One of things I like to do in the summer is to take a class. Growing up, summer was always an opportunity to learn something new: dance, art, baking. I was never a sporty girl and I leaned into artistic pursuits that I've taken with me as I got older.
Summer in New York City overflows with outdoor activities. One of them is the DUMBO Drink and Draw that takes place in Brooklyn.
There is an archway right under the Manhattan Bridge where fun things happen like concerts, a flea market, and art classes taught by Creatively Wild Art Studio. Register on their website, pay a reasonable fee (or bring your own materials like I did), and just show up.
On this particular day, Tyler Scott taught us how to make an Impressionist Landscape painting.
An example of an Impressionist painting is Claude Monet's "Bridge Over a Pond of Waterlilies." Other Impressionists include Pierre Auguste Renoir, Edgar Degas, and Camille Pissarro.
Impressionism was an art movement that originated in France in the 1860-70s. It attempts to capture the subjective impression of a scene instead of a realistic portrayal. Less detail, an emphasis on light and color, and visible brushstrokes bring a softness and dreaminess to the final work.
Here's what our outdoor classroom looks like. You'll hear the rumble of the trains above and feel the breeze from the East River. There's also a booth to purchase drinks.
Our teacher did a live demonstration on this canvas while giving us a few guidelines:
Step 1: Start with a loose sketch, capture the scene, not the detail.
Step 2: Build your palette by choosing 3-5 major colors for your scene (sky, ground, tree, shadows, highlights) and explore warm and cool balance.
Step 3: Apply the first paint layer starting from the background (ex. sky, mountains) and moving to the front. Use bold, unblended strokes, and visible brushwork (ex. dabs, dashes, or using different brush sizes).
Step 4: Create depth, definition, and movement by layering brighter highlights or deeper shadows over your base color.
Here is a photo of my work in progress showing the base layer.
Here's what it looks like now with new layers added...TADA!
I've been practicing the technique using gouache in my sketchbook. The flowers in my neighborhood worked well as my subject...TADA!
Inspired by Claude Monet's water lily paintings, I also made a few postcards on blank watercolor cards...TADA!
Because I'm more of a watercolorist (I usually start with light layers and gentle strokes), I took me some time to adjust to gouache and acrylic paint's stronger hand and bolder colors--there's always something new to learn!
And that is how I turned a blank page from blah to TADA!
*****
You may subscribe here if you'd like my future blog posts delivered straight to your inbox and you can follow me on Instagram for more crafty ideas.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Your comments are very much appreciated!