4-April-2012
I was very excited to join this class, as it was to be
my very first classroom learning for painting. And the 6 weeks have truly been
an amazing learning experience for me.
I have always liked the visual aspect of art, feelings
that it generates in us when we see a painting or a sculpture. But here I
learnt that our feelings can also flow down to paper. Thanks for bringing all
these paintings, out of us.
All of Brad’s instructions - to use the complete canvas,
be bold, take risks, try left-hand, mixing colors, technical details of brush lengths,
usages & strokes and fresh new thinking for inspiration - really made such
a difference, in the outcome of each of the pieces.
Packets for each class were great capsules, exposing us
to a whole new world of each style. I can only imagine how carefully they had
been collected for us.
Course outline and instructions helped us work within
limitations as well as free our minds and explore new things.
I always imagined that every object in a picture should
be separated by black outlines only, very similar to illustrations. Here I
learnt that any color can bring out the distinctness I was looking for. And out
of some habit, I always left out thin strips of blanks around the canvas, much
like a border on a frame. I never imagined that a painting can spread out of
the canvas too !
My next steps will be to instill some discipline in
myself, and bring out clarity, smoothness and sharpness, in the details of my
subjects. Something to do in my own time and with focus.
So far my favorites have been landscapes and
photo-realistic portraits. But now I am all gung-ho to try the art of this age
– pop-art, mixed media (collages of print and color) and abstracts in general.
I discovered James Rosenquist yesterday and am excited to explore his works.
I am look forward to more such initiatives. Either focusing
on specific genres like landscapes, abstracts or portraits. Or maybe an Art
club for more folks to get together & paint.
And thank you Steph for organizing these things. It just
makes me so proud of our home, which CEDARS is, for me and family. J
Regards,
Prithi