"Painting" with Tissue Paper

This wonderful technique combines drawing, bleeding tissue paper and glue to create a colorful one of a kind painting. You can find two different kinds of colored art tissue paper in art supply stores. One type keeps its color when wet, and the other type "bleeds" its color out when wet. Using bleeding tissue paper for this project will allow the colors to run and blend into each other in beautifully unpredictable ways.

You can see my video lesson on Tissue Paper Painting here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qwICGuREYAU

Here's how you make one.

TISSUE PAPER PAINTING

Materials:

white recycled mat board or cardboard, 9"x12" or larger

pencil with eraser

Thick black permanent Sharpie pen

Bleeding tissue paper, assorted colors, torn into small pieces

White glue

Old brush

Small recycled plastic container for water

Water

Procedure:

1. Cover your work surface or table with a plastic tablecloth or newspaper to protect it.

2. Using your pencil, do a line drawing on the white board, keeping your lines simple and bold.

3. Go over the pencil lines with a thick Sharpie pen. Erase any stray pencil lines.

4. In your plastic container, make a mixture of 2/3 glue and 1/3 water. Stir with a brush.

5. Working a small area at a time, paint the glue mixture onto the board, apply a small piece of the bleeding tissue paper on top of the glue, and paint another coat of glue on top of the tissue. The pieces of tissue should overlap, creating transparent mixed colors, and the colors will also bleed into each other and onto the white board. Allow your tissue shapes to fall outside the black lines once in a while.

6. Continue this process, until you have covered most of the board with colored tissue. If you wish, some white spaces may be left uncolored. When the glue mixture is wet, the colors may appear cloudy, but once it's dry, it will look clear.

7. Don't forget to wash the glue mixture out of your brush very thoroughly.

8. Allow the board to dry overnight. If thin boards buckle when dry, they can be flattened by placing the completely dry board under some heavy books for a couple of days. You may want to mount your "painting" on a larger board of a contrasting color to frame it for display.

Graham's Tissue Paper Painting

Under the Sea - Watercolor Resist

It was a pleasure working with seven year old Rachel last week on an "Under the Sea" watercolor resist painting. Rachel's concentration and inclusion of detail paid off in the beautiful results she achieved. Brava, Rachel!

Here's how we did it:

UNDER THE SEA WATERCOLOR RESIST

Materials:

Watercolor paper, approx 11"x15"

Oil pastels, select any light and bright colors, except for dark blue

Blue liquid watercolor paint

Thick watercolor brush

Water container & water

Water spray bottle, optional

Procedure:

1. Using oil pastels, draw an imaginary underwater scene, including any of the following: fish, whales, sharks, crabs, eels, sand, seaweed, coral, bubbles... and use imaginary colors and patterns.

2. Make your lines bold and solid by pressing hard as you draw, and go over your lines a second time to make a thick layer of oil pastel on the paper. Be sure to leave some areas on your paper white.

3. Dip your brush into the liquid watercolor, and let it gently glide right over your drawing. You'll notice that your bright oil pastels lines resist the watercolor, and will pop out from the watercolor wash. Use plenty of paint, and allow puddles to form and dry in place.

4. While the paint is still damp, you can create interesting patterns by using the water spray bottle to squirt a few random sprays on your painting. (Don't overdo this step, as too much water will dilute your blue paint.)

5. Allow your painting to dry flat.

Wonderful Exhibition/Two Sisters

I saw a great exhibition at The Jewish Museum in New York City, called "Collecting Matisse and Modern Masters: The Cone Sisters of Baltimore." This is a show of over fifty modern paintings that were collected by Dr. Claribel & Miss Etta Cone, including works by Matisse, Picasso, Cezanne, van Gogh and Gauguin.

At the time that these two visionary collectors amassed their collection, avant-garde art was not yet appreciated or understood by the general public. The Cone sisters acquired their art by buying directly from the artists in their Paris studios in the early 1900's, and developed professional relationships with the artists they patronized.

