Art & Soul, Inspirational Mixed Media Retreats: Homepage link.

Blobs to Flowers & Birds

Portland Spring 2027 is NOW OPEN

Dina Wakley
9:00 - 4:30
Monday March 15
$210.00

Join me for a class about starting loose and finding the image after, not before.

We’ll begin with fast, expressive mark-making — ink blots, loaded brushes, dragged paint, blobs with no plan attached. No birds, no flowers, no destination yet. Just gesture, pressure, and accident. Once the page is full of shapes that don’t mean anything yet, we’ll go hunting: turning a smear into a wing, a blot into a petal, a stray drip into a stem. The bird or flower gets discovered in the mark, not planned in advance and then executed.

This is as much about looking as it is about painting — training your eye to see a shape inside a shape, and trusting the accident over the sketch

Supplies Needed  to bring for Class:

Your art journal
9x12 Watercolor or mixed media paper pad, student grade is fine (I like Cason XL). We need lots of paper to play on!
Acrylic gesso
Acrylic paints
Marking tools like Scribble Sticks, Stabilo All pencils, etc.
Spray bottle with water
Paint brushes
Wipes/paper towels/water container to wash brushes
Gel medium
Your favorite stencils.

Instructor will provide:

handout
stencils for sharing
collage fodder for sharing

To pre-order supplies, click on this link for Cobblestone Creek Studios.


Click here for a printable page