Scotland Highlands Painting, Part I

I signed up for an acrylic painting class through a local art gallery This Century Art Gallery. I haven't taken a fine arts class since college, so it's a bit intimidating. My goal is to keep learning, trying new things, stretch my comfort zone, and expand my horizons. Oh my, is all of that ever happening!

We are all painting from a photo we brought in. I chose one of my favorites from our trip to Scotland this past summer. This is in Ft. William (in the Highlands). We were walking along the loch at sunset, so the lighting was perfect for taking photos. This is a seafood restaurant on the town pier that also offers loch cruises, Crannog Restaurant.

Notice the vertical and horizontal lines on the photo. We also drew these on our canvas to help keep things in proportion. I haven't done that since high school drawing class! I definitely needed it – was very helpful!

I quickly learned I don't know much about acrylic paints – even though I use them all the time! The little bottles of craft paints we buy are very different from the nicer acrylic paints. The nicer paints have more pigment, less fillers, and no white. The richness of these paints is amazing.

I'm learning what transparent paints do, how to bring colors together to mix colors, and how many colors you can make with a very limited palette (about 6 colors + white). It's been great!