Storing Liquitex Soft Body Paint Jars Upside Down So You Can See The Colors Easily

I have mixed feelings about sharing with you Kim Weston's approach to storing her Liquitex paint jars. Kim, an artist in New Haven, who I met at Erector Square's Open studios, recently, showed me a great trick. If you want to see the colors of your paint at a glance, you can store your jars of paint upside down. I do like the idea very much, BUT here is my one and BIG concern.....I'm very messy with my paint jars. The cap barely fits back on the jar when Im finished playing around with my paints in a Mixed Media piece. In order for me to model my studio after Kim;s, I would have to vow to work very carefully, wiping the top of the jar after each use and then screwing the cap back very intentionally. This will take some time for me to clean up my act. But in the meantime, I thought I'd share this idea with others who may be more meticulous when working. 

Having A Talk With Your Painting: When Is It Finished?

 O.K. confession time..I have been working on an   abstract painting for way too many months. Each time I return to this painting I declare that on that particular day, if I resolve just a few more problem areas that my work will be finished!  Sometimes I even take pictures of work in progress and look at it on my cell phone in the evening when I am home. I often convince myself that the next time I return to my studio... bingo I will just need to add a little of this or that and I'll be done. But even with some tinkering, that "finish" bell may not ring as I expected.  How does one know when an abstract painting is done?  One of my mentors said in a critique session "that a painting is not finished...it just stops in interesting places".  So with that comment in mind, I'm returning to my studio and I am going to have a talk with my painting and ask it what would make you more interesting?

Learning About Shapes In Abstract Art By Looking at 1950s Jazz Record Albums

A great way to learn about cool design when making abstract art is to take a look at Jazz album covers from the 1950s for examples of hip style, design, color and composition.  Many people get STUCK in making the same shapes and sometimes even make the same size shapes over and over. That is not art, it is wallpaper. And I should know, because I have been  a member of that club for years. So I began going online and looking at lots and lots of album covers form the 1940s-1950s. This album cover shown, was designed by Burt Goldblatt for American jazz tenor saxophonist Don Byas. In particular I am interested in Goldblatt's use of the very large pink/white boomerang shape (a very common 1950s) element and it's relationship to the green background. Take a good look at this album and notice how line, shape, color, value relate to each other. You can indeed learn so much by exploring old jazz albums for inspiration for your own artwork. 

Let Loose With Collage & Mixed Media: Spring Workshops at Dick Blick, Plainville, CT

UPCOMING SPRING CLASSES

Contemporary Mixed Media-Collage at Dick Blick Plainville CT.  MAY 2016

Let Loose With Collage & Mixed Media: Leave your inner critic home and join others in the art of creating Mixed Media artwork and collages using painted papers, print making techniques, textures, mark making, dry and wet media.  Emphasis on helping students “loosen up” and work more spontaneously with a variety of art materials and products. All levels of students welcomed.  Day/Time: 4 sessions on Wednesdays 1:00 - 3:00, May 4,11,18, 25. Fee $120.00.

Material List

The beauty of Mixed Media collage is that you can use every thing and the kitchen sink  in the process of making art. While I have my favorite products, you are welcome  to bring to class what you already have and to build materials and supplies as you discover new ideas. My favorite essential materials are Canson Drawing paper ()or similar) in a gummed pad (any size works); Acrylic paint; brushes of different sizes; Sharpie Markers; Crayons; oil pastels. Other materials to collect and bring include products that can make textures such as mesh bags from onions, bubble wrap, corrugated  brown packing paper that have different kinds of ridges, wallpaper that has raised texture, combs, inserts from candy boxes that have patterns and interesting surfaces etc. BTW, I also smear paint with old glossy post cards or card board that i fold to size. We will discuss adhesives in the first class.  http://www.cdiannezweig.com/workshops/