Last week we tried blobbing paint onto our paper using either pouring or eyedroppers.  Then looking at what we created and cropping, turning, adding negative shapes, and whatever to find something interesting.   

This week we'll be taking that one step further.  We'll be dropping paint, then finding creatures which we will enhance with ink pens.  And then - Zentangle!

Every artist that ever existed and many who weren't artists can relate to the doodling they used to do when they were in school . Or maybe do now when onm a phone call waiting for the real human to answer.  

That doodling can be a wonderful source of relaxation.  So we're going to try it this week to get us ready for a relaxing summer - if it ever decides to come!

So what type of art do you want to produce?   That may sound like a silly question - do I mean media?  what?
Not so long ago, it would have been a major decision for the artist.  How would the art you produced be given to the viewer.
First there was art produced for advertising or commercial purposes.  This today would be graphic art.  This type would mean the artist must make many sacrifices to ensure the customer was satisfied with the product.  Art was a product. 

Under this category, a sort of 1a, was all the areas of craft.  The making of products.  It would include pottery, jewelry, and fabric.

Second there was art as hobby.  Usually produced by artists who had other means of supporting themselves - wealth or retirement, usually.  Today we can see the great benefit of using the creative side of our nature.  This is FUN art.

And finally, the Big One:  art as Art.  To be taken very seriously as creative self expression.  It underline an existing condition in society or just exist for its own sake.  

As an undergraduate it was always stressed that there was a very distinct distinction between art that was produced for mass consumption and Art as serious business.  Are you familiar with the Keane eyed children?  They were so popular in the 60s, sold like hotcakes, and were heavily scorned by the serious Art community.  

We are very blessed to live in an age where we can have our work be a part of all of these!  

I don't think there is any media  quite so explosive and exciting as Watercolor = unless maybe it's alcohol inks -  but that's for another time.

Don't get me wrong - I love working with oils and they are exciting in their own way.  And so capable of subtlity.  So relaxing to work with.  And pastels are so like meditation!  Each medium has its pluses.

But for sheer joy and expression - watercolor does it for me.  The immediacy of the colors and the lovely mingling of pigment.  I usually have a general idea of where I'm going but I always end up somewhere not only unexpected but also better than what I'd envisioned.

I'm not suggesting there aren't times when I want to recreate something more representational or that there aren't plenty of great watercolorists who don't carefully plan and then execute their plan in wonderful ways.  

But here we are, in a spring that can't seem to make up its mind to be spring.  We're ready to burst forth as the daffodils and Madonna Lilies in my garden are starting to do.  And we're ready to have some fun!  Aren't we?

I'm so excited about this class.  What a super mix of people/artists!  Everyone is ready to let go and let the painting take them to new places.  Plus they share!
So useful for artists to share their work and ideas and methods - what they've done that works and what hasn't worked for them.  It's truly a blessing to have a group of experimenters and sharers.  

This next week we're going to talk about figures and have some fun creating quirky personalities.   These things would be nice to bring to class:  if you have small plastic shot glasses or eye droppers.  Not necessary but fun to work with.
Watercolor paper.  The student grade will work as well as the professional grade.  Plus all the usual stuff.

I'll be showing you the first step in mounting your small paintings on a board.  Don't worry about bringing the board to class - it might be better for you to do at home, actually - so you can weigh them down and leave them undisturbed.

​And you'll have the opportunity to continue any work you are presently painting.   Happy Spring!
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Lets start with a pronunciation - gouache sounds like gwash rhyming with squash.   The name is Italian meaning "water paint".  Gouache appears to go back 800 years  and was used to illuminate manuscripts. European painters used it to sketch outdoors and it was used for magazine illustrations because of its fast drying properties.  It is now used in the film industry as well as by painters. It declined for a few years but is now seeing a resurgence in interest.  Perhaps by the introduction of contrasting opaque with transparent for emphasis.

Gouache, just as any other medium, can be used in different ways as the artist works differently and has different experiences with it.  Some of these artists are:  Erik Tiemens, Nathan Fowkes, Thomas Paquette and Marc Hansen.  These have websites and blogs that you might find helpful or inspiring.

It has unique properties unlike other watercolor paint.  It dries quickly both on the palette and the painting.  And the colors dry to a different value than when they were originally applied.  In general lights appear lighter and darks dry darker.  It dries in a matte, suede-like finish

It generally works best on a rigid surface.  This is a good area to explore and experiment as there are many new surfaces now being offered by manufacturers.  Each of these will have different results and texture when finished.  The entire painting can then be finished with varnish.

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Using varnish is a matter for exploration as to the texture and result.  It will allow you to place the work in a frame with a glass pane.  Krylon Matte Finish spray appears to work well and provide protection without a glossy finish.  
Some artists appear to love this way of completing the painting and others range from simply not preferring it to completely opposing it.  You can experiment with some smaller works to see what works best for your style.

An artist who is doing quite a bit of experimentation with gesso is New Mexico artist, Deborah Secor.  She is most known for her pastels but has explored with small sizes of gouache paintings.  Her website is: ://www.deborahsecor-gouache.blogspot.com 

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When we start a painting what is the first step we take?   
That answer will vary from artist to artist.  But the answers I hear most often are  "I have to be inspired" or "i go through my photographs and find one that looks good to me"  Or maybe even, "I start with a value sketch and a color map."
All good answers.

But one thing that often happens to me when I'm about to start a painting or a series of paintings is that I have moments (even days) of apprehension.  "What am I going to paint!"  "What will inspire me?" and I usually run around  thinking it through and wasting valuable painting time.

But what if we use that time to experiment  -  with our paints or colors or brush strokes?  What about wet on wet, throwing paint, ink pen, watercolor pencil?   

We usually have small pieces of paper that are laying around - too small to be a good painting but also too big to throw away.  So what if we use them up learning things about our media.  

​This is where trash bin painting comes into play.  

Use those end pieces of paper to experiment with triads.  Pick three colors only.  Choose one as the dominate color.  You can create many more colors by mixing, either on the palette or on the paper, these three.  Don't have a preconceived idea of what you're going to be creating.  Just play!
Then do another:  trade out one of the three and do it again.  
Try to be as loose as possible on this.  Create only with the idea that if it isn't any good, it can always be tossed into the trash bin.

But i usually save these - just because looking back through them, I can see something that worked or didn't work and with time, it becomes obvious why.

​And the best part, it loosens us up and sparks our creativity.  No judgement - no pressure.