Painting And Other Artwork

It's so much fun at the Logan Artists Association on Mondays - any other day or the week - the place is so quiet and the people there are all artists who do their own thing.

But Mondays are days where I'm there for art classes with Aaron Pocock with a room filled with other ladies who are painting with different mediums - be it watercolour, acrylics or oils - we are all having great fun. Then, they all found out I add books to my works and thought it was a little strange, until I told them that I have been doing that for the past 5 years or so, because I find that books are just a natural addition to artworks for me. I'm a collector of books and a writer as well, so I thought to combine the two and see how it all went in a painting - and for me, it really makes the painting look so much better. I've even got a word for what I do: Book-Art. It's yet to catch on, but it will.

Anyway, I'm working on paintings with books in them, with different mediums. But I'm currently working on a round canvas from a picture I have glued into my scrapbook I created from years ago. More recently, I've been cutting up old 'Good Reading' Magazines from over 5 years ago just for photos of books, and other magazines as well. It's all inspiration. So, while most people in the class are working from a tablet or a print-out or a photo from a calendar, I'm working from a magazine clipping from 1998 copy of 'Better Homes & Gardens'. Aaron thinks it's very cool that I'm working on new work... but then, there's my self-portrait, which looks very old-fashioned and stodgy compared to the new work. 
So, what I'm going to do is finish this new piece and then transfer what I've learned from it onto the my portrait, as I know I can change it. He's so happy that I've learned this much from the lessons I've been coming to. 

Next Monday is a public holiday, but we'll be only doing morning classes. We all love this idea. And I'll only be taking my round canvas with me. Anyway, I'm hoping to get some work on it done today. Until my next post, keep creating!

Learning So Much!

It's been a while since I last wrote here. I must apologise for not posting as much as I planned about my art classes, but I really have been learning a lot - and it's been exhausting to have other things going on at the same time.

Today, I thought to get in and take some serious photos of the class activities. Aaron Pocock has been doing some lessons for us at the beginning of the 3-hour classes on how we can use particular techniques. Last week, he showed us how to do a simple scene on canvasboard. This week, he showed us how to plan out a complex scene on paper. 

Mainly it's using the KISS method - and worry about the details later on. He also told us that a lot of people work on the details first, getting lost in them, and never finish the painting. He'd rather have the bones laid out first, then fill it all in for details at the end. Of course, he made it look so easy - but really, he's been doing this kinda thing for so long, it's second nature to him.

So, today, I got in and glazed the background of my portrait. 

The first thing I did was use the linseed oil on the area I was wanted to glaze. Laying the painting flat on the table, I opened the bottle of oil and grabbed a large square brush. Linseed oil has a slight smell to it and you don't really need much - as it's an oil and it will go a long way. But seeing it's going on an oil painting, make sure the painting is dry to touch before doing this otherwise the painting will smear.

Then, mix phthalo blue and burnt sienna together and then - using a fan brush - paint it onto the areas where the linseed oil has been used. For me, it got a little glucky, but I took my time and it worked out. 
I did find that I had to rub some of the paint off because it looked a little thick in some places. All I did then was reapply more oil and it thinned it out, then grabbed a smaller fan brush and used less paint.

Once the effect is done, put the painting off to one side and let it dry. Aaron helped me define some of the books and other things in the background with a tissue by pulling at the oil and making the spins look rounded. There's still work to do on the painting; and I'll keep you updated on what I'll be doing with it.


Once I put the painting down, I pulled out a large, round canvas and on that. I decided a nice garden scene from one of my scrapbooks of magazine cuttings would be nice to do. So, working in some of what I've learned from Aaron, I started to transfer the gate and garden scene onto the Mont Mart canvas and got stuck on the archway. This always happens with me as I can't always see the picture in the way it's taken properly. 
So, Aaron helped by photographing it, editing it by turning it black and white and then I could just work on the shading without worrying about the colours. He said people often have problems with how things are set out on pictures when transferring in the beginning and not to worry too much; that I'll get used to it. Then, he said he'll do a lesson on how to draw for us... seeing how bad I am at drawing. Well, that's my lesson for today (and yes I am seriously a horrible person when it comes to drawing; can't do it, but I can paint. I'm not putting myself down, I'm all stick figures in reality). Until my next post, keep creating!