Horse250

Learn to Draw

Just 3 weeks from today, on March 20 Wednesday afternoon, a new Beginning Drawing for Adults class begins. No art experience is necessary. Absolute beginners are most welcome, as are those who may want to hone this important art skill. I also include some tips about creativity in this class, and it’s a great place for adults to give drawing a try in a fun and informative atmosphere. Register with the library. Here’s the link for all the information – scroll down when you get to this page… “Local Art Courses with Cheryl O“. 
SheSellsLongCC

10 Reasons to Love Painting

1. You see the world with new eyes. Learning to paint has a way of opening your eyes to colours and shapes in a magical and almost childlike way. It brings back the wonder of it all. 2. You are moved by colour. Many painters find the expressing themselves with colour brings a special delight. 3. You have travelled. Painters are always thrilled to come home from a trip with wonderful photos waiting to be painted. And, here’s a bonus, spending an afternoon painting that inspiring place feels like spending an afternoon there again! 4. You like to try new things. There is always something new to try, something new to learn in painting. It’s never boring. 5. It’s a fun way to relate to people. Artists are  a friendly and supportive bunch. Unlike sports, where there are winners and losers, in art class people just want to encourage each other. 6. It becomes a very personal expression. Anyone who had taken one of my courses where we work step by step together through a famous painting will know that everyone’s turns out differently. Your uniqueness comes through in the way you handle the paint. (I love encouraging this.) 7. It’s portable. You can take your sketching materials, and even some paint, anywhere. You can sit out in the garden and paint on a nice day. Harder to do with the grand piano. 8. If you live in a place that has walls, you can have something very special to put on them. Small paintings make lovely personal cards or gifts too. 9. Painting or drawing does not require any particular co-ordination. These are skills that can be learned – it’s true! You simply need some time and the interest. 10. It’s less scary than sky diving, and the fun lasts longer too – o.k. – that would be my website tag line. So many reasons to love painting! I’m sure I missed some – let me know in the comments – thanks! Drawing and painting classes are starting in March and in April. Here’s the link… Art Classes – won’t you join us? 
Flow4T

Painting Experiment

It’s Friday – and maybe you will have some painting time this weekend? Here’s a fun experiment for you if you have acrylic paint. It’s an abstract experiment with multiple layers, planning to leave just some of each previous layer showing. Save the nicest parts each time. You could start with pouring watered down colour and letting it dry. Then use a palette knife to apply more colour. After that is dry, use a square brush with more than one colour on it to finish up. Think of it as an experiment in colour and texture. Perhaps you will discover an effect that you love and want to integrate into your next painting. Happy painting! 
Man3T

2 Ways for a Painter to Stand Out

Today’s art audience is a pretty savvy group. Good art is more accessible than ever. So, the question is: how does an artist today even hope to catch anyone’s attention with their painting?  I have 2 suggestions. First, good painting is often an emotional experience, for the painter and for the viewer. If your painting can bring forth an emotional response from the viewer, they are more likely to take notice. To help accomplish this, early in the painting process the painter can define a specific emotion that they hope to express – e.g. peacefulness, anger, joy, loneliness, hope – and work toward having each element of their composition – line, colour, shape, edges, etc. – support this common goal. Another way to catch attention is with an element of surprise. Surprise can happen in a painting in many different ways. One common technique is to use a surprise colour. For example, today’s paintings often vibrate with unusual colours – purple hills, yellow skies, green skin tones – no holds barred when it comes to colour these days in painting. Surprise also comes into play when you have a dominate element in the composition, with an accent expressing the opposite – for example lots of smooth areas and one smaller area with lots of texture. Or, predominately very light colours with small area of strong dark accent. Surprise can also be in the subject matter: flying pigs, distorted features, square balloons, – just whatever tickles your creative fancy. In conclusion, don’t be afraid to think way outside of the box with your art. If you are putting strong emotions into it, or just having a lot of fun with it, chances are that the viewer will enjoy it too! Your ideas are welcome, both painters and non-painters. How do you think a painter can stand out today? 
Sanctuary500sm

New! Fine Art Prints

For the first time I am offering giclee prints of my paintings. Produced with the best inks and on an excellent quality of canvas, these beautiful prints are very hard to tell from an original! I’m starting with just 6 of my favourite paintings available. You can see the current ones available, and all the details here: “Fine Art Prints for Sale”. Have a look – and I think you will be pleased with the prices too.