I have always felt if I learn one new thing from a painting class, then it was worth the money. I took one last weekend at Folsom college, which is about an hour away from where I currently live. Setting up my easel, I realized my tripod was broken. I leveled my pochade box and just set it up on the table. That being solved I looked around the classroom and learned my first new idea. The man setting up next to me had put masking tape where his canvas sat. I thought this was so clever. I often put my finished painting in a frame. I set it on the easel to see what the finished project looked like.

Within the first five minutes I had at least one “ah ha”, and will do that going forward. Once the class began as I watched the demo, I was happy to see that the artist used many of the things I have been taught in other classes. What I loved was that he broke many of the “rules” from classes and teachers in the past.

He blocked out the design of the painting using Alizarin Crimson. He then used a roller or a large brush to indicate simple areas. It was a much faster way to begin a painting. He went on to share that every painting needs a story. He often writes a poem about his painting. I love that Idea! It is something I have started adding to all my work.

The story/poem for this first painting:

Being on a bus ~ not my favorite.
Being on a tour bus going to a wine tasting ~ getting better.
Being on the same bus ~ passing beautiful hay fields.
Now, this is good! Hey! Let’s have a glass of wine.

My first painting was from a photograph I took out of a bus ride in Hungary to go to a wine tasting at a well-know winery in the area. It was a beautiful day, and we kept passing hay fields with rolled bales. Having grown up on a farm, where we raised wheat and barley I love being out in the country. We were asked to bring our own photographs. The first day was to be a landscape. He had photographs, but if we used his photographs we could not sell our piece. I painted from a photo on my phone. It was a small photograph to work from. I promised myself I would learn how to move my photos to my Amazon Fire when I had time.

I started the painting by placing the trees and the bales. It was a fairly quick study, which I completed in a couple of hours.

Our teacher made only two suggestions. One was to darken the base of the trees. The other was to add a little green to the sky. I did both and was pleased with the result. One thing I have learned about photographing your work, is that it always views better in person and in a frame.

The next day he was going to be doing a demo on an ocean scene. I had several photos from Puerto Vallarta. I selected one off my phone because I forgot to bring photos to use as a reference. When I got home I printed a couple of photographs to take the next day. You can enlarge the photos to see a certain part. However, having a larger photo as a reference is easier.

My husband and I travel to Puerto Vallarta every year. I always enjoy the beach as it is shallow and you walk out a ways. It is also quite beautiful. I selected this photo as my second to paint.

Bringing the painting to life and wanting to draw you into the scene, I changed the colors a little. I wanted the focus to be more in the middle, where the waves are crashing. I wanted you to know the mountains are there, but not the place your eyes goes first. There were a couple of areas that drew attention to the wrong place. The instructor helped me decide what to simplify.

As I worked on this our instructor said: “When you think it’s done it’s already over-worked.” He came and said: “Leave it where it is, so you don’t lose the spontaneity of it.”

Poem/Story:
Does being at the sea bring you joy? Does it bring peace?Does it make you calm? What does? Does anything?

For my last painting of the class, I had about two hours remaining. I zeroed in on part of this photo. This allowed me to do a simple and fast painting. I finished the following painting in about twenty minutes. One of my good artist friends once pointed out: “When someone asks you how long it took to paint this piece, respond with how many years you have been studying. This indicates the effort you’ve put in to reach this point.” I have been painting about thirty years (off and on), so it really took more than twenty minutes to complete the painting.

This class was very successful for me, as I learned several new ideas. I will add them to the way I paint.

Poem/Story:

Let’s walk to the beach. I just walked down to the beach. The Light danced on the water. The surf sang songs of joy. And I knew the day was mine.

Enjoy your next class. Don’t expect to totally change the way you paint or think. Concentrate on learning something new and add it to what you already know and use. One new idea is better than none! I learned many other things in this class that I did not share, but totally enjoyed.