March 2019 Workshop Preparation

I am proud of this venue which was kindly provided by a church across the road from me.

I am having great fun preparing for the Children's Art Workshops which will be held the next two days. My venue is such that I only have to cross a (very busy) street with all the materials. So far there are 3 heavy bags and a bucket to carry. When I was much younger I also had to carry a little blind dog in her basket to class. Thank heavens for backpacks and shoulder straps!

Our theme will be Colourful Fantasy Birds, and I hope to see the children really use all those beautiful opaque acrylics! The first bird theme called "Fly with Me" can be seen on older posts. It as a very enjoyable and successful class.

 

For tomorrow we have books and scrapbooks filled with ideas, and also some completed paintings as inspiration. What I appreciate about children nowadays is that they do not copy the work of others. My classes are very much into individualism! So I am looking forward to see the results.

Besides good canvas and good quality paints, I have also invested in very good soft brushes. The acrylic paint will flow smoothly onto the canvas!

 

I am looking forward to the workshops, and will post photos after the classes!

The smaller children can use these stencils which I cut

from strong cardboard, to get started with their painting,

which will be on 300mm x 300mm canvas board (12" x 12")

These bird stencils can be used by the older students.

For inspiration only. A precious work by Isabel Le Roux

Using prepared stencils will help to prevent "artists' block" When I have workshops,
I must always take into account the fact that students need to go home
with a completed painting, even spray varnished if there is time.

For students who are inclined to prefer a design, I made a quick example. They can
 repeat one stencil all over their 12" x 12" canvas and use a single colour as a background.

I have to anticipate that students 13-16 will have different ideas on how a painting
must look. The smaller stencils can be used after the first layer, the landscape, is dry.

BOTTOM: Paintings of birds by South African artist Gladys Mgudlandlu ( 1917 - 1979)
Source: Bonhams brochure 20 March 2013