Introducing a new way to look at getting an artistic idea on to the page is my message this week. My preference is watercolor and pen but occasionally I step boldly into trying new techniques and media to see what happens and what I can learn [and remember]. Two classes have helped me try Something Different recently.
A mark making demo by Tara Will via Winslow Art Center where she teaches online occasionally has left a strong mark on my thinking about composition. We learned about how directional mark making energy walk a viewer through a painting/page. A great demo and critique that I will remember! Vertical = attention getting. Horizontal = calming. Diagonal = slightly uncomfortable.
In my class with Jane Barton has given me so many ways to think about capturing food. Jane and the participants are real foodies, so we talk and sketch our favorite foods with passion for representing how they look, make us feel and the environment they are served in. This torn paper exercise is a great way to simplify a food story. Color blocks and negative space help to conceptualize a complex scene, an alternative to a values study sketch.
Own Your Encore 