The Arts on Adrian studio resembled a thrift store this week. My pile of old shoes was definitely an unorthodox subject but the quasi-organic, soft forms offered a different kind of challenge than our previous still-lifes this term.
Once in a while, I like to demonstrate a ‘shape-reading’ approach to watercolour painting. This means starting with the watercolour brush; no prior pencil drawing! Several of the students have experimented with shape-reading before but some were tackling it for the first time. I started my demonstration with the afternoon class and added to it for the evening class.
Old shoes and boots may lack glamour but they can be a reasonably forgiving subject. Let’s have a look at the work from the Tuesday students.
Tuesday Afternoon Critique
Tuesday Evening Critique
The Saturday students have a full day and I urged them to not just paint shoes but tell a story with their paintings. I also strongly suggested that they be bolder and more interpretative with colour. I didn’t have to tell them twice. Here’s my Saturday demonstration followed by the student paintings.
Sustained Saturday Critique
Click on the critique images to view a larger version. That’s it for spring term at Arts on Adrian! It was short but sweet and I thank the great students for their enthusiasm and creativity. I’ll be in touch soon.
Tags: Barry Coombs, Canada, Ontario, still-life painting, Studio Classes, Toronto, Toronto studio watercolour classes, Toronto watercolour classes, watercolor, watercolour
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