On this week's episode of The Creative Lab, I am learning to paint (not with my fingers). I like to think that the world is my canvas, but this time, I wanted to take an actual canvas and create my own masterpiece. I've never painted before in my life, so I knew it was time to learn from a pro, which is why I invited Amy Turner to swing by the Makeful Studios and help me get off on the right foot.
With Amy guiding me on, I figured that I would be learning to paint a little better than a simple sketch on a notebook. As an amazing pop artist, Amy has done some great paintings, and even teaches kid on her spare time on how to paint, so I knew I was in good hands, considering I had never even painted in my life.
To start off, we began painting on a blank canvas with acrylic paint. One great tip about acrylic is that it’s very forgiving, especially for beginners like me. If I were to make a mistake (which of course happens every now and then), I can just let it dry and paint over my mistake! Now if only you could do the same for your real life mistakes…
We started off by painting a photo of lips on our canvases, which Amy said was a great start for a beginner. The minute I put my brush on the canvas, I already messed up, and I let Amy know that. Lucky for me, Amy said art doesn’t have any rules, so I could paint away using my own technique. I even noticed that my lips were very small in comparison to Amy’s lips, so for a minute, I second guessed myself again, but had to remember that there are no rules according to Amy.
Safe to say, I had a lot of doubts going into this, and even told myself that the painting wasn’t going to be good before I even touched the brush, but another good tip Amy had was to not second guess myself before I even started. A big key when painting, especially on a big canvas, is just to get your mindset focused into what you want to create without worrying if its going to be good or bad. Strive for greatness, not perfection!
From a scale from 1-10, I started out as a 3 and I think I ended at a good 7/8! I’m pretty happy with the way the painting turned out, all thanks to some great coaching from Amy!
If you have any creations that you’ve got going on or just finished, I want to see! Make sure to tag us @BeMakeful and use #CreativeLab to share and show us!
Christi Franco
Christi is a Los Angeles native with 99 problems but DIY ain't one. She's an avid ClassPasser who always turns down for what. If she's not listening to the latest on Audible or watching Gilmore Girls on repeat she is letting you know if you're reading this it's too late. P.S. She loves puns #hiphoppuns
Comments