Art Class: The Grid

I took another class today from Terry Banderas, this time in Rocklin, California (about an hour from where I live). An easy drive up the freeway, especially since I got a GPS!!!

The assignment/lesson was to learn how to use a Grid to line up a subject to draw/paint and get it perfect. You can only imagine how every bone in my body rebelled about doing anything

per fec t ly! Oy Vey!

Talk about tension.

The idea is to draw a grid using pencil, T-square and paper and then to copy one square at a time the contents of that picture on top to the grid on the bottom.

I did it and according to Terry I did it well enough.

But it is not about being in the zone, let me tell you.

Then as if that wasn't stressful enough we were then

to create a larger grid on our paper (1.5" squares)

numbered 1-7 across and A-E down the paper.

And THEN to transfer again square by little square of content onto our grid.

 The class was full of really nice people; artists from very beginners "doing this for the first time"; to very polished painters from whom I can learn a lot!

 See the woman standing in the green sweater below? Her name is Karen, and she sat next to me. She was so helpful, informative and generous! She offered to let me try her Daniel Smith paint brush expounding on it's merits of how it holds the water etc.; how to lift off paint to leave a highlight on an object (with clean water and paper towel, and with an ex-acto knife!); she gave me tips on color mixing on the paper; (see side of my page above); adding water to wash out the color more for the background; and MORE. Thank you Karen.

 That is Karen's huge paint palette. She also taught me that with this pallete which has a lid her paints can be kept and not wasted. Making me rethink using paints in the tubes again.

 Here is stage one on the grid on my large watercolor page...

 and close up. Painting was done quickly at the end of the class time. Some people only did the drawing. But you know me and speed and wanting to do the whole thing NOW.

BTW those are marbles in the bowl, not Easter eggs or colorful jaw breakers!

I loved the day...getting myself there; meeting the other artists; learning something new; challenging myself to do something outside my box!

...and shopping for yarn in the Craft Store where the class was held: Beverly's!

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My apologies to any Chinese people who might be looking at this and wondering what my words on the bowl mean. I just sort of ad-libbed what I saw quickly. ;-)