Class Description
Self Paced, start anytime
Create a rainbow, polka-dotted, semi-abstract starscape with cut paper, acrylic paint, pens, graphite, alcohol ink, glitter and more! Build layers and create depth, texture and motion through pattern and color, and learn how to prep and finish your painting so it is gallery ready.
I’m so thrilled to share this project with you! I hope you find the process of creating your very own starscape to be meditative, joyful, and informative. I am an art materials NERD and this is a great opportunity to let loose and use up those supplies that have been hanging around the studio. It’s also a fabulous opportunity to try something NEW. Most importantly, this is a stellar (ha!) opportunity to have a whole lot of FUN.
Liz
Scholarships are available. Click HERE.
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Lesson 1 – Surface Preparation
Learn how to prepare your wood panels so that they are archival and ready for layers of paint!
Lesson 2 – Create Collage Materials
Paint, draw and mark-make on your collage papers. Be loose, colorful and have fun with the painting and cutting steps.
Lesson 3 – First Layers
Today you will work with your overall composition. Cover your surface with your collage circles to build a vibrant palette for your stars. Add more areas as needed, and then add first layers of paint with acrylics, puff paint and alcohol inks.
Lesson 4 – Paint the Night Sky
After some sanding here and there, paint in your background (sky).
Lesson 5 – “Jewelry” Layer
More dots, more circles, more glitter, more paint! Also, iridescent drips and glitter globs.
Lesson 6 – Finish Your Painting
Last chance to add those tiny stars to your painting. Then sand your edges and apply layers of medium and varnish. Now your painting is gallery ready!
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Full Supply List
Hi everyone! As Liz mentioned, this is a great project to use up all of the supplies you’ve collected over the years, so the success of your painting will not depend on these specific supplies! But these are the items that Liz uses to make her gallery paintings long-lasting.
• Medium sized wood panel or canvas (Liz is working on a 24″x36″ sized… go larger or smaller, it’s up to you!)
• GAC 100 Polymer Medium (if you are working on a wood panel)
• Thin paper for collage. Rice paper or any thin paper tends to work well. This is a great opportunity to use up those papers you’ve had sitting around your studio. (Liz will work on her go-to paper, Double Shuen (Xuan).)
• Acrylic Paints (Any kind, Liz likes Golden Fluid Acrylics.)
• Brushes (Liz uses large house paint brushes.)
• Acrylic Medium (matte or gloss is fine)
• White Gesso
• Sandpaper (fine or medium grit)
• Several paint pens, including white (Liz likes the Posca brand, but use what you have)
• Varnish for Acrylic paintings (Golden Polymer Satin Varnish preferred)
OPTIONAL SUPPLIES
• Alcohol inks, several colors
• Glitter or Glitter medium
• Squeeze bottles for paint
• puff paint
About the Teacher
Channeling subjects such as dream imagery, imagined landscapes, geodes, outer space and The Big Bang, Seattle Artist Liz Tran explores the shapes of nature, with the infusion of fantastical, pulsing synthetic hues. The psychedelic visuals are harvested from the place where inner-verse meets outer-verse, where optical misfires combine with a vacuum pull moving at the speed of light. Through painting, sculpture and installation, she creates atmospheres that aim to activate.
Public collections of Tran’s work include the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection, Capital One, Vulcan Inc., Oculus, Baer Art Center, Camac Art Centre, The El Paso Children’s Hospital, Harborview Medical Center, The King County Public Art Collection and The Child Center. Tran has completed multiple special projects and installations, including work for Chihuly Garden and Glass, VH1 Save the Music Foundation, Gibson, The Upstream Music Fest, The Seattle Art Museum and The Brain Project Toronto.
She has been awarded multiple fellowships and grants; including a Grant for Artist Projects (GAP) from Artist Trust, Clowes Fellowship for residency at the Vermont Studio Center, the Nellie Cornish Scholarship and residency at The Camac Art Centre in France, The Baer Art Center in Iceland, Jentel, Millay Colony for the Arts and The Center for Contemporary Printmaking. She resides in Seattle, WA.
Website: www.liztran.com
Nuts & Bolts
– This class will initially run over three weeks from September 15 – October 1, 2020 on the following schedule and then self-paced after that:
Tu 9/15 – Lesson 1
Thur 9/17 – Lesson 2
Fri 9/18 – Lesson 3
Tu 9/22 – Lesson 4
Thur 9/24 – Lesson 5
Tu 9/29 – Lesson 6
Thur 9/30 – Lesson 7
– You will have indefinite access to this class.
