A Whole New Kind Of Acrylic Class with Donna Barnes-Roberts

Thursday, December 17, 2009

A Whole New Kind Of Acrylic Class with Donna Barnes-Roberts

I have discovered a whole new kind of Acrylic paint that allows you to blend colors after they have dried, or make them not blendable, depending upon what YOU want them to do. You can work transparently like watercolor, or thicker like an oil. Clean up with water AND messes can be cleaned up AFTER THEY HAVE DRIED (up to a day or two - and up to two weeks by using their "Unlocking Formula").

And I am starting up a new class on Saturday afternoons to teach you how to make great work using these paints. What is more, the manufacturer of these paints will provide paint to use IN THE CLASS, so you can start experimenting with these capabilities without investing in a lot of new paint to start. But I will bet you will be converted. These paints are called Atelier Interactive Acrylics, and are made by Chroma - an old paint company in Australia that is not really big in the United States - yet.

This new acrylic class will be on Saturday afternoons from 4PM-6:30PM. The class schedule is being finalized and will be posted here when scheduled. I will be teaching the nuts and bolts of this exciting medium. I only take 6 students per class, so I can see what is happening with your work, and we discuss EVERYTHING about painting - art, composition, pretty much anything you like.

I expect that most of you on this list know what my work looks like, but if you don't, I suggest you look at www.barnesroberts.com for an inkling of what kind of painting I do, and therefore the kinds of things we will approach in these classes.

New students start on a project of my choosing, but after that, you are free to work on stuff I choose, or what you want to bring in - with some guidance by me (you may not want to work on a complicated group portrait as your second project if you are not ready yet for such a difficult subject). We cover choosing paint, paper, mixing colors, choosing colors, and deconstructing an image so that you can layer transparent color or use opaque color depending upon the effect you want.

COST: The cost is $175 for each 8 week class.
You need to pay ME, not The Coffee Gallery. No refunds after the first class.
WHERE: The Coffee Gallery 2029 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, CA 91001
DATES and TIMES:
TBD

HOW TO SIGN UP: Send a check, or you can use a credit card to pay using PayPal
       If you are sending a check, it should go to:

          Donna Barnes-Roberts
          323 Marathon Rd.
          Altadena, Ca, 91001

       If you are paying using PayPal, simply log on to PayPal and click on "Send Money" and send the money to: donna@barnesroberts.com The payment is considered to be payment for services.

       Either way, make sure I have your address, email address, and a phone number. Sometimes I need to call everyone if a class is canceled due to emergency.

Once your payment is received, I will send you a material list, which will be short because the paint and mediums will be provided by Chroma.

If you have any questions, please call at 626-791-0851 or email me at donna@barnesroberts.com.

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How Chroma's Atelier Interactive Acrylics Saved My Life (or at least an important commission)

Over a year ago, I was chosen to be an artist for the "Roses On Parade" fundraiser sponsored by the Tournament of Roses Association in Pasadena. This project was modeled after the "Cows on Parade" fund raiser that was done in Chicago, and the "Angels on Parade" done by the City of Los Angeles. The entire project was conceived as a vehicle to raise money for and awareness of the arts in local schools. Approximately 15 artists were chosen were to paint a rose - actually a fiberglass statue of a vase containing a single rose blossom. The rose statue was made of fiberglass and was over 6 feet tall including the base.

I was running late on delivering the finished piece, because I had to use acrylics so it would dry quickly and be durable enough to keep out-of-doors. The sponsors wanted us to guarantee that we would maintain it for 6 months whether it was indoors or out, and I knew that my sponsor was going to put this outdoors next to the entrance to her business.

Being a watercolor and oil painter, I love soft edges. But I just couldn't get anything to work in acrylics. I was painting outside on my porch in 100+ degree temps and maybe 15-20% humidity. This gave me NO time to blend - by the time I was putting a second color on the painting - hoping to blend with what I already had painted, the first color was dry! I was wringing my hands, and was almost ready to give up and COMPROMISE. Maybe paint SOMETHING, but not with the kind of colorful transitions I love to do.

And then I thought, hey, the Learning and Product EXPO is coming to Pasadena this weekend. Maybe I can find a solution there! I went up and down the aisles, and talked to most of the acrylic manufacturers. I learned a lot about acrylics, but even Golden's Open Acrylics wouldn't do what I wanted in the time frame I needed it.

Low and behold, that is when I discovered Chroma's Atelier Interactive Acrylics. Jennifer Vonstein at the booth showed me how these unique acrylics would allow me to blend colors even HOURS after they had dried, just by misting them with water or with their unlocking formula. I bought an intro kit plus a few other colors and went to work.

How fabulous it was! Using these Interactive Acrylics, I could put down one color, put another color next to it, and then lightly spray them with water and voila! I could blend the two to my heart's content. A crisis was averted! The rose was finished just in the nick of time!

After using a clear spray varnish on the finished rose, it was delivered to the Tournament of Roses coordinator. It joined all the roses at a public showing at the Tournament House, after which it was installed outside the sponsor's business (Sharp Seating, located at 1737 E Colorado Blvd (In The Back) Pasadena, CA 91106). It has now been on outdoor display there for almost a year, and still looks great (IMHO). --

Learn To Paint - A Whole New Kind of Acrylic

Thursday, December 17, 2009