Sure, we had to wait until May for glorious weather, but a day like today was well worth the wait. Honestly, we're surprised more people weren't playing hooky. It would have been their loss, however; fun, laughter and fine paintings abounded in class today. Not to mention another in our series of "meet the artist." Yes, you can tune in tomorrow (or the day after) to meet Elaine O.
Meanwhile, sit back and enjoy today's paintings. Again, we have a theme! Today, we all seem to have developed a sudden interest in architecture. Ken's added a night sky to his urban landscape, making the windows glow. Meanwhile, never one to waste time, he starts two other paintings of buildings.
Inspired by Ken's first painting, Vivian is also doing architecture....but with a twist. She noticed the upside-down skyscrapers in Ken's negative space and has finished the sketching for her Escher-like homage. We're all eager to see the result.
Even Susan can't resist the lure of buildings. She's painting a church from the Philippines that dates back to 1704, but giving it her own colorful touch. And, of course, she can't resist adding a beach from the same vacation.
All that color is inspiring our newbies. Hector has moved on to complementary colors—one of the most valuable lessons anyone can learn! He was incredulous at the wonderful colors and glowing neutrals complementary colors can produce. We're impressed too! Across the top are the pairs of complements and below are the mixed colors. Blue and orange yield some wonderful greens and greys. Red and green produce lovely pearl greys, and yellow and violet combine for browns that can never be mistaken for mud!
Abla and Mohammed are also into color and nature. Abla uses the complements red and green to paint rich, vibrant tropical plants, while Mohammed's tropical fish use the same set of complements, set off with deep, dense blacks. Check back to see this one as it progresses!
Sara's landscape just keeps getting better and better, doesn't it? With the addition of a simple park bench, she's added incredible depth and richness. Yet everything is in such perfect balance—nothing detracts from the light on the dancing trees.
Steve is using the same composition—horizontal layers—to very different, but equally wonderful, effect. This week, he's begun work on the skin. It's mixed out of many colors and overglazed for warmth, but still looks clear and sun-touched. Now we're really looking forward to the hair and scales.
What is there to say about Elaine's heads (the painted heads below; not hers...she only has the one)? What did she do all class? Actually....quite a lot. Just nothing you can see. She boldly put in a dark background, hoping to make the sculpture stand out and glow, lit by the museum spotlights. Unfortunately, it didn't look good at all. Fortunately, this is Yupo, not paper, so she washed it back to white, added a suggestion of color and called it done. That's the beauty of Yupo—no mistake is ever permanent!
Did you like the last painting? Want to learn more about Elaine O. and how she reached this point? Tune in tomorrow (or Monday) and you'll get your chance. Yes, she's next up in our series, so come back and visit!
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