Portrait Tutorial Step Two: Choosing a Canvas + Doing the Underdrawing

Welcome back to my tutorial on portrait painting.  In Step One I covered choosing the right photo. Now that you've chosen the photo, you'll need to finalize the composition, choose an appropriate canvas for your portrait, and then proceed with the underdrawing.

Choosing a Canvas + Finalizing Your Composition

In the last post, I mentioned a few things about composition and suggested a few things to think about when composing for a portrait. Another factor that may affect your composition will be your canvas size and proportion. It is important to consider whether or not your photo is composed in such a way that you will not be able to crop it, or conversely, if you have some wiggle room on any or several of the sides. If your image is not one that can be cropped, you will need to look for a canvas with the same proportions as your image. If there is some wiggle room, you can choose your canvas to your liking and then proceed to finalize your composition. Either way, there are a few things to think about in the process. Let's discuss them using my photograph as an example.

This was the original photo:

My client (who also happens to be my father) has a particular place in mind where he will be hanging this portrait. Currently he has a painting in the location that is 20 inches tall by 30 inches wide, and we both confirmed that shooting for a similar size with this portrait would be preferable in this particular location. With this in mind, I started with an idea of the canvas size and adjusted my composition accordingly. Note: You may not be able to find a canvas with the exact proportion to your image (i.e. a 20x28 canvas for your 5x7 photo) without getting a custom canvas built, so cropping or adjusting your composition may be inevitable.

When I went to my local art store, they did not sell 20"x30"canvases, the size my dad and I had discussed. So I had to chose between buying one of the two closest sizes; a 22"x28" and a 24"x30", or ordering a canvas online. I discussed it with my dad and we decided on the 24"x30". For this tutorial, I will be using the above sizes as examples to show what sort of difference your canvas proportion actually makes.

First, I want to show you why getting a canvas that is the same proportion (or cropping to create the right proportion) is so important. If you were to take a photograph like mine (with the proportion 5/7; 5 inches tall and 7 inches wide) and simply stretch it to fit any canvas you happen to pick up, you will inevitably end up with some distortions, and they usually aren't very flattering, let me tell you. Below I have taken my photograph and stretched it to fit the three canvas sizes we had discussed. You can quickly see the distortion created. This is why stretching to fit instead of enlarging proportionately is a big "no no".

Note: to find the proportion of your image or canvas, create a fraction by taking the height over the width and then simplifying it down. Examples: The 20x30 canvas has the proportion 2/3, the 22x28 is 11/14, and the 24x30 is 4/5. We can tell from this that none of the canvases were the exact proportion of my 5x7 photo. However, if they would have had canvases available at these sizes: 10x14, 15x21, 20x28, etc. (any dimensions that can be simplified to 5/7, or, any dimensions created by multiplying the same number to both 5 and 7) I could have snatched it up and been ready to go immediately. Because this was not the case, I know I will have to work with the composition a little.  

To create a compelling composition, filling the entire canvas, you will either need to crop, zoom, or be willing to come up with reasonable solutions to fill in gaps created by the placement of your image. Below you can see possibilities for cropping and for leaving gaps on each canvas size we were considering.  

Remember, there are different ways to crop. You don't have to take it all off one side. Consider where the focal points are and try to arrange them nicely on the canvas, potentially cropping from multiple sides, or zooming in.

I eventually went with the top example of cropping, though now that I have decided to change the background entirely, I realize it may have been better to use the second one down (creating more space on either side of my sisters).

Also, be aware that you will need to be careful not to create any unnecessary areas of tension when finalizing your composition. These areas usually occur when an edge of the subject comes too close to the edge of the canvas. My sister's arm is a good example. Here, Lindsay's arm sits right up against the edge of the canvas, causing visual tension. You want to avoid this where possible.

Instead, try shifting the image to where her arm either goes all the way off the canvas or pull it in far enough that the tension is lessened.

