Painting Lizzie, Round One!

I know I mentioned my Lizzie-painting class in a couple of posts but I thought I'd take a closer look, especially to give a shout out to East Lansing's Grove Gallery and it's terrific classes and teachers. IF you are in the mid-Michigan area and looking for art classes, Grove's are reasonably priced, well taught (I've never been disappointed) and usually have no more than 6-8 people, which makes it very easy to get instructor feedback and get to know your fellow classmates! This was the "Paint Your Pet in Watercolor class."

Instructor Michelle Detering is a wonderful artist who brings color and personality to her animal portraits. She's also a good teacher, walking us through the various steps.

Michelle gave us each a sketch of our pet from photos we sent her and a watercolor pan, brush and plenty of water! Then we were on our own! Well, not entirely! Like any good teacher, she was available with answers to questions, ideas and encouragement.

Our group of six was very involved, focusing on our work. Now and then, Michelle would hold up someone's piece with a matte and from a distance, which provides a bit of a better look.

For our project, we used 300 pound cold press watercolor paper. She also demonstrated using alcohol and salt for effects.

 

All in all, it was a spectacular three hours with lots learned and more with which I'll experiment. I'm not sure anyone in our group really wanted to leave!

 

And how did Lizzie turn out?

Well, you tell me!

There's more than a little room for improvement -- it's definitely her, but I need to focus on technique and personality. I definitely won't rival my cousin Patty in the pet painting department -- but I intend to give her a run for her money!