Shelley warned me that her methods were unconventional, as the usual way of learning painting had never worked for her. I assured her it had never worked for me either, so I was happy to try anything she suggested. Starting with a damp and unprimed canvas, she encouraged me to spread lovely feather-edged washes of colour over small areas, allowing them to meet and bleed together. We set that canvas aside to dry, and started another, using the paint in a different way this time. And so the day went on - we each did FOUR canvases, admittedly none larger than A4 size, but all very different from each other and all quite satisfying in their own way.
I was amazed - I was having fun AND I mostly liked the results! Every other class I had tried and book I had read had tried to start with a pencil sketch - and if you are not comfortable drawing, that leaves you crippled before you even get the paints out. This session was totally different and far more productive - AND I am invited back next Monday too - watch this space!