The Under Drawing

As I have mentioned before, gridding is something I do pretty frequently, though not every time. Some people consider gridding to be a form of cheating. Many of these same people use other implements to make comparative measurements without considering it cheating, so I say, use what you need to get your proportions and measurements correct, and let haters be haters. There is still a great degree of inaccuracy possible when using a grid, so I find their argument unfounded anyway. Moving on...

You can grid in a number of ways. All a grid does is create reference lines and points from which you can adjust a drawing to make it more accurate. The more accurate your under drawing, the less tweaking you will need to do later, and the better likeness you will be able to achieve.

Gridding on the Computer

I used Photoshop to grid off my reference photo because I already own and am familiar with the program, making it quick and painless for me. If you have Photoshop, continue reading and I will walk you through how I do it. If not, skip down to "Gridding by Hand" below.

To start, open a new file the same size as you canvas. This is very important. You can change the size, as long as the proportions stay the same, but you will have to do more math later on. A trick I use on occasion, if the image quality isn't fantastic, is to make a file the right size but lower resolution, or I change to centimeters. You will also want to turn on "rulers" (command + R).

I choose the size of my grid depending on the number of people in the portrait and the size of my canvas. If I have a large canvas, but only one person who takes up the majority of the composition, I tend to make my grid much larger than if I have a couple of people on a small canvas. Because this portrait is of three people, and relatively large, I chose to do 2" squares. With my 24"x 30" canvas, I ended up with 15 squares across and 12 squares down.

To create a guideline, click on the ruler itself and drag away from it. A guideline will follow your mouse and will be placed wherever your mouse is released–so just drag it to the point on the ruler where you want the next gridline to be and release your click. Remember that if you want a vertical line, drag from the ruler on the left hand side. If you want a horizontal line, drag from the top ruler. It is as easy as that.

Can't figure it out, that's okay! It is not necessary for you to grid your reference image on the computer because you can always do it by hand! You are going to have to grid your canvas by hand, anyway, so it may just be easier to print out your image. Just make sure it is cropped to the right proportions for your final composition.

Gridding by Hand - either on your reference image or your canvas

What you will need:

1. Your printed reference photo or canvas. It is best to print two copies of your reference photo if you are planning to paint from a printed reference. If you only need it for your under drawing, and will be using a monitor or iPad to paint from (as I do) one copy will be fine. I say this because using your gridded reference photo to paint from becomes frustrating. Not only do all the lines become distracting, but it will also make it difficult to see things that the lines may be covering up. Attempting to erase the lines will only be trouble as well. It really is best just to print out two copies.

2. The largest manageable ruler you have, or a ruler and a long straight edge.  Now, if your drawing is only an 8x10, there is obviously no need to pull out a yard stick, a 12 inch ruler will be fine. However, if you are painting on a canvas that is larger than the average ruler, a yard stick may be your best bet. A t-square is really useful for gridding off canvases as well, so if you have one of those laying around, grab it. Choose what is most appropriate for your specific project.

3. A pencil. I would suggest a harder lead, like a 2H or 4H if you have them, just because they make lighter lines which will be easier to paint over. See my post that discusses pencil leads here. If you do not have drawing pencils, your scantron-friendly #2 will do just fine, but be careful to press lightly.

4. A calculator. This is only necessary if you don't love doing math in your head.

Getting started:

1. Decide what size grid you will be drawing. At what increment will you be placing your lines?

2. Hold your ruler at the top of your image/canvas running across, with 0 at the very edge. Making sure to stay level,  place a mark at each interval you decided all the way across the image/canvas. Do this again along the bottom edge of your image/canvas. If your ruler or straight edge is not long enough to connect the marks from top to bottom, you will need to create more marks across the center of the canvas, and connect the top and middle marks, then continue from the middle to the bottom. (This is why I mentioned the largest manageable ruler you have.) Connect each corresponding mark to create straight lines from top to bottom. 

3. Turn your image/canvas 90 degrees and do the same thing again. Make a mark at each interval you chose on the top, bottom, and potentially across the center. Then connect the corresponding marks. 

