PEARS ANYONE?

In my Cincinnati Recreation classes I have to have paintings that can be done by people with experience as well as those who have never picked up a paint brush before - so I have to come up with something that can be done by all.

Who doesn't love pears?

This first example (not my best, but I don't teach to get beautiful paintings, I just want to give students the idea how to do things) is mean to show how to paint realistically.  This one is obviously not complete, but enough was done so that the students "got the idea".  I spend most of my time going from student to student to give them guidance.

We first painted the pears wet in wet, then some glazing.  Then the background - we created wood.  They thought it was lots of fun.

Then for our next project I let them run wild - pretend to be a little kid again, do anything you want to a pear!

Some people were still intimidated and it took them a while to loosen up, others got crazy from the get go.

This exercise also lets those with less experience work with their brushes, paint, paper and water to experiment and learn in a playful manner.

This last photo was my "homework" for that class.  I created several different ideas, just to show what could be possible.

This week we will begin a new project - a rose.