Abstract Painting

Learn how to create expressive and colourful abstract art. Suitable for newcomers and for more experienced painters wanting to try something new and exciting. ***To avoid a booking fee and pay by card, cheque or cash, please contact dot-art Services directly on 0345 017 6660*** Sundays from 12pm - 4pm starting 17th March, (£135 for 3-day sessions) Programme Suitable for newcomers and for more experienced painters wanting to try something new and exciting. Day 1 will begin with an introduction to abstract art, and a discussion about what art means today as a visual manifestation of human expression. Students will be invited to share (if they wish) the kind of abstract art they find appealing and what they would like to develop themselves. Following this, we will focus on colour. We will look at examples of artists who have magnified and celebrated colour in their work, and use acrylic paint to make our own experimental pieces that celebrate colour. They will look at contrasting colour, paint opacity/transparency and experiment layering lights over darks, darks over lights, bright over dull, blending edges etc. They will have time for appraisal and feedback, appreciating different people’s reactions and responses to our work. They will experiment with different ways of applying colour: brushing, sponging, scraping, using different tools and textured items to apply paint with. Day 2 will focus on composition, space and movement. This will improve the ability to isolate visual information and notice the essential qualities of a painting, which will in turn help us distinguish and employ differing abstract techniques. They will practise locating a focal area in various examples, and determining what kind of movement has been used to make a painting. We will do some intuitive exercises to discover our own unique “movement” – wavy lines, straight lines, splatters, random, controlled, etc. We will look at shapes and use the shapes that appeal to us to create our own original pieces of art. They will look at opposites: saturated and neutral, dark and light, busy and quiet, textured and flat. Looking into the arrangement of these elements and their relationship to one another we will learn how to put these together onto paper/canvas, producing aesthetically pleasing arrangements and patterns. Day 3 will combine concepts from days 1 and 2, plus experimentation with layering for depth, self-exploring, and how to be “confidently spontaneous and intuitive”. They will be given the opportunity to choose from different loose “themes” which we will interpret with our own creativity and style. “Themes” exercises:– Scientific Exploration – Musical Energy – Peace and Simplicity – Softness – Clash and Disorder - Invisible Currents - Intersections Every student will receive specific and individual feedback, suggestions, encouragement and advice from the tutor throughout, with the freedom to be as vocal or as quiet as desired during discussion times. This course will give you opportunities for improving practical skills; practising both inward reflection and outward appreciation; and developing your unique artistic voice. Dates Sundays from 12pm - 4pm 17th, 24th March & 14th April *Please note there is a gap of 4 weeks between week 2 and 3. Venue Bluecoat, School Lane, Liverpool, L1 3BX Situated in the centre of Liverpool, just behind Church Street, down Church Alley and in front of Liverpool ONE. You can enter the building via the front courtyard off School Lane, or through the garden at the back off College Lane. Nearest train station- Liverpool Central. Cost £135 for the 3-week course (full course must be booked in advance) Materials Plenty of acrylic paint in lots of different colours (The Works and Art Discount do the cheapest versions) Brushes of varying sizes and shapes 2-3 sponges (art sponges or domestic sponges will work) Small squeegee/scraper/palette knife/even a short ruler for the scraping technique 4-8 small to medium sized canvasses (The Works and Home Bargains sell quite cheap ones) A4 or A3 sketchpad Coloured pencils or pastels Water pot or jar for washing brushes Kitchen roll Apron/painting shirt (acrylic paint stains as it is plastic based) Pictures/scrap book of abstract art/ideas that you find inspiring (Optional)