4. Adjusting for the size difference, do the same thing to your canvas if you haven't already. You want to have the same number of overall squares, not necessarily the same size squares. If your canvas is 3x bigger than your reference photo, the squares should also be 3x bigger. Make sense?

Beginning the Underdrawing

What you will be drawing:

For your underdrawing you will be drawing contour lines and shadow/highlight shapes to use for reference when painting.

What are contour lines? They are boundary lines–the lines most people draw without thinking. For instance, the line that separates the boundaries of my hair with the background. Now, there is not an actual black line that runs around my hair that keeps it separated from the space behind me. But the fact is, there is a boundary there and it creates an important distinction–this is where my hair stops, and the background begins. Nearly every line seen in a coloring book is a contour line. Think about creating the coloring book version of your image on your canvas. Again, even though you are drawing lines, it is best to think about these lines as boundary lines, not actual lines, because when you are painting, there may be only a slight shift in color or tone, and a line would not accurately represent that boundary.

I also mentioned shadow and highlight shapes. If your subject is smiling, there is a very good chance they will have some shadows defining their cheeks, running from their nose to their mouth. The shape of this shadow is dependent on the shape their cheek makes when they smile, and therefore is something relatively unique to them. Anything that is unique to a person is something you need to carefully consider and try to capture as accurately as possible. It is an opportunity for you to achieve likeness. Instead of drawing a single line in these places, consider drawing the shape that the shadow makes. This is helpful when trying to remember how far to go with the shadow tone. (Where does it start and stop?) These are also boundary lines, and can be considered contours, though they may not be the first ones you think to draw.


Getting Started:

To begin, I usually find a location where one of my subject's contour lines runs almost directly through an intersection on the grid. I start there and begin filling in the grid, contour line by contour line or box by box.

When drawing in general, you want to train yourself to pay just as much attention to the formation of the negative space shapes as the positive space shapes. This means, not only are you wanting to create the right shape for your subject, but also the right shape for the background behind and around your subject. I'll give you an example.

You not only want to be looking at the shapes that make up, say, the sweater that Brooke is wearing, or the shape of my arm...

...you also want to be paying attention to the shapes that are formed between my arm and her sweater, or between my arm and my blouse.

See what I mean? The reason it is important is because positive and negative shapes depend on one another. If one is off the other is going to be off as well.

Now, if you are going to err, it is best to err on the side of the negative shapes, because the positive shape is your subject, and that could get offensive. :) But you get my point, paying attention to the contours of negative spaces should also help you in creating better positive space contours. Just another push and pull that I like.


Another helpful tidbit:

When drawing your contour lines, imagine that every box is divided up even further, like into quarters or eighths. This will help you when you are trying to determine how far a contour line should travel into any one of your grid boxes. Think, "Okay, this line comes down from the left corner to about the center of this box and then slopes down to where it hits the right side about a quarter of the way up." As you get more comfortable, you will not have to think this critically and your brain will begin making all the necessary evaluations and comparisons for you as you go.

For my portrait, I started with the side of my hair, because it travelled down one of my gridlines. Then I moved over, watching both the positive and negative shapes as I drew Lindsay's head. I bypassed her face until the end.

Once I had all of the general contours around our faces and hair, I moved to our bodies.

I had the canvas propped up in my lap while I looked at my reference photo on the screen.

I finished the underdrawing, propped it up, and pulled out my phone to take a snapshot of it for this tutorial. By the time I had unlocked by phone and pulled up the camera app, I saw this on the screen... 

#rolobombing

This was the completed underdrawing. It always looks a little weird, but that is usually because you have lines in places that don't look right without the corresponding tone on either side. Check back over your drawing once you have finished, making sure things are placed as accurately as possible. This way, even if it looks weird, you can be confident you have everything in its place and are ready to go.

A closer shot of our faces.

I hope you found this helpful. Please leave any feedback, questions or comments below. 

