

Ready for the first class!!

Now to pack the car with everything I will need to teach.  Another day and I will gather all the easels, photos and items I share with each student. 

The time spent gathering everything together can take days.  The people who take my classes are very sincere about learning to paint.  The quality of their lives is enhanced by offering them a serious art experience.  Hopefully they will paint again on their own very soon. 

I will post a few more photos after we have our first class. 
I know you will want to see what happens next!!

Hope you are signed up to take one of my classes.  They are NOT adult day care!

"Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps 

if you are not willing to move your feet."  

(anon)

Thanks to Marion for sharing this with me today!  I hope everyone in the classes will be willing to try new things... and move their feet!!

Stay warm everyone!
Donna