Painting Class 101

In April of this year, I started teaching beginner painting classes at our local Michael's Art Store.  My teaching credentials are rather thin at best and I haven't taught many classes in a number of years, so I thought this would be a good way to ease back into it.  I teach a 2 hour class every week or two and it is proving to be a lot of fun.  Keeping things basic and helping new painters finish a painting that pleases them in just 2 hours is challenging but satisfying.

Texas Blue Bonnets 9X12 acrylic on panel

'Texas Blue Bonnets' was created in the first class.  My students all did a great job on their paintings and really seemed to enjoy the process.  We work small and we work fast, but the results never cease to amaze me.  We use a limited palette to produce paintings in 4 different genres including landscape, seascape, still life and floral.  Usually, I rotate through them and try to come up with a new challenge every class.

Sand Dunes 9X12 acrylic on panel

'Sand Dunes' was created in the second class.  My students seemed to find this one particularly satisfying and worked hard to produce wonderful renditions of their own.  I tend to get a little too meticulous in some of my work, so I find these quick studies to be very beneficial for me also.  Helping new, aspiring artists find their way is a great way to get your own creative juices flowing too!