Painting on ephemera workshop day
Hi everyone,It's been a wonderful week round here and lately I've done all sorts of things which have taken me out of my comfort zone...and survived them!
Last night I was asked to teach a painting on ephemera workshop at my local Opus Art Supply shop.It's a little nerve racking for me to do that, especially since I'm not by nature a teacher, but I figure that I can do anything I put my mind to, and since I just gave a two hour painting demo, how hard can teaching people to paint on ephemera be?
I got everything prepared, had a quick convo with Opus to make sure the necessary supplies were available,
And, with the company of my cats, I sat for a few minutes in the evening sun, and read another part of my new book: Nick Bantock's The Pharos Gate, Griffin and Sabine's Lost Correspondence.Nick showed me a some of the art he was using in this book pre-publishing, and I couldn't wait to have it in my hot little hands. Oh my gosh it's all so fascinating! Do you all know Nick and the Griffin and Sabine books?If you don't then I'm so very jealous, because now you get to discover this amazing story. You get to riffle thru books and books of postcards and letters, see the beautiful art, put the unbelievable journey together for yourself.
But that was only a 20 minute sit down, because, as soon as my tea was finished, I headed down to Opus and to my workshop.And my workshop was the most amazing fun!
We all found a piece of music we liked, and all ten of us painted an American or a British robin step by step while I gave directions and tried my best to help with each little hick-up.By the way, you can watch me paint on ephemera here and here, and pick up some more techniques. :D
I love watching people who've never picked up watercolour, or who've never painted on ephemera before, learn new techniques, discover how it all works, and create a beautiful little painting and some new skill to build on.
Boy those two hours went by so quickly! But in the end, I had a wonderful time and it seems like everyone enjoyed themselves. I hope we can all paint together again.
And, as a matter of fact we might be able to, because everyone is invited to take part in Opus' outdoor painting challenge this Sunday. I haven't painted "en plein air" for a while, and am really looking forward to the challenge.
But first, out little girls are coming for the weekend and I'm so excited to see them.Rock on week!Rock on. :D