Suzette M. East , artist

Hey you've caught me painting... my favorite thing to do!!! Coupled with my enjoyment of creating art is my thrill to see others "catch on fire" with the thrill of painting or drawing. So I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the lesson material I've created for the Adult Education classes that I teach in Dover-Foxcroft, Maine. Get your brush ready....

Enjoy the process of art, experiment with different mediums, read about artists and look, really look at everything. Even a simple apple is an array of lines, shapes, colors and values coming together to delight the eyes.

Apples are seldom if ever perfectly round and red. TIP: every time you see a shape - simplify it first then squint and define its structure more deliberately with a contour (outline) that is real to its form. also... Color... mix several *atleast three, to show value for each "named" hue/color you see.... now find the light - it has a specific effect on each part of the object you are painting. Water colors and colored pencils are great mediums to learn with... collect artsy photos you enjoy and start with singular object indications instead of whole scenes... feel successful and gain confidence in steps. Then move on to more complex compositions.

These are foam core - poster boards that feature an aspect of  "how to" paint objects that I often cover in class. I tell my students that prior to actually stroking your brush against the canvas there are some choices to be made. Choices that can "simplify" the transition of an idea of the spirit to becoming an actual image on canvas. We'd all like to think that artist are mysterious, magical creatures that make beautiful works appear in mid air... but alas...not true, its about the seeing, sensing and making logical choices and taking a "swash" of color into the realm of unforgetable. Much can be learned, but there will alway be those individuals that seek to know and do more.... they become the masters - we're in awe of and learn from.

BRUSH-STROKE-CONSISTENCY

 Before you begin your painting....really.... look at the object you will focus on. The goal of a realist is to imitate its feel, shape, texture, color, value and even mood. These characteristics determine what brush, stroke and paint consistency you will use. Air would be painted far differently that would a tree or fur on an animal. Brushes: large, smooth, soft or rough bristles, compact or airy; Strokes: grand and sweeping, short, precise, choppy and bouncing; Consistency (of paint): thin, watery, creamy or thick-textured.  So then for skies and water bases you would pick the largest-smooth brush, well loaded with a creamy paint and move from the elbow to produce grand - gentle, even strokes. Clouds and waves on the surface, however, demand a choppy -or old, rough sable- lightly  loaded with a thinner paint. your hand moves from the wrist in a swirling and dragging motion just like the clouds above and the wakes below.

* notice the light blue guide lines below the black ink lines of the Chipmunk.... these are simple shapes, pieced together just like a puzzle and then gone over with the ink in more precise movements to indicate "realness" to this little critter's body. Simple shaping helps to get clearity on the object's form and how the head relates to the body in size and placement... etc.

  Primarily, what I'd have to say of art  in this day and age is that there is really no "right" or "wrong" way to create... if it works for you and the process to creating your masterpiece is a enjoyable one -  then you are a success. That aside there are some logical steps to making the art work in the sense of tried and true techniques. Colors mix in a specific way just as shapes come together to create form and lines -movement... but you, the artist, must always supply the pizazz... what makes it truly yours!

Art is an attitude about living life creatively and seeing beauty in all God's creation...which is the true  Masterpiece.