Me in a painting class?

My friend Shelly, whose luscious paintings I have long admired, very kindly offered to teach me some painting basics, as I had expressed a desire to move beyond being an astute buyer of art supplies (which were gathering dust). So on Monday morning I had a lovely walk through the park to her home, and we set up a table in her conservatory, settled the dog comfortably and got out the paints.

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!