Time well Spent…..Teaching

Acrylic paint, Art, Encouragement, For beginning Artist, Freehand painting

I had been wanting to spend some time with my Aunt.  She is such a wonderful person.  We had been trying to get together for an afternoon and as everyone else…schedules , care taking, different things sometimes impede our plans.  Finally, I arrive with my paint supplies on the go.

I have found the best way to help someone is to show them and let them make their own brush strokes.  My encouragement here is to let beginning or frustrated painters know that you can paint over or add to:  which is what is so awesome about painting.

The following is an acrylic on an inexpensive canvas.  I had been practicing circles.  I had circles all over this kiwi- pale yellow background.  Stop. That’s what happened.  Stop.  I can not continue.  I had packed this, what I thought was a disaster, with me not realizing it would become the end result pictured below.

Visualize a canvas with circles.  I take heavy white acrylic spread with my hand in the middle of the canvas.  I demonstrate & talk about how to sweep the brush to make stems.  You can take molding paste and build relief or texture.   Take a wide flat brush depending on diameter of flower you want.

In the end I took small blobs of what was left on my palette to create centers of flowers.  It was a fun afternoon spent talking, painting, talking,  The best part was her painting was different as she expressed her creativity and time that was well spent creating memories.

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What to do with paint leftover on my palette

Acrylic paint, For beginning Artist

I find myself not wanting to throw away paint when there is a substantial amount left as I have just reached a plateau of a piece in which I am working.  Oils you can revisit but Acrylic your time is brief.

Just as my Tutor when I was in 3rd grade said….. always comes to mind.  There are no mistakes in art.

I had dropped my brush with a dot of red in the middle of an ocean scene with a boat.  She very quickly picked up my brush & created a tiny flag on the mast.

I look at my leftover paint, not wanting to waste it & quickly whip out something unplanned.  Sometimes it turns out very well