My First Painting Class

I started my painting journey last November. I haven't taken any art classes preferring to find my own way while utilizing the incredible resources available on the internet. I have always thought self knowledge is the most important knowledge one can possess. One thing I know for sure is that I am pretty much unteachable. I have to find my own way or I am lost.

I recently came across a painting class called Tipsy Brush. The idea being you bring your own wine and tipple whilst you paint. I found this a most excellent idea so I enlisted  the company a friend to go with.

The class lasted about three hours and was just as much fun as I thought it would be. But, with or without tippling I can't make myself copy someone else's style. I tried, I really did but the painting we were asked to copy held no interest for me in the way it was being painted. The painting was representational and I just have no interest in that sort of painting. I got so irritated trying I nearly polished off the wine.

I expressed my frustration to my painting pal and she told me to quit trying, just do what you want. Those words made me respond like a racehorse at the starting gate. Away I went! I did use the model as my foundation and used the colors provided. The colors I liked. From that point on my painting just went where it wanted to go which is, for better or worse, how all my paintings go.

There were fourteen people in the class, many of whom had never painted anything. As I looked around the room I was utterly amazed by their results. I don't think there was a single person that did not create a painting they could be proud of. My pal had never painted anything before and her painting looked great! I think this says a lot of complementary things about the instructor.

At the end the instructor walked around the room looking at each persons' work. I was stuffed in a corner, where I generally hideout in a classroom hoping no one discovers I'm there. I was hoping she might miss me cuz my painting was definitely my own. I was embarrassed to show it to her. She took one look at it and said, "Oh, how Van Gogh".  She could not have said anything more flattering if she had tried.

Some might say I am lazy, undisciplined or self-indulgent.  Lazy not so much but undisciplined and self-indulgent oh yeah! I have no intention of selling my paintings. I am following my art, aka my heart, for my own enjoyment. I am covering my walls with my paintings and enjoying them everyday. Honestly, I don't think I could bear to let any of them go. Some day, when I get a bigger inventory and no more room on my walls, I will enjoy giving them as gifts. So, without further ado here is the painting.

Midnight Mountains

©Kinsey Barnard
The Liberated Photographer

A Very Primitive, Primitive Painting

Over the weekend I continued watching painting videos. I discovered a fellow by the name of Ric Nagualero. He has a series of videos. I watched the one on painting clouds and the one on painting trees. If you are interested you can check them out in my Video Library. It's very interesting to me how each artist has his unique way of doing things. Nagualero, for instance, mixes his washes right on the canvas by spritzing the canvas. I liked the idea of this method.

After watching the how to paint clouds video I was anxious to try mixing the wash on the canvas. I liked it.  But, I fear I must graduate myself to a canvas panel as the canvas paper I have been using really curls with so much moisture being applied. Painting on a panel is going to be a real treat!

I also wanted to try my hand at some clouds. In all the teaching videos I have watched the instructors have painted from a photo. I prefer to paint right out of my head. All I knew when I began was I wanted to paint some clouds what I ended up with was my rendition of a primitive painting, a very primitive painting.

My First Primitive Painting

I realize this is truly a "primitive" painting by the literal definition of the word. Thank heavens this painting project is all about having fun. Looking at it now there are a number of things I would do differently. But, the truth is, I actually like it. It's frivolous and colorful. The very qualities I admire so much in the genre.

Regarding the subject of on line videos. I must say there is a ton of free and useful information out there. I have purchased a couple of Craftsy videos but I doubt I'll buy anymore. I have learned more about the things I'm looking for on You Tube.

©Kinsey Barnard

 For those of you who may be unfamiliar with the primitive style of painting click on this Google search to see a potpourri of lovely examples.

https://www.google.com/search?q=primitive+painting+style&tbm=isch&imgil=k0vZBUDcBQQOlM%253A%253BsI5HqW4B1t9O-M%253Bhttp%25253A%25252F%25252Fbobferrucciart.com%25252Ftwilight&source=iu&pf=m&fir=k0vZBUDcBQQOlM%253A%252CsI5HqW4B1t9O-M%252C_&biw=1600&bih=689&usg=__-r9aoG0ot6tT3ksMRMgk45LCZuk%3D&ved=0ahUKEwj2x-r-8LrJAhVBS4gKHYaNCvsQyjcITA&ei=EbBdVrb7LMGWoQSGm6rYDw#imgrc=k0vZBUDcBQQOlM%3A&usg=__-r9aoG0ot6tT3ksMRMgk45LCZuk%3D

Hockaday Musseum of Art

Today (11-27-15) seemed like a good day to visit the Hockaday Museum of Art in Kalispell. Heaven only knows I wanted nothing to do with the Black Friday thing.

