The best way to promote my online workshops is to show you the paintings my students are doing in them. This gorgeous mermaid was done by my student Grace Garton in my La Sirena class. Her blog is littleartycraftycrow.blogspot.com
In her own words:
"I would have to say this was the one painting that I learned the most from. The painting went through so many stories in the end I went with the simplest. Quite a few years ago while at art school I wrote an essay on Haitian naive art I found a lot of their art was used as shop signs like you would see for a hairdresser or cafe. So I started thinking that this painting was used as a sign for a beach cafe, windblown and battered by the sea and sand. I used a palette of gelato coloured fabric and paint for the fish. The turquoise blue paint represents those incredible blue skies and water you see on photographs of a tropical beach. The mermaid rests on a rock encrusted with smashed sea glass, shells and green sequins. Her hair blows in the wind, there may be a storm approaching, the colours behind her are a little ominous.Fish leap around her with their blue turquoise eyes. She gazes out calmly and beckons us to come nearer."
I love the placement of the figure, the design her body makes as a curved line. Our eyes are drawn not just to color but to line and masterfully she controls where are gaze goes around the painting. From the black of her hair then down to her knee and up to her tail. She utilizes the entire space. The fish also swim around in an organized curved path that keeps us going round and round. Excellent work Grace!
You can learn to make your own paintings in my class La Sirena - which uses mermaids as a theme but teaches you so much more.
Book Club:
Im on page 74
Recent Highlighted Text:
"Their bottomless cool - their cynical postures grown from privilege they were ungrateful for - could make me hate them. Born on third base, my daddy always said of the well off, and think they hit a home run."
I need to give reading one half hour per day. Before I put a netflix movie on then fall asleep in my chair. I can polish off this book if I make time for it daily. Jan 31 is the deadline.
