Loose Women

Enchanted

Oil on museum quality board

6 x 6

(My first painting at home since the workshop, what do you think?)

With Leslie Saeta

Dreama T Perry

The Rowdy Corner of Southern Gals, minus Karen taking the shot

What better place to encounter loose women than Buckhead in Atlanta for a week?  I was part of Leslie Saeta and Dreama Tolle Perry's workshop.  Leslie and Dreama are two of the Daily Painters.  Leslie paints with a palette knife and Dreama works in transparent oils.  Both very different styles and especially different from mine.  What did I want to learn?  To loosen up of course!  I am wanting my oil paintings to look more like my watercolors.  I know that when I paint with watercolors, I am confident and just go for it!  I put colors where I see them and not where they necessarily are.  I can swish and splatter and work wet-in-wet.  I have felt that my oils lacked that looseness, that confident brushstroke, that surprise of color.  These two gals were about as loose as you can get, fast and furious, brave and confident.  I also found out that painting with a palette knife takes some practice.  I wasn't sure if I could hold my mouth right to get those strokes I wanted.  The benefits of knife painting?  No brush cleanup, soft edges, textured paint, clean color.  So whether or not I pursue either of the gals' styles in painting, I have told myself, "I can do this!  I can mix color, put it on, and leave it alone."  It was fun being a student for a week, observing how they each had their style of teaching, being around artists I knew already and meeting new artist friends.  Now, if you will excuse me, I have some paintings to knock out in the next couple of hours.

Paint Happy!

Durinda