Looking at paintings in museums has never been high on my "I can't wait to do that!" list. I visited the Louvre, the first time, in 1967. I was nineteen year old. I remember looking at the Mona Lisa and thinking "What the heck is all the fuss about?!" I expressed my amazement only as a self defense tactic. Who would dare say what I really thought? Certainly not moi. The part of the Louvre I went wild for were the Egyptian Antiquities, beyond beguiling.

Hockaday Museum of Art - Kalispell, Montana

Now that I have decided I want to try and paint, I am suddenly eager to go look at paintings. I am very anxious to study how artists have achieved their effects through their brush strokes, how they dealt with light and shadows.

The Hockaday is a modest museum but quite nice. The museum houses a variety of painting techniques and genres. The subject matter is primarily, the natural world. One entire section is devoted to the Crown of the Continent aka Glacier Park. There was one painting of a Indian buck that really grabbed my attention. It was called simply "Young Boy" and was painted by Charlie Russell. I have no words to describe how beautiful it is. To me more beautiful than the Mona Lisa. This one small painting was worth the visit.

I learned that black and white painting is generally termed monochrome. Whist I adore color I also love black and white photography. It has a special essence all it's own. Several people have told me my black & white photography is reminiscent of Ansel Adams. That's a pretty heady compliment. Anyway, I can certainly see myself trying my hand at the absence of color with a brush.


©Kinsey Barnard

Different Strokes for Different Folks

I've only been at this a nano second in the scheme of things. One thing I'm already fairly certain of, there is a lot to learn about acrylic painting before you get anywhere near the creative process. I suppose if you have done other types of painting the learning curve is much flatter. I have not held a paint brush in my hands since I was in grammar school, unless it was to paint a fence or barn. Grammar school is about 60 years in my rear-view mirror.

Of course, I may just be anal because I see people in these on-line painting classes that just jump in and come up with really nice stuff whilst I'm still laboring over the right brush to use and how to mix the colors. I'm hoping their just new to acrylics not painting.

One thing I have no doubt about is the genre of painting I want to attempt. As I have incessantly pointed with regard to my photography, Monet and Thoreau have always been my mentors in absentia. I adore impressionism and Thoreau's understanding of nature is a beauty all it's own. As in my photography I am not so interested in duplicating things in the commonplace sense. In other words, I'm not so interested in painting traditional landscapes, still life etc. I'm far more intrigued by impressionist and abstract images.

I started out this morning with an idea in mind of an impressionist landscape I wanted to try and replicate. Egads, I messed everything up. I forgot you want to start with the light colors first. I totally messed up my color mixing and ended up with a  red mountain where I wanted an orange colored hill. Then my paints started to dry up and I became totally discombobulated. I couldn't bear to waste the paint so I went into imagination mode. I just started experimenting with how the different brushes and brush strokes work.  Below is my great work of art. I did actually learn a few things.

The Red Blob or Casper the Red Ghost?

I have about 20 of my photographs, printed on 24 x 36 canvas, surrounding my workspace. Today I started really looking at them and was amazed at how nature literally painted these images with brushstrokes. I would like to figure out how to replicate them. Below is a macro look at one of my photographs, River Revelry. This is just a tiny section of the entire image. I think you can see what I mean about the brushstrokes. I want to learn how to paint like nature!

River Revelry- Original Photograph printed on canvas

I still say, there is only one true artist when it comes to nature. The of us are just copy cats and posers.

©Kinsey Barnard

Ready to Paint

I received my supplies from Amazon yesterday. Got my work space set up this morning.

Workspace

I like this little easel. It allows me to sit whereas if I tried to work straight off the table top I would have to stand. Standing for long periods gives my back fits. As I had hoped the little drawer is a good place to store small  paint tubes.


I tried to do a wash on canvas paper. I used Phthalocyanine (crikey I can't even pronounce that one) for my color. In my lexicon this color shall henceforeth known as Navy Blue. When it dried the color was barely perceptible. Not at all what I was expecting. The canvas paper curled on me.  Then I tried the Cerulean Blue and got more color but uneven coverage because the paint pulled and I tried to paint over it. I tried to use equal measures of water and paint for both tests.

Cerulean Blue was. The white spots are what I call pulled. There were great globs of in the body.

Uneven blotchy wash

I thought putting a wash on the canvas was going to be the easiest part and maybe it is. Heaven help me. The dried wash looked nothing like the color of the paint. More experimentation is in order here for sure. The nicest color I got was in my brush wash jar!