It's fascinating to see what the Cone sisters bought to display in their home for their own enjoyment. Of course the collection now has enormous value, and has been donated to the Baltimore Museum of Art, where the two women were raised and lived as adults.

The Exhibit will be on view at The Jewish Museum until September 25th, 2011. You won't want to miss it.

Drawing Animals: Kittens & Whales & Giraffes, Oh My!

Last week I taught a "How to Draw Animals" lesson to a group of high school students. Most of the students provided their own reference photographs to work from. Having the students copy their reference materials, would have produced acceptable results, but I wanted the students to get the most mileage out of this one-day project, and go beyond copying.

First, I discussed and demonstrated how to look for the main shapes of a subject, whether it's an object in a still life, a landscape or an animal. I advised them to look for and establish the shape of the animal's largest part first (usually its body), and draw an abstract shape, such as a rectangle or oval to approximate it. Then, keeping aware of relative size, distances apart and gesture, the other body parts could be added as general abstract shapes as well. I explained that while developing the drawing, the artists would be able to keep refining their judgements to make appropriate changes, as they gradually added detail.

Next I introduced the students to the process of working with vine charcoal and kneaded erasers on white paper toned with charcoal. First each student covered his/her paper with a layer of dark tone, using soft vine charcoal. This was smoothed over lightly with a paper towel. Then, using the same charcoal sticks, they drew the basic shapes for their animals. As the drawings progressed, I showed the artists how to use their erasers as drawing tools to "pull out" whites from the paper, and to blend grays. Erasers could also be used to add light strokes for background texture or fur. Fingers were also very useful for blending, adding and subtracting values and practically "sculpting" the darks and lights.

None of the students had used this drawing approach before, and all found it satisfyingly forgiving, effective and fun. Many of the artists were pleasantly surprised with their results, and parents and other adults were surprised at the sophisticated level of work that was accomplished in only two hours.

You can use this technique of initially toning the paper to draw an animal, a portrait, a still life, a landscape, a seascape or an abstract fantasy. Your fingers and eraser will be a mess, but you can always clean up, and I think you'll really enjoy the results.

The Students' Drawings

Middle School Artists - Old Friends

It was great to work with three middle school students I knew from prior teaching experience, who came to the studio to paint and draw. Isabella and Olivia worked on acrylic still life paintings from observation, while Adlai drew with Conte (hard chalk) pencils, from imagination.

Isabella's painting is an inclusive composition of the studio set-up, while Olivia's is a stylized and closely cropped approach. Adlai's fascinating and skillful drawings refer to Greek and Roman warriors and mythical beasts. The studio was alive with their creativity!

It's always a privilege to observe and nurture the intellectual and artistic growth of young artists, as I did with these three maturing students. What a delight to reunite with old friends.

Mother & Daughter: Painting Together

Inwha and her daughter, Shira, each painted the same still life set up over a series of art lessons in my studio. Although they both painted from

observation, each created her own unique version of the set-up. Inwha chose to paint it in a vertical format, and Shira's was a horizontal, and their color schemes differed as well.

It's a real joy to see the successful expression of individuality in art. It's an affirmation of the multitude of ways art can be done. I couldn't help but notice how Inwha and Shira expressed genuine respect and admiration for each other's abilities and work. "Mom, how did you get that color?" "Shira, I love the color you made for the pitcher."

Brava to Inwha and Shira!

by Shira

by Inwha

Drawing/Painting - Father/Daughter

Last week, Isabella and her father, Goran, took an art lesson together at my studio. This father/daughter team have bonded over exploring the art process together for many years. While they worked with me in the studio, the respect and love they have for each other was obvious.

Isabella worked on an acrylics still life painting from observation, while Goran did a powerful charcoal drawing based on a childhood memory. They worked independently, but also supported each other's efforts, as they shared a creative moment together.

At the end of the lesson, Goran paid me a high compliment when he said, "Thank you for transporting me to a different place." Art has the potential to take us on wonderful journeys.