Virtual Studio

In usual times I help faciilitate a community studio.  Obviously it is currently shut, but I have been suggesting activities iin a Facebook group.  I thought I would share them here.

Activity 1: Choose a colour scheme.
Find a container (box, basket, tin, whatever you have). Choose 3 colours you really like. From your colouring media - acrylic paint, watercolours, watercolour pencils or crayons, wax crayons - put those 3 colours in your container plus black and white. This will save you having to look for them each time you want to use them.

Activity 2
We are going to paint papers to make backgrounds. The video shows two techniques - watercolour paint with salt and watercolour paint with clingfilm. You can also try the cling film technique with runny acrylic paiint (water down your paint) however you need to pull the clingfilm off before the paint is dry other wise it glues itself to the paint. You don't have to use watercolour paper but printer paper is too thin. Use the 3 colours you chose in activity 1. Please share your results with the group. Have fun.

Activity 3
Use wax crayons in your colour scheme, or the black or white, and draw circles all over several sheets of paper. You could use sketchbook paper, music paper, brown paper etc . Overlap the circles. Draw different sizes of circles. If you want you could do squares or triangles instead of circles.   When you have finished your drawings, put a wash of watercolour paint over the page.


Activity 4. Acrylic Smooching!
If you have people at home to help you this is a great do-together exercise. If there's only you then you have to be well-prepared and quick!

Put some of each of the 3 colours of acrylic paint you are using on a palette (Paper plate, cling film over a real plate!) and get 3 water pots and 3 large brushes. If you're doing this on your own I suggest using A5 paper.

Quickly paint one colour on one sheet only, then the next colour on another sheet and the third colour on the last sheet.

Then whilst the paint is still wait take one sheet and turn the paint side onto the wet paper of another colour. Quickly peel off and smooth onto the 3rd piece. Do the same with each of the colours until the paint is dry. At this point you can either put another layer of paint on the dry paint or get another 3 pieces of paper.

Each piece of paper should have the main colour and some elements of the other 2 colours.

Activity 5
Go round the house finding different objects that you can use for stamping. This is often described as mark making. Here are some examples.

Use different papers - printer paper, music paper, pages torn from old books, brown paper etc. Use any or all of your 3 colours from your colour scheme. Also try the black and the white. Overlap your marks or not. Just have fun producing lots of different marks on paper.

I will add some more things to do in the next post.

Thanks for joining me today
Bernice