©Kinsey Barnard

Enquiries to Purchase My Paintings

I had to laugh. I got an unsolicited enquiry to purchase my paintings this morning.

It was no doubt some type of phising expedition but I couldn't help but to think "Wow, selling photographs was never so easy."

My supplies should start arriving tomorrow. I am anxious and terrified to begin. The fact that I am scared I see as a good sign I can't loose with this project. Clearly, if I feel this way there must be remnants of the fear of failure lurking within my psyche. At 67 it's probably time to rid myself of such nonsense once an for all. I thought I had but it seems not.

©Kinsey Barnard

Washing Your Canvas-Craftsy Classes

While waiting for my supplies to arrive I'm endeavoring to increase my knowledge base.

I have purchased two online art classes from Craftsy; Acrylic Painting -Basics and Beyond and Acrylic Painter's Toolbox. I think these are going to be wonderful tools for learning. It's as close to taking a live course as you can get. You have assignments and can ask questions of the teacher.

I've already looked at a few lessons. In one I was introduced to "washing" your canvas. This is basically tinting your entire canvas with a light wash of a color of your choosing before beginning your painting. I immediately found the subject of interest so I started researching via Google and found some additional, helpful information. One thing is clear, like anything else, ask 100 people and get 100 answers.

Here are 2 free videos I thought were particularly informative.

The Worst Mistake Acrylic Painters Make and How to Drastically Improve Your Painting

Watching these videos I am also picking up ideas about tools and work areas. It looks like just about every painter has his or her own ideas and rituals. One thing I noticed in particular was, a lot of artists don't even use an easel, at least not for the instructions. They paint on a table top. I'm glad I set aside my search for an easel. Clearly painting on a table top is good enough for learning and experimenting on small pieces. I'm sure one day I will have an "ah ha" moment and I will know just which easel is right for me. Meanwhile, I'll also have my $15 table easel to play with. Finding the Right Easel.

I wouldn't mind some day being able to paint something like this photo I recently took of Flathead Lake.

Amazon Let's Me Down

Well, heck!! Amazon let me down. Usually, buying things from Amazon is as easy as falling off a log. It must have happened because I was so anxious to get my starter kit and get painting. Without going into all the gory details they sent the order to the wrong address, eighty miles away. The package may or may not be forwarded to me and heaven only knows how long it will take.

My mother always told me "Every cloud has a silver lining" and she was right. When I look back over my life at points in time when I thought things had gone oh so wrong I can see so many good things that came of my misadventures.

A botched Amazon order is a trivial thing to be sure but annoying nonetheless. Whilst I was trying to figure out how to deal with it I decided to change the whole plan. Instead of getting the kit I put together items I thought I would serve me better. In the process I decided to try Amazon's Prime 30 day free trial which means the new order will arrive before the original order would have but with added benefits. Free Prime music. Free Prime videos. Amazon has Downton Abbey which I have heard so much about but never been able to see. I liked it so much I watched four straight episodes last night. I wouldn't be surprised if I continue with Prime.

I should be getting my self designed kit by Friday the 20th. I'm beginning to feel like those guy we used to laugh at. The ones who went to Abercrombie and Fitch and bot all the latest fishing gear and attire and never got their line wet.

Meanwhile, Molly and I took a walk in Whitefish this afternoon. It has been unseasonably warm here in northwest Montana. We came upon these lawn ornaments that I think are just lovely. I really like this person's idea of art, so imaginative and creative. I'm also quite fond of the subject matter.

©Kinsey Barnard

The Journey Begins

I have had some success as a fine art photographer but lately have found my enthusiasm for that art form begin to wane. I'm not one to define myself by what I do so switching gears is not something I find particularly difficult. And, I love an adventure.

I have decided that I would like to try my hand at painting. I don't know the first thing about it and I think that is a great advantage. I have not a clue what is right or what is wrong. I'm completely unencumbered by any preexisting theories. My belief is that there is no right or wrong in art. I believe art, in any form, should be nothing more and nothing less than the free expression of the artists singular inner being. Doing art in order to please others is a fools errand and really not art by my definition.

OK, so free expression of myself is not a problem. I know no other road than the one less traveled. I adore doing things just because they float my boat. I don't like boxing myself in with other peoples concepts.

I have gotten as far as deciding that I would like to try my hand at acrylic painting. I've done a little research into different paints and acrylics seem like the perfect medium for a true neophyte such as myself. "Seem" being the operative word. I may find that not to be so. In any event it's a place to start.

This blog is meant to be a dairy of my painting journey. I want a record for myself of the various discoveries I make along the way. I'm making it public in case a few others stumble upon it and find it useful.

Wish me luck.