Do I Teach Classes?

Yes, I teach classes for children and adults here in my home.  At the present time, I have:

Classes for school-age children in the afternoons after school:                                               
                                             
                                           K-2nd grade                     —   Thursdays    4:00-5:30
                                           3rd-5th grade and above  —   Mondays      4:00-6:00

Class for adults — Tuesday evenings from 6:00-9:00.

These classes will run through May.  I will let you know when the summer classes are posted on my website. To see the complete schedule and information, check the link below to my website:

www.marshathrift.com

Here are some fun pictures from some of the classes:

"Every child is an artist.

The problem is how to remain an artist 

once he grows up."

                        -- Pablo Picasso

Composition — How do I arrange the items in my painting?

A successful painting catches the viewers attention with a "center of interest" or "focal point" and then has elements in the painting which lead the viewer around the painting. The focal point catches attention in a number of ways —

          1) by being the largest thing in the painting
          2) by being the brightest thing in the painting
          3) by being a totally new color which is used exclusively in the focal point
          4) by contrasting with the rest of the painting, either in temperature (warm vs. cool),
               value (light vs. dark), and edges (sharp vs. soft).

Once the eye lands on the center of interest, it then moves around the painting by the way the elements and lighting direct you, often by use of lines — diagonal, curvy, zig zag.

In planning the composition or arrangement of objects in my painting,  I visualize a simple grid
like a tic-tac-toe board that fits on my paper. I put the center of interest at or near one of the four cross points and other important items along or near the lines. In the examples below, you can see the grid placed over the photo to be painted. You will notice that some had to be shifted a bit to place the center of interest in the correct place.  When painting the  scene you would just extend the picture as needed.

See if you can pick out the center of interest or focal point in the following paintings. If you are not sure, close your eyes, and when you open them, and look at the painting and ask yourself, "What is the first thing I see when I look at this painting?" or "What is the thing that grabs my attention?"

"It is important that the artist... 

understands the importance of composition, 

the golden mean... the universal symbols... 

The concept of perfect balance is an intrical part of this process, 
not only in the art but in our lives."

                                                      -- Kathleen Carillo