Painting 101

So you've never painted in life and think you can't. Stop right there. If I can paint, so can you. I never thought I could do it until my friend Mary Gatling encouraged me to do it. Many, many thanks for that. She not only encouraged me to do this, but also showed me painting techniques. My life will never be the same again and I will be eternally greatful.

Here is how I painted with a cheese knife and a chop stick...

1. On a canvas, draw some shapes using a charcoal pencil.



2. Gather some supplies. I used acrylic paint, a cheese knife and a chop stick. No brushes were used in this painting.





3. With the cheese knife, start filling on the shapes with the paint. Apply a thick layer and don't worry if it drips a little on the canvas.






4. More colors and more dripping. Use only the cheese knife. Don't worry about the dripping. Notice that I am trying to have some balance on my canvas. Also, do not try to make perfect shapes. And feel free to paint outside the lines!


5. More paint and colors. At this point, you may ask yourself, "what the heck am I doing? A 2 year old can do better than this!" Don't worry. Believe in yourself and keep adding paint.



6. All filled in. Doesn't look that great does it? Remember to believe in yourself.



7. Now while the paint is still wet, take out that chop stick and draw lines on the painting. Blend the paint a bit. Also remember to cover any bald canvas spots with your chop stick.




8. Here is what my painting looked like when I was done drawing lines. I propped it on 4 cans and let it dry overnight.




9. The next day, I applied thick acrylic on it. It looks white but once it dries, it becomes transparent and glossy.



10. See? Very cool once it dries.

I learned this technique from a book called Painting Abstracts by Rolina van Vliet. I highly recommend the book.

If you do follow these instructions, I would love to hear from you.

Supplies you'll need:

1 stretched canvas. I recommend getting at least 8 by 11 or a larger size
Charcoal pencil
Acrylic paint. I used white, yellow, red, blue and green
Pallete knife. I used a cheese knife because I was too lazy to go out to buy this.
Chop stick. Or any stick. You could do this with the back of a brush.
Acrylic gloss

Now go paint!

Breaking the Break

Let me begin by saying that breaks are way overrated. They are b.o.r.i.n.g.

I am just kinda gal who needs to do 10 things at one time. Even on beach vacations I am writing, photographing, networking, planning etc. etc. etc. I am always thinking about projects to do. And anything that has nothing to do with house work is up for grabs.

So I am breaking my break. I am so so bored. I miss the bloggy land and my bloggy friends.

I took a break because I had to. It was thrust upon me. My computer got infested with a virus again and had to go to the shop. I was banned from the internet and I can prove it.

It was a HUGE shock to me. I actually went through all the stages of mourning. How many are there? I swear I went through twice that much.

Last weekend (it was a 3 day weekend) was so so boring! I did laundry, cleaned my house, cooked, did dishes, blah, blah blah. But no computer. I was bereft with grief. I felt totally disoriented. I could not wait to get back to work.

Here is my life formula:

Life = Computer = Games + Internet = FUN. All is good.

If you are thinking that I am addicted to internet, you are probably right. But who cares? There are worse addictions. Just bite me.

To be honest, I had limited access to computers and internet. I had access at work but I don't blog from there. I had limited access to another computer at home but it just wasn't the same.

I had absolutely no chemistry with the computers I had access to. It just wasn't the same. I felt like I was cheating on my computer by using another one. I would stare longingly at it but nothing happened. Exactly like when I am watching a Brad Pitt movie.

I.wanted.my.computer.back.

So here I am. No more break. Breaks are for wimps and I am a macho chicka. And I am back.

Hope you missed me! I know I missed you guys!

PS: The photograph is a painting that I did a week or so ago. It is titled the River of Life but I may change the title. Any suggestions?

xoxo

Painting Lesson

Today, I go to visit my friend to take a painting lesson. I am so looking forward to that.

Mary is an amazing artist and a fabulous painter. That she would take even a few minutes to talk to me is amazing. But she is opening up her home and giving me free painting lessons.

I hope that I don't disappoint her. I'll keep you posted!

12 by 12

An artist friend of mine, Mary, recently asked me to participate in a 12 by 12 show. 12 local artist would create artwork on a 12 by 12 canvas. Sometime in September, we will have a show.

Sounds great. Right? Except I've never really painted. So what to do? Mary assured me that if I could paint with my camera, I could paint on canvas too. It was just a different medium.

She told me to buy some canvas and practice. She even offered to give me painting lessons. She told me where to buy the canvas from but I got overwhelmed when I went to the website. So many choices! What to do?

So she sent me a link to the exact canvas she wanted me to buy. I ordered 5.

Paint was next. Do you know how many choices there are? Ridiculous! And everything was so expensive! Oye.

So I dragged my other friend Carol to the art supply store. I have to admit that I complained a lot during the whole time. Everything was ridiculously expensive. Nevertheless, I came home with some paint.

So there you go. You heard it first here. I am going to paint. And it is going to be part of an exhibit. A show. When I told my mother, she burst out laughing. We laughed until we were crying.

Yesterday I started on my first piece. I applied an orange base coat to a canvas. I rather enjoyed it. I would hang it on my wall as is. But no. There are textures to apply and even more paint. So I'll keep working on it. And report my progress.

If you've never tried painting, I suggest you get some supplies and go for it. It is fun.

PS: Don't put the paint cleaner in a plastic cup. That would be stupid. In 3 minutes, the plastic will dissolve.