I conducted a rather unusual lesson the other week..........my students had supplied me with a swatch of curtain material and a photo of their new settee. They wanted nothing more than to paint their own contemporary or abstract artwork to hang in their soon-to-be decorated lounge. I'd explained that this would not be a follow my lead/step by step workshop. Instead, I would give them a wide selection of brushes, a few pointers, illustrate some special effects and be on hand if they needed any assistance. The palette had already been selected, so pretty much anything they made would have gone with the decor. We started off by putting masking tape over some areas and blocking of sections of canvas and blending various tones. As the day progressed some rather pretty effects materialised. Here's one lady's almost completed piece and she's absolutely delighted with it - a pretty oriental cherry blossom theme that will compliment her home beautifully. She may be back to paint some more on different sized canvas to hang on opposite and adjacent walls. I bet that will look really nice, and will make for quite a talking point too.
Art Instructor