Themes

 Simple Figures

 Often I will have my students choose a theme/topic/subject and work on it for several weeks.  They will work through the whole process of being inspired by a theme,  keeping their eyes open for their theme, sketching, working out the composition, planning the value pattern, and then, finally, getting right down to it and doing the painting.  By the time they get to the painting, they are pretty inspired, have a plan, and it comes together pretty easily.

In my post of November 28th, I mentioned a few themes. This week was the beginning of a new eight-week session, and I handed out a list of ideas or thought starters.  I don't want to bore you with the whole list, so here's the short version:
Passions
Light and shadow
A place
Every view from your porch
Figures
Tea, coffee, cups, pots, mugs, cafes
Interiors
Chairs of all kinds
Gates
Food and anything to do with food
Weather, nature

A few of the students have chosen to do portraits, some figures, one is doing "things around my house", another is doing "portals" such as doors, windows, gates, and another is doing landscapes.  Several are still undecided, but I'm sure once they start looking around and thinking about the possibilities, they'll have trouble narrowing it down.

This is more fun and more personal than painting still lifes all winter that I set up for them.

Wow  -  I made it through November blogging every day, and here it is December 1st.  Of course I'll keep blogging - don't think I'm going to keep quiet  -  but I really don't have anything interesting enough to blog every day.  Thanks for putting up with me throughout November.

Day Twenty-nine

Collections
Sometimes in my journal classes, I'll have my students look around for certain objects that interest them and paint several.  It's a way of "collecting" things we like.  Some of the collections have been stones, flower containers, ginger bread trim on cottages, windows, flags  -  just to name a few.

I have been "collecting" salt and pepper shakers everywhere I go. I do them in restaurants, even if I have done them before, or they are identical to some others.  I guess I am collecting the experience more than the salt shakers. You'll find an even better variety in your friends' homes too.

If you're a little housebound (at least you're probably not out on the beach looking for stones) this time of year because of winter coming on,  there are always things around you that are colorful and fun to sketch.

For example:

January - chairs, interiors
February - fabric folds, lace, patterns, curtains, tablecloths
March - perspective, buildings, streets, doorways
April - trees
May - figures - people and pets
June - lawn chairs, window boxes, planters
July - gardens, gates and fences
August - produce, farm markets, sunflowers

September - clouds, landscape,

October - fall vegetables
November - dishes, silverware, glassware, tablescapes
December - dinner ingredients, labels, bottles and jars

If you have some prompts, themes, or a series you have done, we would love to hear about it.