Lesson 2, "100 Drawings"

my favourite

For Week 2 of the 10-week on-line Jane Davies class, our assignment is to work fast, with a 20-second limit for the first application of paint, in several colours, on our 9" x 12" paper. That's right: 20 seconds. With a timer!

We are allowed to spend a few more seconds, if need be, just to ensure that the whole paper is completely covered with paint. While this first layer of paint is still wet, we are to add drawn lines and shapes with graphite and then, with the paint still wet, to blot or "lift" excess paint, thereby creating some transparencies.

Once the paint has dried, we are to go back in with opaque paint (to cover up some of what we laid down on our first approach) and with transparent paint (to add interest and depth), adding more lines if we wish.

The objective of this exercise is to free us up, and to silence our inner critic. It also gives us experience with opacity and transparency.

Shown here is what I came up with, given the parameters of the assignment. I found that applying paint with my fingertips helped loosen me up.

Once again, we are to make ten of these paintings and post them onto the group blog.

my least favourite, and my husband's favourite:
go figure

Of course it's fascinating to see the variety in the student work, and then instructive to read the teacher's responses to each participant's post.

Jane was very positive in her response to my "explorations". She suggested, however, that to get the maximum effect from the assignment, I should aim for some areas that are absolutely flat and opaque, like "a paint chip". For example, in the image above, it's not enough that I used an opaque red paint. It should look opaque, without any suggestion of texture, so that there is a strong contrast between the red area and the other parts of the piece.

As a textile artist, I am most comfortable with defined shapes, so it is a bit of a breakthrough for me to use more amorphous shapes, transparent colour and brushy edges. I'm enjoying this!