Art Classes

All images 10cm x 6cm acrylic copies of Frank Serrano oils.

Keeping it Simple

Attempting to capture a feeling or a quality of light and losing oneself in the moment. You will gradually respond simply, loosely and quickly, but thoughtfully to your surroundings.

· Have ample amounts of paint, if you finish with a clean palette you either got lucky or skimped on the paints.

· Don’t over mix your paints.

· Use as few brush strokes as it takes, don’t fiddle.

· Keep it simple and don’t try to overdo the detail.

Working from paintings by Frank Serrano we will do very small studies (10cm x 6cm). Using a medium to large hog brush makes it difficult to add detail and get over fussy. We should be able to apply the paint thicker and wetter as it won’t dry out while we’re covering such a small area. Take the lessons you learn on these small pieces and take them to slightly bigger work, i.e. bigger brush and more paint.

Reduce the painting to the most basic shapes. If you get the right tonal and colour relationships there is no need for really unnecessary detail. The painter Kevin Macpherson asks that you imagine you are being charged per mark you make, you’d want to keep the cost down.

Next week

· Bring in one or more small clippings from a magazine that you like to paint. Preferably colour, they should be no bigger than 10cm x 10cm or 4” x 4”.