Art Battles are Happening
Not just on TV but EVERYWHERE
Have you ever tried competing in one?
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| Preparing to Battle - Practice Sketch 2 - 30 minutes |
I have entered a battle . . .
and its happening this Saturday, March 23, 5:30pm - Surrey Arts Center, 13750 88 Ave. - Painting with Oil Sticks - 25 minutes. OMG!! Not sure about all this but I had this crazy idea I wanted to challenge myself. What was I thinking?
As you know, I am all about challenging yourself and trying new things. So when I saw this Artist Call, I thought, oil sticks, how hard can that be. I had entered an art battle before, well actually, several years ago. 2014 to be exact. (Read about it here.) We had 45 minutes then, 25 minutes is a real challenge.
Preparing to Battle . . .
No one goes into Battle without a plan. With only 25 minutes, 'winging it' just wont work. Here's what I did.
1. Research: I have never used oil sticks nor have I ever even seen them before. I contacted an artist friend, Joanne, that had some and begged for some help. Joanne was great. She let me come to her studio and play with them for a bit. Not sure I mastered them but felt I could at least work with them. (see last post Experimenting with Oil Sticks)
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| For the horizontals, I experimented with the horizon line. The portrait version was my first choice. |
2. Make a Plan: I decided I wanted something loose to paint and settled on a waterscape with lots of sky. Then I drew a few value sketches to get an idea how it should look. My first choice was the Portrait view.
3. Execution: Seems easy right. Pick up your sticks and go for it. Not! First of all, I don't have any and there was none in the local store to buy and too late to order any. We only got word this week that we were for sure in the competition.
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| I used the Nupastels for practice |
I decided to use Nupastels, for practicing, as they would give me an idea of what it was like to work with the oil sticks. I had a limited palette with them and that would be the case for the competition as well. (I think we will only have 8 colours) And the biggest reason I choose them, I had some.
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| Practice Sketch 1 - 31 minutes - with reference material |
My first choice for layout was the Portrait view, so off I went. I had my reference material in front of me, my timer on, my mind focused. 31 minutes. Ok, not bad, eh? I know, not the greatest paper, but I am just practicing.
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| Practice Sketch 2 - 35 minutes - with reference material |
4. Time to Re-evaluate: I decided I didn't really like the Portrait view. So for my next practice I tried my landscape view. The main different with the landscape views was the horizon line and sky shapes. I liked the horizon approx. 1/3 of the way from the middle to the bottom. And the sky shape in the top Value Study. Practice Sketch 2 - 35 minutes - with reference material in front of me. Ok, but I was hoping to be faster. I do like this picture better though and feel I can work with this layout.
5. Make Notes: Now that I have a plan, I decided to make notes of the things I liked and didn't like. My intention was to make sure the good things were the things I replicated. This proved to be a great activity. It made me study each area of the picture and decide if I liked its placement and content. Things like: colour of foreground shadows, size and shape of background mountains, sky colours. I could also see I need to work on the cloud/sky formation more but I like the general overall look.
6. More Practice: I set the timer and this time no reference material. 29 minutes. I was pleased with that. Still slow and still needs work on the sky but over all things are working out. Making the notes really helped me focus on what needed to be done.
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| Practice Sketch 3 - 29 minutes - no reference material |
6. More Practice: I set the timer and this time no reference material. 29 minutes. I was pleased with that. Still slow and still needs work on the sky but over all things are working out. Making the notes really helped me focus on what needed to be done.
Well Competition is this Saturday, still a few more dry runs to do before then. There will be 12 of us, 3 groups of 4. Then one artist from each group in a final battle. I guess I should start working on a second picture, just in case . . . .
Come watch the Art Battle, I think it will be fun. Saturday, March 23, 5:30pm - Surrey Arts Center, 13750 88 Ave
Next Post - Art Battle - Full Report.
Wish me luck!!
Come watch the Art Battle, I think it will be fun. Saturday, March 23, 5:30pm - Surrey Arts Center, 13750 88 Ave
Next Post - Art Battle - Full Report.
Wish me luck!!
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May 1 - Workshop Day for Spring Show - South Burnaby
Want to experience the joy of watercolour? Learn about the supplies? See paint in action as you create your first Masterpiece? - Join Audrey and Myself on May 1, 10-12pm for a Beginner Watercolour Class - $40 all supplies incld.
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Audrey Bakewell and Myself include this Workshop Day as part of our Spring and Fall Shows at Mandeville Gardens, 4746 Marine Dr, Burnaby. Both classes are very popular and fill up very quickly.
SPRING SHOW: Paints'n Bloom Workshops & Art Show & Sale
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Thursday, May 2 to Saturday, May 4
Gardenworks at Mandeville Gardens, 4746 Marine Dr, Burnaby
Workshop Day: Wednesday, May 1
10-12pm - Beginner Watercolour Class
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