Supplies
Required:
Students will be required to bring the following supplies to the session:
- 1 – Large Mixed-Media Sketchbook
- 3+ Pencils (Bring an assortment of H though B Grades) & 1 – Pencil Sharpener
- Acrylic Paints in the following colours:
-Titanium White
-Cadmium Yellow, Orange, & Red
-Alizarin Crimson
-Phthalo Green & Blue
-Dioxazine Purple
-Burnt Sienna
-Ivory Black - 2-3 – Various Medium or Large Sized Paint Brushes of the following brush styles:
Round, Pointed Round, Flat, Bright, Filbert, Angular Flat, Fan, & Detail Round. - 1- Large Painter Palette or Plate for Paint Mixing (Flat, not with Mixing wells).
Recommended:
The following supplies are recommended but not required:
- An Apron / Old Shirt
- Canvases (to use in place of sketchbook if desired)
- A Tupperware / Yogurt Container
(For holding water. May be provided in-class but in short supply.) - Gesso & Varnish
- Misc Tools: Palette Knife, Sponges, Toothpicks, etc.
- Masking/Painters Tape (Frog Tape recommended)
- Acrylic Mediums/Additives for special effects
- Charcoal or Chalk Pastels
Preparing your Workspace
Please bring your mixed media sketchbook to every class.
Before you begin painting, do the following:
- Cover the desk (or floor if working on an easel) with newspaper to protect the surface. If paint gets on an unprotected surface, please wipe it away immediately with a bit of soap and a damp paper towel.
- Fill a container halfway with clean water, and bring a few sheets of paper towel, for brush cleaning, to your station. Make sure you routinely change your water as it gets dirty.
- Take your palette and add a nickel-sized dollop of each primary color, as well as white and black onto it.
- Dampen your brushes (not dripping wet).
- If you have brought gesso, apply the gesso evenly to your surface (paper, canvas, etc) and let it dry prior to painting. (Gesso is not required but it treats the surface so that it is easier to paint on.)
Now you are ready to paint!
Cleaning & Caring for Supplies
Cleaning your supplies after you paint is very important to maintaining their longevity. Failure to care for your painting equipment can destroy it in as little as a single use if they are not cleaned properly.
Please read the following article by Robie Benve for a crash course on how to properly clean and care for your equipment. Students will be expected to care for, keep track of, and clean their own equipment at the end of every class in a 10 minute clean-up period. If at any point students are unsure how to properly clean a specific supply, the teacher will be available to offer instruction.
Students are expected to wipe down any class-room surfaces that have been exposed to paint spills during in-class sessions by using provided warm soapy water and paper towels.
Common Mistakes:
- Do not leave your paint brushes sitting in water containers. Brushes should be kept damp while painting, but prolonged submersion in water will eventually dissolve the glue in the brushes that holds together the bristles and destroy them.
- After you clean your brushes make sure you use your fingers to reshape the brush into its correct shape, as brush bristles will freeze into the position they dry in.
- Dry your brushes horizontally, not vertically, so that the water can properly escape. Never leave your brush in a downward position where the bristles are pressed to the surface while drying.
TASK | Read the Following Article:
How to Clean Up Acrylic Paints by ROBIE BENVE
Be sure to continue to reference this article as needed during clean-up periods.
TASK | Clean Up!
We will end class 10 minutes early every session so that students have time to clean their supplies and station.
This is an ongoing task throughout the course and participation is mandatory.
Cleaning up is an expectation and so it will not be graded, however misuse of equipment during in-class periods may have a negative impact on the final grade.
Please read the Assessment Page to learn more.
Art of Expression 