Curious about Abstract Painting? Do you love to work with color for its own sake? Has a strong abstract painting ever stopped you in your tracks at a museum or show? Have you ever searched an abstract painting, following each mark, hidden or revealed, and let your eye trail around a canvas, captivated by colors and their supporting shapes?
In our class we will follow a method which builds, layer upon layer, a story on a canvas. We will explore color and how to manipulate it to its highest purpose (to support and showcase a different color? To shine on its own?) And to use marks which are uniquely our own, as well as collage if you like and all kinds of mark makers.
After getting her Art History degree at Wheaton College, Kelley continued taking art classes at various Art Associations for 10 years before she started painting. First with watercolor, then oil and now happily with acrylic and mixed media, it has been a lifetime of growing and exploring all things art.
Kelley has won numerous awards, and has taught classes and workshops for many years. While for the majority of her career Kelley has been a literal, representational painter, in the past 4 years she has been diving into abstraction, particularly Intuitive Abstraction. The history involved on the canvas, the multiple layers, the reveal and conceal and push and pull are what attracts her to this method.
A favorite thing to do is to travel, and be inspired by different landscapes and cityscapes. Kelley has traveled to Holland to paint, along with many places on this side of the ocean, namely Nova Scotia, Sedona, Santa Fe, St. Simon’s Island, Seattle, San Miguel de Allende, MX, California and Maine.
In 2009 Kelley founded the Artists’ Challenge Group “Girls Just Wanna Paint” which is a collection of award winning artists who post a response to a new topic every month consecutively since July of 2009. Aside from the Providence Art Club Kelley is a member of the North River Arts Society in Marshfield, MA. She has taught at the Art Club, Bristol Art Museum, and at North River Arts Society.
Materials List for Kelley MacDonald’s Abstract Painting Workshop
All, or as many as you can manage:
Disposable palette of any size - but bigger is better!
Artist’s Tape (Painting tape OK too!)
Substrates:
- Paper to paint on - watercolor or Canta-paper from strathmore, Bristol paper, etc.
- Assortment of canvases (12x12 to 18x18 – shape, size does not matter)
- one or two larger canvases - from 16x16 – 30x30 canvas or panel
Paint (Acrylic):
- one large tube of any kind of black paint, can be of a lesser grade than professional
- Gesso or large tube of white paint
- warm and cool of red, yellow and blue (ex. Alizarin or rose and cad red light, ultramarine and cerulean or pthalo blue, cad yellow medium and cad lemon)
- any other colors you like
Brushes and Mark Makers:
- 1-inch, 2-inch and 3 inch flat brushes if you have them
- a liner brush (from watercolor) and/or a small, tiny brush of your choice
- as huge a brush as you dare to bring!
- Any carving type item, credit card, (that you no longer use), Catalyst – Blick and Michaels sells them
- Shapers, goo spreaders and palette knives
And (any of these):
- Stabilo pencils, vine charcoal, charcoal, derwent watercolor pencils, graphite pencils, any pastel sticks you like. As long as you have SOME of these – you certainly don’t need all. Pencils, yes, then some colored type pencils and/or pastel sticks, If you happen to have Neocolor or Neocolor II crayons, gel pencils or markers, colored or black and white –
- Any type of gel medium for exploring collage, and any thin paper or colored paper to incorporate (NOT strictly necessary)
- Sprayer to keep acrylics moist
- Bucket or big yogurt/ricotta tub for water
BASCIALLY bring what you have - don’t go spend a fortune - we will have things to try~!
FLEX YOUR IMAGINATION
If you have taken an abstract class from me you probably already have everything you need!
