I couldn’t have had a more perfect day today. I rode my bike to painting class with the sun warming my skin, then got to sit outside and paint on the patio of Emily Carr overlooking the harbor. It was such a postcard moment. Beautiful!
What we learned in class today was awesome too – glaze! I can’t believe I never knew about this stuff. This will change the way I paint in so many ways it makes me do a happy dance. If you’ve never used medium or gel before, here’s a brief rundown of what you can do with it:
- brush it over your finished painting to give it a glossy or matte finish
- add some medium to your paint to get thinner more translucent colors
- add it to your paint to build up layers increasing depth, capturing light
- go over areas with an different color glaze to warm it up, cool it down, increase the intensity etc.
I think my favorite use will be for highlights. I went over some of my previous homework paintings dry brushing white highlights, then going over again with a color glaze so the light looks more like it’s coming from within, glowing. No band-aid effect!
Our class assignment was to sit on the patio overlooking the water and paint something plien d’air using only black and white paint. We were told to use a variety of brush strokes to establish depth and give weight to different areas, then to use some color glazes as the final touch.
Once our class time was over Lisa said it was OK for us to stay and continue painting if we wanted, so me and one other student hung out on the patio in the sun for another hour or so finishing up our pieces. What a beautiful day! This is how mine turned out:
When I walked in the door and John asked me how my class went, I really wasn’t exaggerating when I replied, “Life changing.”