I found out that my friend, Dean, who I've known is a very talented painter, also offers lessons! He teaches oil paint, which I started with in 1994/95, but haven't used since. I've been thinking it would be good to take classes in oil again so that I could re-learn some of the techniques and basics of oil. It's so much different than acrylic.
Our first session was yesterday (Thursday). (I'm post-dating this blog post to reflect that date.) The session was fantastic! I've already begun to learn new things that I think will be very beneficial for me both in working with oil paints, as well as other mediums.
I've had 3 painting teachers during my years at art school. My first (oil painting) was very easy-going, and the class was mixed-levels. The instructor kind of just threw in the new students, and had us learn along the way. I remember learning some oil techniques, but it was mostly a learn-as-you-go method.
My second teacher was for acrylic paint. He taught a lot of acrylic techniques (ie: texture/hard edge/masking, etc.,) which was great, and I've continue to apply what I learned in that class to my acrylic painting.
My third instructor was for a mixed-media/collage class. Again, I learned different experimental techniques, many of which I still use.
So, what was amazing to me (and to Dean) was that I don't recall having any instruction that was similar to what he taught me! Dean started me out with what seems to me to be very basic painting techniques involving color (which has always been an issue for me). We met for almost 3 hours yesterday, and I really enjoyed it, and felt like I've already learned a lot!
By Dean's suggestion, I brought one of my very old Raggedy Anns with me to use as a still life model. I brought my Raggedy Ann from the early 1920s. He suggested it would be a great subject matter, and would help in the sense that I have a personal attachment to it. That, and she's just so enchanting. :)
So, my Raggedy Ann had a fun field trip, and will be going back at least another week, maybe more. It depends on how long it takes me to finish this painting.
As I mentioned before, I plan to post my progress on my blog to help keep me accountable. :)
Here's the beginning steps of my new oil painting from week 1!
Neat! ccorps83
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