(originally posted April 12, 2019)

I was taking Electronic Graphic Design Course at the community college in Alexandria, VA. One of the course requirement was Painting 101, and still life was the first painting assignment. The list of supplies included the following items: wooden support frame of minimum 36”x 26”, roll of canvas, student grade oil paints from Utrecht, large 2 ½” brush and #12 and #8 brushes, odorless turpentine and rags to clean the brushes. In addition, we were to bring three unrelated items to create the still life. There was no other specification. This was my first experience to paint large size with oil paint. For this assignment, I used dried roses, miniature blue Chinese vase with cover, and a yellow napkin that was laying around on the kitchen counter.
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The Process:
First we attached and stretched the canvas to the wooden frame. Then we layered the canvas with white gesso and allowed it to dry. That was hard because the canvas had to be pulled evenly in four directions. The professor explained that this lesson was to prepare us for the times when we want to use large canvas of special measurement for special painting projects.

While I waited for the canvas to dry, I sketched the still life directly on the canvas using soft graphite pencil. This was the time to plan the painting and make corrections where needed. It was a difficult process and it stretched me every which way. I struggled to make the background color recede so that the flowers could move forward. It took me two weeks to complete the painting by trial and error. Hope you enjoy my work.
Thank you for stopping by and for viewing my artwork.

​Tina McCoy

(originally posted April 10, 2019)

Recently, I attended a 4-day painting workshop with Susan Abbott, a professional artist, at the Art League in Alexandria, VA.  I’ve taken several courses from her before and they were all courses that dealt with the fundamental elements of painting, i.e.: technique and use of mediums. The courses have improved my work tremendously and got me where I am today.
The day before the workshop started, Susan invited us to the National Gallery of Arts in Washington DC where she gave us an Art History lecture on the work of the great Master Painters relevant to the course.
The focus of this workshop was on designing a painting. We learned to create an imaginary scene using images from different sources to create a narrative, the way the old Master Painters have done in the past.
We were given the choice to use our favorite medium. There were some constraints though, i.e.: limited palette, size of canvas or paper 16×20, choice of watercolor, oil, or acrylics. I chose to work in acrylics.
The process was highly structured, with drawing and scaling exercises. We also learned about the temperature and values. My piece was about combining outside and inside scenes, using bridges to connect both into one cohesive image.
Susan’s classes have always been interesting and engaging, they are comprehensive and relevant. This class is the best one so far.
This is what I have created during that workshop. Enjoy!