Sunday, July 30, 2006

Lessons learned from painting

Week 6 of painting class for beginnersPainting class wrapped up on Thursday night. I don't profess to be a painter, but I think I've shown a definite progression over the past seven weeks. I mean, just look at my painting from weeks six (pink and red - top) and five (blue and green -middle) and compare it to the one from week two (orange and blue - bottom). Hugh difference.

(I'm still sparing you my effort from week one, weeks three and four are boring, and I haven't taken a photo of week seven. Disclaimer on all of these: they were each done in a two-hour class.)

Week 5 of painting class for beginnersWhat I've learned in the painting class:


  • Squint and look at things with a blurry gaze.

  • Lay a bold foundation and then add detail.

  • Work with confidence.

  • Don't be afraid to go outside the lines. Imperfections are more interesting.

  • An artist spends most of his or her time mixing colors and preparing to paint, and very little time actually applying paint to canvas.

  • Using true black can be overpowering.

  • Destroy the white background first. It can be intimidating, plus it can throw off your colors.

    Week 2 of painting class for beginners. Using contrasting colors: blue and orangePersonal lessons:


  • I need to take a drawing class.

  • I need to learn perspective.

  • No matter how bad I think I am, I've definitely made a progression from the first week.

  • It's nice to have a foundation of understanding in painting, but I should stick to writing.
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