Monica's Paint Night

1. Monica’s Paint Night

2. The Night
• Please feel free to use the following
as inspiration or create your own
original piece
• Included is:
– Directions for a colorful abstract
painting
– Directions for a nameplate painting
– References for getting started
– Tips and tricks if you decide to
continue working with acrylics
• The night is about having fun so
don’t judge yourself!
• Everyone has artistic talent – it’s
just finding the right medium to
express it with

3. About Caitlin
• Former High-School Art Teacher
• Now Owner/Artist of Inklings Artwork and Lead Sandwich
Maker at the Devendorf House
• Mother to Violette (3) and Charlotte (1)
• Interests include Acrylic Painting; Paper Assemblage; Pen
and Ink Drawing; Repurposing Furniture and Objects

4. My Work

5. Materials We’re Using Tonight
• Brushes – there are a few different sizes and
types. Experiment around with different ones
to find what you like
• Canvas – Your choice of size and orientation
• Water jars for cleaning your brush between
colors
• Palette for your paints
• Plastic knife for mixing
• Paper towel for wiping your brushes
• References – color mixing charts and step by
step instructions

6. Extras
• Tape - for sectioning off areas of your
painting you want to remain as white
canvas
• Misting Bottles – to make your paint more
workable (dry more slowly)
• Pencils and Paper for sketching

7. Extras You May Want to Bring
• Reference pictures, ideas or notes
• Rubber stamps or small objects to print on
your canvas (spools, combs, toy cars,
buttons, etc)
• Templates or tracers (print then cut out
and then trace on to your canvas to fill in)
• Collage items – scrapbook papers,
newsprint, magazine cutouts, small
objects to affix to the canvas (I have
adhesives you may use)
• Permanent black markers

8. The Basics• Acrylic paint dries to a plastic. You can layer it when it is wet or dry. Each achieves a different effect.
• Protect brushes from drying with paint in them by placing them in water (if you’re taking a break) or
cleaning them by washing them in water (or soap and water when you’re done)
• Wash your brush when moving from one color to another unless you wish to be very free and
expressive – then go nuts and mix with reckless abandon!
• Mixing colors
– Use the plastic knife to dole out small bits of your paint to a blank section of your palette. Mix completely to
make a new color
– Start with your lighter color first then add small amounts of the darker color to it. You can always make
something darker. Example: Add red to white or add black to green
– Quick Color Theory
• Shade – adding black to a color to make it darker than the original
• Tint – adding white to a color to make it lighter than the original
• Primary Colors- can’t be made with any other colors
– Red, Yellow, Blue
• Secondary Colors – made by mixing two primary colors
– Orange, Green, Violet
• Tertiary Colors – Made by mixing a primary with a secondary
– Red-Orange, Yellow-Orange, Yellow-Green, Green-Blue, Blue-Violet, Red-Violet
• If you find the paint on your palette stiffening, lightly mist it to keep the paint flexible
• If you find your paint is too thick, you can thin it with water. Also use water to get a more even stroke
from the brush

9. Colorful Abstracts
Peaceable Liason
2007

10. Our
Inspiration:
Thaneeya
McArdle
Metagalatic Factory
2007

11. Surface Reality
2004

12. Au Printemps
2003

13. Infini
2006

14. Mellifluency
2008

15. Atomic Jitters in Yellow
2013

16. Curious Chords
2006

17. Madame Koto
2006

18. Envisage
2006

19. Be as simple
or as intricate as you
wish

20. Image courtesy of colorfulartgirl.blogspot.com
Take It
Further:
Add some
black outlines
around areas
you wish to
highlight

21. Image courtesy of Etsy.com
Take It
Further:
Add a
silhouette
overtop your
painting

22. Image courtesy Trulia.com
Take It
Further:
Mask areas of
your canvas
with tape prior
to painting

23. Swirl Tree, Two Birds and Houses
Karla Gerard
Take It
Further:
Be more
representativ
e with your
patterning to
create objects
and/or
figures or use
text. Print out
letters to use as
templates from
the computer.
Dafont.com is a
great free font
resource

24. Restless
Claire DesJardins
Take It
Further:
Don’t be
afraid to use
the blank
canvas as
part of your
art

25. Take It
Further:
Use black
paint on a wet
paintbrush or
Sharpie
marker to
‘draw’ overtop
your painting
Images courtesy of madebynicole.com

26. Images courtesy of dans-le-townhouse.blogspot.ca/
Further:
Be more
expressive with
your brush
stroke. Use more
water in your
paints to thin
and blend them
together on the
canvas.