Note: Contour line only underdrawing has been common practice for me for years. Just recently, however, I have seen other ways of doing it–using charcoal or pencil to create a tonal under drawing instead of simple contours, then fixing it to the canvas with a fixative or retouching varnish before painting over it. I am likely to start using this new method because it seems to give more opportunity to make compositional and tonal adjustments before diving into the actual painting.  It also seems like it will remove some of the "weird" factor that I mentioned contour drawings sometimes have without their corresponding tonal values. I'll see how this goes for me and hope to do a separate tutorial for it later. 

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A Collier Collaboration

I have enjoyed drawing and painting since I was very young. It came somewhat naturally to me. I had this God-given ability to see in a certain way and think in a certain way that expressed itself in my drawing as a kid. My dad tells of how he used to notice me "really looking" at things I was drawing, and he knew I had it. (I'm sure it also helped that he knew what to look for, since his family was filled with talented artists.) I was by no means a prodigy, but I was one of those rare kids who knew what they "wanted to be" really young, and grew up to pursue it. I am an artist because that is how God made me–I cannot imagine being any other way. In high school and in college, I often didn't feel like I "had what it took" to become a "real" artist or designer, because I didn't live and breathe it or care as much about artists and art history as everyone else seemed to. I was always reassured, though, that even if I quit school, and never entered into the art realm professionally, I would always see and think like an artist. I would still be an artist, so it didn't matter. It also helped tremendously that I have a very supportive family, who encourages me so well.

As I may have mentioned already, my grandpa, Carroll Collier, is a very talented painter. I remember being very young and driving up to Forney, Texas where he and my grandmother live. I remember the door opening and being hit with a very particular scent–one that has oddly become an aroma associated with "home" and "warm" and "love". It's the smell of turpentine (and possibly some other solvents) believe it or not. Both my grandpa and my grandmother, Mildred, have their own studio space in their cozy house. I always enjoyed (and still do!) seeing their newest work, sitting in Gpa's chair, looking at his palette, and studying his reference photos. I specifically remember wondering Why is it so messy? What I didn't know then was that the "mess" was just a palette filled with mixed colors. It wasn't like crayons or markers where each color stayed separate. At that point I didn't know anything about color theory or mixing colors–that I learned in 3rd grade.

I remember by dad teaching me how to draw the proportions of a face, and of a figure, and once my grandpa drew a sketch of my Aunt Debbie using the broad side of the pencil, to show me how it was done. I remember hiding behind the ficus tree in the living room of the first house we lived in and using my finger in the air to trace a top hat someone on the tv was wearing. It had curves. It was not necessarily a box with a line on the bottom, and it blew my mind. I have all these little memories, and they are all so pleasant and familiar, like little treasures.

Something else my grandpa did for me, when I was a kid, was to give me a tackle box filled with oil paints, some of his old brushes, and some canvases. Some of those canvases had incomplete sketches on them...

Like this one:

I painted on and over a few of them, but always saved this one. I've had it for so long (it has to be something like 15+ years), and I was finally inspired to do something special with it. I thought, What if I pick up where Gpa left off? What if I add my own personal touch and make it a "Carroll Collier and Christen Collier Original Still Life? That would be really neat–a joint effort over who knows how many years?!

So I set off to do just that. I photographed a bowl of mine in as similar a position as I could with the closest lighting I could create.

And here's how I put it all together:

I took the original.

I used my new reference photo to sketch in general lines and shapes.

Then blocked in general color and went ahead and blended it a little. Then I let it dry for a few days while I focused on other things.

When I had some more time to work on it, I tidied up some of the highlights and shadows, getting the background pretty close to how I wanted it before adding detail.

 Then I set to work "tightening up" the bowl and fruit. Then I let it dry again.

Lastly, I came back in with the details like that of the cherries on the picnic blanket. I gave the fabric a little texture, particularly in the main shadow crease running from top center to the bottom right corner. I also worked the grapes even further, and did a little on the banana. The bowl and shadows needed a little attention as well, so I paid it to them.

That's where I am so far with this collaborative still life. I'm pleased with it, and it has special meaning to me. What else could I ask for?

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Finished - Jami

The portrait is finished. Well, I have a few very minor things to do, but not enough to make a difference for this post. I feel pleased with how it turned out, and I hope the whole family likes it.

