Come take a class with us! "Ancestral Abstracts" this October in Stamford CT

Yesterday we spent part of our day working on a couple canvases in anticipation of our Ancestral Abstracts class that we're teaching this October at Art Is You, in Stamford, Connecticut. We hope to be able to take time each weekend to work on new class examples and techniques in preparation for Stamford. Painting free and loose is such a great change of pace. And we love the idea of bringing the pieces together with a favorite vintage photo. 

So much of this class is based on working in layers and creating depth an texture with paint and other mediums. We love that we can work on opposite sides of the room, but in the end our pieces will bear so many similarities.  

These are the types of pieces that you can't fully appreciate through photographs. There is so much depth, and most of it is achieved with layers of transparent mediums. I love floating color directly into a thick swath of clear gel…when it dries it's like the paint is trapped inside a chunk of amber. 

We had a lot of fun teaching a condensed version of this class in Memphis, and for Stamford we plan on going much more in depth with the process.

I feel like beginning a piece is just as rewarding as finishing one. There's a little thrill that goes along with laying those first marks down on your canvas. 

If you've got even the slightest urge to join us, please do. Sign ups will be closing fairly soon, and class size is limited. It's so awesome that ours is a Friday night class…from 7-10pm. And the next day we'll have plenty of our artwork for sale at the vendor fair. 

We've included all the info below. In addition to us, there are so so many great teachers who's classes we know you'll love. We'd so love for you to join us!!

We will be teaching at Art Is...You Art Retreat in Stamford CT!

ANCESTRAL ABSTRACTS

Friday October 10, 2014  7:00 pm - 10:00 pm

"Instant Ancestors" are one of our favorite collectibles. These are our prized vintage and antique photographs or cabinet cards of handsome gentlemen or striking ladies, who we have no relation to, but they are family all the same. Collected over the years from flea markets, antique and junk shops, hidden away in old shoe boxes...they put a face to our love for vintage treasures. And we love to create artwork using these time worn, tattered, and sepia toned portraits.
This class is all about pairing the old with the new. You'll create a mixed media abstract painting with layers and layers of color and texture, using a wide range of mediums and tools, and as a focal point you'll incorporate an enlarged print of a favorite antique or vintage photograph. Your resulting Ancestral Abstract will be a gorgeous and very personal piece of portrait art.Painting abstracts can be intimidating, but we'll help you free yourself to develop your own style and color palette, and to identify what your special "marks" are. We'll show you what mediums work best to create depth and texture. And that blank canvas that was once so intimidating will be your own personal playground by the end of this class.  
Students will need:
1 inch flat brush#8 round brush#14 round brush# 10 painting knife (Bob Ross brand is our favorite)PencilOptional:
(We will be providing a whole lot of supplies but if you have favorites of the following that you’d like to use feel free.)
Patterned rubber stampsArchival all surface ink padsGood Quality enlarged prints of vintage & Antique portraits/photos 
Sign up here.
xo, Jenny & Aaron