An Afternoon with Contours - at the MSU Broad Art Lab

On October 13th I had the honor of leading a workshop at the MSU Broad Art Lab.

The class was an intro to using contour lines as the basis for an abstract painting, using still life setups as the starting point. (Materials found at The Scrap Box! Read about re-visiting my childhood paradise here!)

It was also an especially meaningful class to teach, as I am a graduate of the MSU Fine Art program. It was just a ‘few’ years ago that I was a student and was a major honor to be invited to back in an instructor role! <3

Our group began by surveying the 3 setups, finding moments in the chaos that interested and intrigued us - and then began to sketch. For the sketches we used water soluble graphite*, so that we could work back into our sketches later as we expand and explore.

Once we had gathered a collection of contour sketches to pull from, we moved into the front area and began to paint. Watching and helping the attendees respond to the sketches with color was an absolute joy.

The workshop was so much fun and I really enjoyed getting to work one-on-one with so many people and watch their paintings come to life. Huge thanks to MSU Broad Art Lab for setting it up!

I’m hoping to offer another class like this soon, but if you have any suggestions on what you would like to see from me feel free to message me or leave a comment.

<3

* Link contains an affiliate code. If you purchase the product from my Amazon shop they send a little money my way! No cost difference to you, just helps support my work and keep me able to find new materials for you to try <3