Pallet Knife and Acrylics at The Seasons Art Class

In my Monday Seasons Art Class we learned to use a pallet knife with acrylic paint.

In the first assignment we were instructed to use any colours to explore different pallet knives and what marks you can make. It was only an exercise but it yielded pretty nice results.

For the second assignment we were to use only a pallet knife to paint a shell or sea creature, thinking the sea horse would be easy, that’s what I did. It was difficult to draw something specific with the knife so really not  a fan.

For the final assignment we were to create any abstract we wanted, so similar to the first assignment this red, white and blue abstract was born.

It’s strange because I started taking art classes to train to draw and paint more realistic looking things and what I really like to do is create abstract art. Abstract may be my style, but I’m going to take a drawing class next term to be sure.

Painting Project No. 38 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics”

'Painting wood: Chair' was project 38 in “Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects...” by Mark Daniel Nelson. This was an interesting exercise and for once I didn’t go crazy trying to make everything perfect. Painting the textured wood surface first worked, except that painting the background as negative space didn't leave room for error:(.

Painting Project No. 36 & 37 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics”

Today I'm posting two still life projects from “Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects...” by Mark Daniel Nelson. They both involve perspective, straight lines and cast shadows…all the things I’m not good at so don’t expect much.

Project number 36 ‘Warm light, cool shadow: Gift box’. This exercise is similar to project 8; didn’t like it then, don’t like it now. Not finding my style yet but I am learning what it isn’t. As with the cardboard box, I spent a lot of time working and reworking the sides but this was more difficult because it had a ribbon. I left it on my easel for days messing around and then finally accepted the fact that it’s never going to be perfect.

Project number 37 ‘Rendering intricate details: Clothes peg’ was described in the book as having intricate parts that make it a challenging subject. Well that’s putting it mildly. Even though it was difficult to paint, the 'Clothes peg' was much easier than the ‘Gift box’. It might be because I didn’t get too worked up about the accuracy of shape and perspective.

Acrylic painting from Karen Pearson’s Art Class - ‘Alice’

Watercolour classes with Karen Pearson were a good opportunity to learn drawing and composition but my watercolour skills didn’t really advance.

To my surprise, in only one of Karen's acrylic painting classes I felt a big improvement. At home, there were a few minor adjustments but for the most part the painting was finished in 3 hours. As always there are things that probably could be perfected but I want to paint something new in her next class.

Painting Project No. 35 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Balloon dog

Project 35 in “Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects...” by Mark Daniel Nelson is ‘Rendering a transparent object: Balloon dog’. This exercise is now my favourite; from the first step the image was pretty remarkable. My only regret is that I painted it on mixed media canvas and not a canvas board. The book suggests trying this exercise again with different balloon animals and colours… will do it after finishing the book :).

Painting Project No. 34 from “Ways to Learn Acrylics” - Bulb

The final 16 projects in “Little Ways to Learn Acrylics: 50 small painting projects...” by Mark Daniel Nelson is Chapter 4, ‘rendering surface and form'.

Project 34 ‘Painting simple highlights: Light bulb’ was an example in rendering focus on glass and metal.  In my opinion, the painting was uninspiring but the lesson was a good one.

Watercolour Duck & White Swans in Wendy’s class

In one of Wendy’s classes we painted a white duck in watercolour; I painted the same duck Wendy demonstrated. Watercolour is still a difficult medium for me to use, so it was easier to follow by instruction. Even though much more time was spent on it, mine didn’t come out half as nice as the tutor’s or the original.

The next week we were to select an image of a white bird to paint in acrylics. Painting in acrylics is much easier and I drew an image from Paint My Photo. I was happy with the final painting and even signed it :).