Landscape in the Abstract

 

Instructor: Lia ter Heide
Thursdays 1-4pm
5 weeks: September 25 to October 23
Location: In-person Williams Building room 255
$240 (supplies not included)


Explore new ways of synthesizing and presenting the landscape in this acrylic painting course that reimagines and rediscovers both real and imagined environments. Working with expressive and abstract approaches, students will investigate how formal elements such as colour, value, texture, line, and shape interact with conceptual themes such as time, emotion, memory, and idea. Participants will create vibrant acrylic works that reflect both outer places and inner states.

Syllabus

Week 1

  • Introduction
  • Inspiration and interpretation: working from an abstracted reference

Week 2

  • Atmosphere and mood: colour and temperature
  • Additive and reductive processes: staining, spraying, splattering, wiping, obscuring

Week 3

  • Capturing the essence: working from memory
  • Impressionist and expressionist approaches to brushwork and knifework

Week 4

  • Texture: exploring dimension

Week 5

  • Simplification and focus: generalization, form and flattening
  • Hard edge and masking 

 

 

Supplies

    • Acrylic paints:
      • Titanium White, 8oz or more (Meeden Acrylic Paint makes a reasonably priced extra-large size)
      • Whatever paints you already own, either fluid or heavy body. Golden Acrylic, Liquitex, or Tri-Art are recommended brands. The following pigments (or equivalent) are suggested, but not required:
        • Black (Mars or Bone)
        • Alizarin Crimson
        • Cadmium Red Medium
        • Orange (Pyrrole or Vat)
        • Yellow (Primary or Cadmium)
        • Green Gold
        • Jenkins Green
        • Pthalo Green
        • Pthalo Blue
        • Ultramarine Blue
        • Dioxazine Purple
        • Payne’s Grey
        • Burnt Umber
        • Raw Sienna
    • Brushes: A variety of synthetic or hog bristle acrylic brushes, including bright, filbert, and round styles in several sizes. Recommended: 1” bright, #6 bright, #10 round hog bristle, round #4 or #6, filbert #6, and a small round or liner for detail, #2 round
    • Palette knives: a variety of stainless steel palette knives
    • Recommended supports: Sturdier supports like stretched canvases, wood panel, masonite or canvas board are recommended, however, it is acceptable to paint on heavy paper such as Strathmore 300, 140lb stock or Stonehenge 245gsm or canvas paper
    • Palette: for our purposes, Tupperware or plastic lids (ice cream, yogurt etc) work well. You can also buy acrylic palettes
    • Painter’s tape
    • Small spray bottle
    • Set of 2oz or 4oz size flexible plastic squeeze bottles (minimum 6)
    • Rags/cloths
    • White gesso
    • Acrylic regular gel medium
    • Mod Podge Semi-Gloss or Gloss (at least 8 oz size)

    Optional but recommended:

    • Apron or paint shirt to protect clothes
    • Nitrile or latex gloves to protect skin