In November 2007 I had the pleasure of giving an afternoon workshop for a group of Tu Tu’Tun Lodge guests. All of us didn’t exactly fit into my studio so we moved upstairs where it worked out very well. All except two in the group had no previous experience with painting. Overall the works that were created that afternoon were expressive, painterly, and fun and I’m excited to show them to you with my comments.
Since we had little time together I gave them the challenge to experiment with simple shapes, using a variety of large, medium, and small shapes and overlapping some of them. The other goal was to use the paint in a “painterly” fashion. “No Niggling”; just put the paint on the page and leave it alone.
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This was Jennifer’s first try at painting and she was our speed-painter. She did 3 or 4 paintings that broke the sound barrier. As a result, her paintings looked fresh with big bold shapes and some smaller ones to add interest. She did the same painting in two different compositional formats which is a great way to learn good design and composition. Both paintings had good divisions of space. I bet those who know her will see her personality reflected in her style even in this early stage (colorful, strong, engaged, and willing to jump right in). Keep up the painting Jennifer, I can’t wait to see your work develop!
Kathy had some watercolor experience. She creates watercolor cards and enjoys the process of painting. Kathy’s design is excellent. The eye stays in the painting, traveling easily through her different sized shapes (remember that the background is a shape also). The colors are close together on the color wheel giving it a dominant warm feel. The bright orange establishes a clear center of interest and the paint application is “painterly”. Quite a pleasing piece. My advice: put the cards aside for awhile, and paint BIG!
Anna, our creative seven-almost-eight year old, had the least inhibitions of any of us. Why is it that young people have no fear of art? I’m jealous. Oh, Anna is the one in the middle. Her flower painting is free with a lot of expressive strokes around the sides. She used a lot of different sized shapes for the petals which added interest. She also created a NAME painting which was not only personal, it’s random design and vivid red letters were quite fun.
Mary had no previous watercolor experience. She’s a young mom, and a pathologist, yet took some time to explore the creative right side of her brain this afternoon. She was attracted to the deep colors of my begonia plant. Her painting has a strong composition. The eye enters the painting at the lower left and her shapes and values lead the eye all around the picture plane
. All of her shapes are different and the odd number is more interesting than an even number (5 leaf forms). The overlapping of some of the leaves is good. Don’t you think Mary should set aside some time for more creating? I’d love to see what she could do with some of things she sees under the microscope! What a great resource for abstract material! Wow….a new additional career, Mary.
Janet joined our class at the last minute and we were glad she did. Her daughter is a painter, but Janet claims she didn’t get the art genes from her. She was our skeptical one, but I hope she realized she did a wonderful first time painting! 
I took the digital liberty to crop the painting to a better size (a nice thing with watercolors; you can re-define your composition with a pair of scissors). Her shape sizes are varied and pleasing. The strong vertical of the bottle is stabilized by the horizontal of the back table edge and the division of background space and table top space is very good. Her center of interest is well defined (the orange) with an excellent wash of color. Don’t stop painting, Janet, I want to see your work next year!
Dana is a professional oil painter, but never tried watercolor. She felt restricted working flat and was much more comfortable standing at the easel. You can tell her abilities crossed over into the watermedia. Her focus was exploring the actual medium which is so very different from oils. She did well with applying the paint in a direct and wet manner. Her negative and positive shapes are varied in size and interesting, as is her division of space. The still life is balanced nicely. 
Unfortunately there wasn’t time to develop her second painting. Now that Dana has gotten her feet in the water, I hope to see what she can do at home in her studio!
Molly, this pretty teenager, jumped right into one of the most difficult subjects immediately; the portrait. She was working from a painting my mother painted, that was hanging across the room. She accomplished the eye wonderfully. Some time during the painting process it appeared she became frustrated and attacked her paper with her brush. Ah, yes, how many times have we all done that? 
Too bad, the eye had great merit! Her next painting was this large red flower. It’s fast, free, loose, and juicy making it a “painterly” painting. Since the whole flower is the center of interest, it was a good decision to make it take up at least two thirds of the paper. The complementary green-grey background set off the red-orange and makes it appear like a jewel. Good Job, Molly!
Corrine, Molly’s mom, was a perfect example of “jump off and a net will appear”. She just plain nailed it! And, can you believe she never painted before this day? The impressionists, expressionists, and modernists are all jealous. Look at this work of art. Very painterly, expressive execution, great color, 
wonderful movement, good value contrast (very hard to accomplish in such a narrow hue range), and a variety of hard and soft edges. Was this really your first painting, Corrine? I believe there are many more paintings inside you just waiting for the opportunity to get out. Don’t stop!
The boldness and overall quality of the work of these beginning artists impressed me. I truly hope that they all continue to explore with watercolor and keep me updated on their progress.
Thanks to all of you for a great afternoon!
The process of learning is sometimes frustrating and we never stop learning; but if you enjoy it, great things that you never expected will happen! Keep your brush wet.
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