Let's see, I left off after finishing the general color blocking of the hair. I proceeded to fill in the background next so that the edges of the hair could be worked over it when I went in with the details. I also filled in the general color of the robe and collar she's wearing.

Close to the end, I had a little bit of a panic attack. I had begun adding in her freckles just to realize that she may not even have freckles, and it may just be photographic fuzziness that was making me think freckles. You definitely don't want to give a non-freckle facer, freckles--they no longer look like freckles but pores or zits. So I wrote my client and asked. Meanwhile I was trying to make plans for how to resolve the situation--would I have to repaint the whole face? I was willing, but it was going to be disappointing to say the least.

In response to my question, L says "faint..very faint." I was thinking "oh no!" but then I received another "Nevermind my husband said she had a lot of freckles". Praise God!

So here is the final piece. These photos are all taken on my phone, and while it was still wet, so sorry about the sheen.

I know it is hard to see the details very well, so I've taken a few "close-ups".

Dedicated to Jami and her mother Mollie. 

Mollie, I am praying for your battle against thyroid cancer. 

May God give you true peace and comfort, as well as healing to your body.

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A Victorious Day

We recently rescued a puppy from a nearby shelter. He's a beagle mix and his name is Rolo because he has the most beautiful milk chocolate and carmel coloring. And as sweet as Rolo is, and as happy as I am to have him, he's really thrown a wrench into my work schedule lately. He's only 6 months, so he needs a lot of training and near constant supervision. All that said, I've accomplished close to nothing, within the last two weeks, on my current commissions.

Earlier this week, however, I began to see signs of a changing tide...this too shall pass. I began to more fully believe there will soon be a time when Rolo will calm his body down enough to play by himself with his toys without needing my attention, peeing on the floor only 10 minutes after I let him back inside, or chewing up something he's not supposed to.

Today was that day, the first of what I hope to be many days where Rolo and I both had our needs met. It didn't look promising at first–it rained all morning and into the afternoon–but I was determined to get some work done and take enough breaks to help Rolo get his wiggles out and help stimulate his brain so he didn't misbehave too badly.

The day is now coming to a close, and I can say with a happy heart that it was a victorious day. I painted almost the entire day, and it was so nice! The kind of nice day that motivates people to use multiple hashtags to describe it– #doggytrainergetsabreak #paintisnotforpuppies #gettingstuffdone

Let's get to business. What I accomplished today:

I am currently working on a portrait of a young lady, Jami, who passed away from cancer (if I am not mistaken). This portrait will be given to her mother, my client's mother-in-law, who is battling cancer right now as well. The pressure is on with this one, and I pray it turns out well for the sake of Jami's memory and also to bless her mother and family.

This is Jami.

Working on her skin. I use a combination of yellow, red, violet and white for the basic skin tone, the shadows usually either lean olive, violet or red, depending on the area. I recommend not using black for shadows--it just makes the colors dull. [Fun fact, I rarely use black at all, even for black things. I do have a tube of black to use on a rare occasion, but I prefer to use a combination of a deep blue and dark brown, it's pretty close to black but you can still manipulate it to be cool or warm.] Really study the shadows and try to find a familiar color in there. I'll bet you can.

After filling in her eyes and eyebrows, she has really started to look like herself. This photo also shows you how I have been setting up lately. I have my husband's iPad on a music stand next to me while I paint. Using the iPad was a tip I received from Carrie Waller, a watercolorist friend, and has proven very helpful because I can zoom-in to a section to see better detail or to just keep from being distracted by a section I am not working on. This is only as helpful as the quality of the photo, however. This particular photo looks alright from the size seen on the screen, but any closer and it is very fuzzy.  

Pushing and pulling with highlights and shadows until I feel pretty happy with it.

It was getting late, but I was itching to block in her hair in general color areas. I move from left to right mainly as a habit, but also because I am right handed and it is less likely that I will smudge paint.

