Combining class techniques

The real reason to take art classes—not to slavishly mimic whatever the teacher is doing (at least, not after the first learning-curve time), but to find techniques you like and that work for you, and combine them in a new way.

I did the LFI2021 class with Tiare Smith Woods yesterday, in which we layered gesso and acrylic paint underneath our image, and really liked the effect, although the image wasn't exactly my cup of tea.

Meanwhile, over in my challenge at Olga Furman Art, our week's theme is to paint nurses, and Pamela Vosseler did a great demo of painting quickly and loosely on a brown paper bag, using charcoal as the underdrawing and blocking in the painting with a palette knife before putting in finishing touches with a brush. So this morning, I decided to "put my hands together" and combine techniques.

The background colors had significance—I did my best to mix the ubiquitous mint green color you find on most hospital walls, and then added in red and yellow for the stress and trauma you find there. I drew the reference nurse in a medium charcoal pencil, then blocked in the headscarf and apron with a palette knife and white gesso. I decided not to fill in the face with color, but rather to layer and indicate features over the top of the background colors, and had great fun combining thinned-out colors to delineate her face without obscuring the details behind.

I used slightly thinned-out Payne's Grey to accentuate some shadows and to block in the dark dress under the apron. In the reference photo, the collar is a print, but after trying out a few things I decided to leave that, too, untouched.

I'm honestly quite happy with my results—maybe there are media other than watercolors in which I will learn to feel at home!

"Nurse, 1930s"—gesso, acrylic paints, charcoal pencil, on 140-lb. Fluid hotpress watercolor paper, approx. 7x12 inches.