27. On The Rocks
Nancy Stadlee
Take It
Further:
Use scrapbook
paper,
newsprint,
magazine
cutouts or
small objects
to collage onto
your painting

28. Getting Started
• Creating an
organically
inspired
painting
• Requires no
pre-
planning.
Completely
intuitive
• Can be as
intricate or
as simple as
you desire

29. Step One (Optional): Border
Create a border around the edge of your
canvas. If you wish to paint the edges, go
ahead and do so

30. Step Two: Large Shapes
Paint in your larger shapes first, working one color at a time.
Remember, acrylics dry fast so if you don’t like what you do just
let it dry and paint over it!
Think about how your viewer’s eye will bounce from one shape to the next. Spread your shapes and
colors all over the canvas to create balance

31. Step Three: Layering
Add in smaller shapes overtop your larger
ones. Keep your composition (how the art is laid out) in
mind. Step back every so often to get a fresh take on it

32. Step Four: Adding Patterns
Add in patterns like dots, lines or shapes
atop your bottom 2 layers. Work one color
at a time over the canvas.

33. Step Five: Finding Balance
Continue adding patterns and shapes until
you feel the work (or you) is finished.
Turn the canvas upside down or on its’ side to get a fresh

34. Name Painting

35. Name Painting
• Use your name; your child’s;
your last name or a word
with special meaning
• Think about the theme of
your work and where you
want it to hang to help
determine colors and
patterns
• Look up fun patterns and
inspiration through Pinterest
• Find neat fonts using
dafont.com

36. Step One: Choose Your Parts
Decide what you
wish to have as:
• A background ( a
pattern, shapes,
a silhouette, etc.)
• Your colors (stick
with a max of 5
to keep
everything
unified)
• Your lettering
style
• “Extras” to
incorporate (ex:
dinosaurs and
rocks)

37. Step Two: Sketch It Out
Draw your
parts on your
paper first with
small
thumbnail
drawings,
putting each
element in
different
arrangements
and
proportions to
determine

38. Step Three: Transfer to Canvas
Draw out
your best
drawing on
your canvas
LIGHTLY
with a pencil

39. Border (optional)
Paint in the
border of
your painting
first, should
you choose
to use one.
Paint the
edges of the
canvas at this
time

40. Step Four: Paint Back to Front
Begin
painting the
background
first, then
working your
way forward.
Think about
building in
layers, with
the detail
coming at the
end

41. Step Five: Finding Balance
Continue adding until you feel the work (or
you) is finished.
Step away and look at the canvas from across the room to get
a fresh take on it

42. Materials For At Home Use
• Brushes: You ‘ll want a couple of sizes (small and larger) of each of the following:
– Pointed round brush (#4, #8)
– Flat (quarter inch and half inch)
– Liner (#0000, #1)
• Palette Knife: A plastic knife works well too!
• Paints: The traditional colors for acrylic painting are listed below. These are universal names across brands
– White: Titanium White
– Black: Mars Black
– Red: Primary Magenta, Quinacridone Red or Alizarin Crimson, Cadmium Red Light
– Yellow: Primary Yellow, Diarylide Yellow, Yellow Ochre
– Blue: Primary Cyan, Ultramarine Blue, Phthalocyanine Blue
– Orange: Pyrrole Orange or Cadmium Orange (you can makethis with yellow and red)
– Green: Permanent Green (you can make this with yellow and blue)
– Violet: Dioxazine Purple (you can make this with red and blue)
• Palette – a piece of plexi-glass, a plastic plate or waxed paper works well
• Surface to paint – canvas, paper, wood, cardboard, brick, stone,….the list goes on and on…..
• Water container and water – designate an old mason jar or large tin can for your water container. Make sure it is big enough to
avoid toppling over
• Paper towels or an old towel for wiping your brushes after cleanup
• A tote bag or toolbox to carry all your supplies – an old tackling box or plastic container is a great alternative to the expensive
equipment the art store sells

43. Gathering Ideas
• Collect – gather notecards, calendars, newspapers and magazines,
business cards, advertisements, leaves and flowers, fabrics, etc. Keep
them in a folder for easy reference
• Read – Check out websites or books on artist’s whose work you admire.
Even local artist’s often have great websites of their work to help inspire
• Draw – use a small sketchbook to draw something that comes to mind.
Even a simple doodle can become a gorgeous painting with some cool
colors and patterns
• Search the internet – Google image search or search etsy.com with an
object you’d like to paint and be inspired by tons of different images
• Pinterest – A Pinterest search of anything you can think of will turn up some
fantastic inspiration
• Think of others – stuck on what to do? Think of creating for someone else

44. Photographs
I’d like to take a few photographs of works in
progress and finished pieces and may post a few
of the night to my blog
(http://inklingsartowork.blogspot.com) . If you are
Camp Style
2006

45. Questions, Comments and More Art
Please let me know if you have questions tonight or
afterwards. I welcome comments to improve upon
and ideas for any other ‘art nights’ you want to see
happen!
Picadilly
2006

46. More Art Nights?
Would you like another night of art? Let me know if
you’re interested in learning how to zentangle – creating
repetitive patterns using artist pens and paper. It’s a
great stress reliever and can be tied in with the adult
coloring fad!
Excerpt from Sketchbook
2013