Continuing on the hair. Blonde hair can be tricky because, depending on the light, the shadows can be very deep–almost black. It really tricks your mind because you wouldn't think of using that deep of a color for hair that in person may be the color of gold, but trust your eye and mix the color you see. I mixed a lot of gray-ish yellows, some deep olives as well as browns and near blacks. 

This is how I left it, on this the evening of my victorious day. I am going to bed feeling satisfied and excited to work more tomorrow–if nothing more pressing arises. Good night.

Thank you, Lord, for this refreshingly productive day!

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Throw Back Thursday - Walk Like an Egyptian,1995

Today's TBT art is from the summer after 3rd grade. For several summers I attended a week long art class at Terra Rosa Studios. This was one of my first finished pieces. My teacher, Tim High, later a college professor of mine, worked with me all week on the main subject but I was so slow, we had to make special arrangements for me to take some paint and brushes home to finish it.

I bet you can tell which parts I hurried to finish, and which parts I ran out of my mixed paint color (a skill I also learned in that class) and had to try to match it on my own. :) 

I remember being so proud of this piece!

 

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Throw Back Thursday - Self Portrait, Watercolor, 1995

Self portraits–one of the easiest, but also one of the hardest subjects to draw or paint. If you are looking for something to draw, you are undoubtedly always available! The only problem is, do you have a mirror handy? Something, anything reflective?? If not, you always have your hands and feet! I have drawn many self portraits over the years. I have only painted 3, this is one of them. This particular portrait was painted in 3rd or 4th grade, and may have been my first self portrait ever.

As I may have mentioned in the past, I had a wonderful, and even somewhat magical, elementary school experience. A significant part of what made it so great was my art teacher, Mrs. Cartwright. We learned so many real art things in her class. Sadly, I only truly came to cherish the art education I had at Gullett after moving schools in 5th grade and doing more craft projects than actual art in art class. I don't believe I ever told her what her classes meant to me.

We learned quite a bit of art history in Mrs. Cartwright's class as well. Our projects would often be based off of the artist we were studying and this particular portrait was completed during our study of Frida Kahlo. Unlike myself, Frida painted many self portraits, and a good deal of them express the pain in her life–some more subtly than others.

Frida and I share a similar pain, that of miscarriage. Her painting entitled Henry Ford Hospital, 1932, is a very graphic representation and expression of her pain following a miscarriage. I remember learning about it even as a child, and other than the self portrait with her husband painted above her brow,  it is the one thing that has always stuck out in my memory about Frida. I remember thinking about, and not fully understanding that sometimes babies die.

It's amazing what God allows you to experience and hold onto in your life that helps shape you to deal with what is to come in the future. I would never have known that as a child, mulling over the concept of miscarriage would in some way be preparing me for the events in my own life. I have seen this over and over again, and am grateful for these preparations. I wish Frida had had the same hope in her lifetime, and from the same source, that I have. I think it has made all the difference.

You can see my inspiration pretty clearly in Frida's portrait. Mrs. Cartwright had me include an animal, since Frida had animals in her painting. I chose a peacock, though I don't remember exactly why. We had peacocks at our school, along with a hundred other species of animals–I'm telling you, it was magical–and I'm thinking it was the most colorful animal I had seen to date. I remember we were also learning how to make washes in watercolor by slanting the board and letting gravity pull the excess bead of paint to the bottom, and adding more paint or more water to create the intended effect as we moved down and across the page.

Well, that's it for this Thursday's throw back artwork. I look forward to sharing more with you next week.

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Paint and Sip with Sara J.

If you've left your house at some point within the last several years, you have probably heard of these "paint and sip" places popping up all over, that generally speaking, combine art and alcohol as a new fun way to spend an evening with friends or to go on a date. To be fair, it is not necessarily about the alcohol, you are in no way required to drink while painting, and can bring whatever snack or beverage that you prefer.

Well, I was invited and attended my first paint and sip class the other evening with my new friend Sara (whose birthday is today, Happy Birthday!) at Spirited Art in Little Rock. In our case, we did bring some wine and a snack, both of which were very enjoyable.

