One great way to strengthen your skills, and hone a consistent voice around a subject is to do a series. In this 10 week class we will explore what it takes to develop a series of work based on your own interests and desires. Examples of this may be: skies, trees, critters, ocean, marsh, vessels, figures, tablescapes, abstracts …. Etc, etc. You will be guided and prompted to dig deep and yet stay within your subject. Any medium that you are familiar with is acceptable, as a matter of fact the series may cross mediums - for example you may enjoy watercolor AND acrylics, or pastels…or mixed media. All levels welcome.
About the Instructor: Kelley MacDonald
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 - All, or as many as you can manage:
Materials List for Developing A Series Class
-Any size canvas (new one each week) you choose - from 6x6 to 30x30 - whatever you are comfortable with. Canvas, board, canvas board… whatever you like to paint on. Your goal is to start a new painting each week
Disposable Palette
Colors - whatever medium you choose (acrylic, watercolor, pastel, oil) I would suggest at least this limited palette:
- Large tube of titanium white
- 1 warm and 1 cool tube of
- Yellow - (ex. Cad lemon and cad yellow medium)
- Red (ex. Cadmium red light and Alizarin Crimson, magenta or rose)
- Blue (ex. Ultramarine and pthalo)
- Neutral such as BURNT umber (not raw)
Brushes in an array of sizes - I use flats, but you may use whatever you are comfortable with, in a 1/4 inch size, a 1/2 in size and a 1 inch size. Then a BIG one and a tiny, detail one.
At least one palette knife - any size
Water container such as a large yogurt or ricotta tub
Apron or overshirt - optional
Paper towels