Artsy-Fartsy Wannabe

Earlier in the winter season, I was asked if I would be interested in a painting class in February and March. I jumped at the idea as I love to draw. And I have never painted a picture before. The paintings I did back in kindergarten don't really count.......

So I joined a bunch of other wannabe artists. I say "wannabe artists", but some of them lied!! They weren't wannabe artists - they were artists already!!! I hate them. Just kidding. :) It was a fun group to be with for four Wednesday nights, with a very talented (and patient!) artist as our teacher, Jodie Bouwman.

The first class was spent on deciding as a group on a set up to paint. Here were some of the things we played around with:

 

 

At one point, we even had placed the bowl on a doily. You have no idea how thankful we were 3 classes later that we decided to drop the doily and stick with just a wooden box, a bowl and 3 tangerines.

Once a set up was decided on by all of us, it was time to get to work. First things first, we had to draw it out on paper, using a grid, then chalk it out and press it onto canvas.

Once it was on the canvas, the nerve-wracking work began: painting using oils. Eek!! Let's just say there was a lot of wine intake........and not a drop by me!! Which is why I was probably the student that tested the patience of the teacher and peers the most. Sorry, guys!

But here is the transformation:

 

The backgrounds and shadows were painted using varying shades of browns, greys and greens, we then moved on to the bright colours i.e. the tangerines and leaves, as well as the bowl

 

After 4 classes of wondering what the heck I was thinking for signing up, the results of my swearing hard work paid off...........ta-da!!

Certainly not professional looking, but I am somewhat proud of how it came together. I am very thankful for the patience and artistic abilities of Jodie, as well as my fellow painting companions. I have a picture of all of us, but I didn't get permission from all of them to post the picture. It was a fun 4 evenings!!