[As a quick aside, the vast majority of friends I have made in Little Rock thus far are named Sarah/Sara. Literally 4 or 5 new Sarah friends. I already have several Sarah friends making it by far the most common friends name for me. Now the trouble is making sure I text or call the write one!]

Truthfully, ever since I heard of the concept of these paint and sip venues, I have had mixed emotions, some passing questions, but mostly I have been pretty intrigued. I wondered if I would enjoy going to one of the classes. I wondered about teaching a class like that and what it would be like. Do they teach first and then set you free to try it? Do they give you individual photos to go off of? Does the teacher paint and everyone follows along? And do you get to pick what you paint? What about mixing colors?

Maybe you've wondered similar things. Maybe you've had other questions like, "Do I have to already know how to paint or draw before I go?" Maybe you have already gone to a class or two, or twelve. Any which way, I wanted to share my experience with you.

I have to say, I had a much better time than I expected to! I was genuinely surprised at how simple and manageable they made the whole process. I truly believe you need no previous experience to enjoy yourself and come out with a fun painting. To sign up, I went online, registered and paid to save my place in the class. While online, you can check their calendar to know which painting will be taught on which particular evening, so you can make plans according to which painting you like. I was very glad to find out that I actually liked the painting to be taught the evening we already had planned.

When we arrived, the instructor gave us each a canvas, a pencil, a piece of tracing paper, and a piece of carbon paper so that we could trace the basic outline onto our canvas. Aha! Question answered–they have you trace, no drawing lessons needed! (At least this place did.) I may have mixed feelings about the tracing business, but I know I am biased–I would hope everyone would be interested in learning how to draw.

We found a seat and were given two plates each, one for the paint and the other for mixing. The instructor squeezed out 4 generous globs of the only colors we would be using for the evening–white, blue, a yellow ochre, and a burnt umber or brown. She did mention that if we wanted a purple or red boat instead, she'd be happy to give us other colors as well. She was VERY adamant about us leaving with paintings we liked and confessed that she wasn't beneath doing it for us. (Which made me smile to myself, remembering some art classes as a kid where my instructor sat down and began painting on my piece and I was stunned and slightly hurt.) She told us the rules: don't drink your paint water, don't stick your brushes in your wine, keep your brushes from drying with paint in them, etc. Then we began.

She taught step by step, and in layers, which I liked. At first, I was eager to stay with her instruction because I was genuinely interested to hear how she stepped through the process. Eventually I did do my own thing, because after all, I paid for this class and wanted to enjoy it as well as learn from it.

The only negative part was that I felt relatively self-conscious, like a cheater and a show-off. At one point the women near us complimented my painting and I felt strangely caught between wanting to make excuses for myself and thanking her. All I really wanted was to enjoy my time doing something I love while hanging out with a sweet new friend. Hopefully I didn't come across some other way.

In the above picture you can see our instructor with her painting hanging on the wall beside the finished painting, the one we were all striving for. On the wall you can also see several of the other pieces produced on other evenings.

We both deviated a bit from the instruction. I added some reflections of the water onto my boats, because it just made sense to me. I also added much more depth in the foreground. I liked the fog look that the inspiration painting had going, but I just felt like my boats were adrift under a cloudy sky, so I added some clouds. Sara decided that she wanted it to be sunny, so she added the sun in the top left corner. Very cleverly she realized that her shadows would need to be on the opposite side (I was impressed).

Here we all are after the class. Sara and I are in the front row in the middle.

Sara and I are also in a LifeGroup together at church along with our husbands. All of our LifeGroup ladies are going to go back this week to paint the Little Rock skyline that will benefit the Dorcas House–a local shelter and rehabilitation center through Union Rescue Mission that has programs for women dealing with domestic abuse or drug and alcohol abuse. A few weeks back, I was fortunate enough to visit the Dorcas House with several ladies from our church to do a craft luncheon, and had a wonderful time. I was so encouraged by the women I met there. Great things are happening through this ministry, and I will continue to support them in the future.

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