Live Painting – Practice Session

Cherokee Fire

#1 from Live Painting Practice - "Cherokee Fire" - to see these bigger, double click on the painting, then double click again.

 

At my studio, we’ve been talking about doing live painting. Not just 15-minute demos, but the real thing – creating an entire painting in a short period while lots of people are watching.

Of course I want to do this, and am twitching to get going. So, last night I practiced. What fun! The time flew by – all one and half hours of it! Totally cut into my martini time :>) This is a truly exhilarating experience. If you’re the type of person who has to move when you listen to music, then this is for you! My feet were goin’, my arms and hands were having a wonderful time, and I was completely alive. Then I reverted to the mundane and fixed dinner- ha!

Read on to see how I did it: (yes, I promise to do a YouTube video soon, but not today)

The Beauty of Impermanence

#2 from Live Painting Practice - "The Beauty of Impermanence"

  1. Turned on “Straight No Chaser” album, loud.
  2. Using acrylics, I squirted 5 colors, each on a different paper plate.
  3. Then I grabbed brushes that ranged from very large (the house painting variety) to 1″. Also used some painting knives of various shapes; and of course, the trusty cut-up credit cards for texture.
  4. Lovin' The Music

    #3 from Live Painting Practice - "Lovin' The Music"

    My canvases were 8″ x 24″, 12″ x 24″, and 12″ x 12″.  If I’d had bigger ones I would have gone to the garage and slung the paint around with much abandon.

  5. Took the biggest brush and the boldest color (red) and moved to the music as I applied the paint.
  6. Then I took another brush and another color and did the same thing.

Pretty soon there was a rhythm, the canvas was covered in thick paint of varying colors.
Then I went on to the next canvas, and then the next.

The final canvas was interesting because it was really an afterthought. I was excited by my first three paintings, but couldn’t bring myself to throw out the leftover paint; hence #4 “Mixing it Up!”

There are always additional things to be done to a painting, but wow, what a great start on 4 paintings!

Mixing it Up

#4 from Live Painting Practice - "Mixing it Up"