In my painting class last night, we did a tricky little exercise.  I used a slide projector (yes, we actually own one).  I inserted the slide so it projected the image upside down.  I adjusted the focus so that it was so blurry, you really couldn’t make out what the image was.  Then, they painted.  Every 20 minutes or so, I focused the image a bit.  At the end we rotated the canvases and the slide to see what they’d done.

This process is great because it tricks the mind into painting only what you see and not what you think you know.  As soon as the artists realize what they are painting, the spell is broken, and it becomes much more difficult to paint accurately.  It can be a real struggle to work this way, but it is really good for the brain and the eye.  It teaches one to work from generalities toward details AND to trust the eye more than the brain. 

That was the last class for this session.  We begin again in the new year.  Thanks Liz, Toni, Alison and Babette!

For information on adult and youth classes go to my classes blog.