And Then the Painting Class Became AWESOME

Last night, I was about 10 minutes late to my painting class, so I couldn't find them. The goodie about my class is that you get to wander around Joslyn while it's closed and get up close and personal with the paintings. The kind security guards pointed me in the right direction, but by the time I got to the right gallery, my peeps were no where in sight. I couldn't even hear them in the quiet, peaceful museum. So I asked a security guard to help me find the painting we were going to be copying. I looked at my sheet and found the information. The painting is called The Trappers, Lake Tahoe, and it's by someone named Albert Bierstadt, who is apparently a really awesome painter even though I've never heard of him. Part of learning to paint is being honest enough to say: I don't know who that dude is, but whatevs. His painting is gorgeous.

I found the painting and noted that it's actually done in oil instead of acrylics:

Look at the "little tree friends." Aren't they so pretty? They are so intricate and delicate -- I'm truly amazed at what artists can do. This picture captures more of the glossy sheen that seemed to be covering the painting:

So after I got some photographs of the master work we were going to be studying, I went back downstairs to my classroom and found this little canvas waiting for me, along with a black-and-white version of the painting and a color version. I was sitting there thinking how much it sucked that I was late when I took this photo. I was also BENT out of shape about my back and worried about work. And then I was all: "There is no WAY I'm going to be able to figure out how to make this painting." Basically, I was crabby:

But then my teacher showed up, and I gotta tell ya, this woman is the biggest ray of sunshine I've ever met. There is something so JOYFUL about her. When she messes something up on a painting or drops something, she laughs and moves on. She is exactly what I need in my life right now.

After a mini-lesson about composition, she told us to start with a black-and-white version of our paintings. Just black, white, and gray. No color. I wasn't sure what we were really doing because I had missed the first part of the class, but my neighbor at the table caught me up. The point of the lesson was layering, layering, and more layering. And gloss. SHEEN. Shiny!

So I took my black-and-white version of the painting and stared at the canvas for a while:

I forgot to take the black-and white picture, but you can just imagine the one below without any color. You can still see the gray in the clouds here and in the middle area and bottom. Oh, and see the mermaid tail sticking out of the ocean? I added that as a way to make the painting "mine" instead of being an exact copy (I could hear Featherplume in my mind encouraging me to add it!). I plan on adding little details like this to all of my paintings from here on out. It will depend on the scene, but I want to make sure there is a Blondie Touch as I copy the masters:

See that little cup on the upper left that looks like it's full of semen? That's this gloss varnish stuff that she gave us to mix with the paint. We were supposed to be heavy on the gloss and light on the paint. I think I used a little more paint than I was supposed to, but I LOVE COLOR. The process of making this painting involved layering over the existing colors over and over again. I got into a groove. I zoned out completely. My back still hurt, but work and the lateness and the worrying all went away. I was calm, collected, and giggling with my fellow painters. I felt FANTASTIC. (This painting class idea was the best thing ever.)

I also realized I'm not the only nervous one in my class. Everyone was watching each other, wondering if they were using enough or too little yellow? Enough or too little gloss? And, at some point, someone mentioned my mermaid and then everyone wondered where the mermaid was in the original painting? Where's the mermaid? WHAT MERMAID? It was a little embarrassing to explain that I threw a mermaid into my painting Just Because, but it was also really funny.

You can't tell from the painting, but by this point, I'd been layering in oranges, reds, and yellows for at least an hour:

And even though this one probably doesn't look different from the one above, it now has purple in it. It's a shame the camera doesn't pick up the glossiness. It is really shiny, even when dry:

Here is my finished product sitting next to the original. Not bad, if I do say so myself:

So I left the class and came home feeling all dreamy and full of painting ideas. I've decided that I know enough about the paints now that I'm ready to go to the store and buy my very first acrylics supplies. I brought home some of the gloss to put on my fresco from the last class, and I had to use one of my favorite watercolor brushes -- boo on that. I have four watercolor brushes that are all for specific purposes, and I don't need to be using them with acrylics. No, the acrylics will be a Brand New Adventure. They get their own brushes, energy, and time.

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And even though I didn't wear it to the class because I didn't want to get paint all over it, I DID get my beautiful promise ring in the mail yesterday afternoon. It was in the mailbox all by itself -- no junk mail or anything. I hobbled down the driveway and froze my a$$ off to get it. It's about a half size too small, so I'm going to size it up (I'll wear it too-tight in the meantime because I want to). I thought about sizing it to fit my right hand because it does kinda look like a wedding ring, but you know what? I'm a leftie, and it feels good on my left hand, and men don't look at my ring finger anyway. So screw it -- I'm going to wear it where I want to wear it. And every time I look at it, I'll be reminded of my promise: I'll be good to you.