Our guild's October program was given by Bonnie Lyn McCaffery and the workshop "Painted Faces" was today. What can I say about this workshop, except that it was fantastic! Bonnie is such a pleasant, professional teacher and everyone (and I mean everyone) was able to walk away from this workshop with a painted face that, as she put it, looks human. I was afraid that mine would come out all cartoon-y like everything I draw. Remember that graphic design background of mine? All my stuff comes out with a hard line -- until today.The workshop was held in our local quilt shop The Sweetheart Quilt Shoppe, which unfortunately does not have a website. But it is a great shop with a wonderful selection of fabric and patterns. Everyone was given a kit that included a photo of Bonnie's daughter so that we could all work on the same photo. O, and before I forget. One of the things that made this workshop so special was the video camera holder that Bonnie used. Can you see it there in the first photo? You know how students all cluster around the instructor during a demo and the people in the back never get to see the whole thing? This was great because it allowed the people in the back row to see the same thing at the same time as the people in the front row.
First up is the base shading. Notice how much darker the image on the left is than the image on the right. That is because the image on the left is still wet and paint drys lighter. I need to go back over the shading again to darken it a tad. This is the way I paint, though. I always do it too light because I feel that you can always add more, but it is really hard to remove paint once you've laid it on the background.
The next image is the finished product from today. I have soaked out the blue lines and spread it flat to dry. When it is totally dry, I'll darken up the shading.And before you ask, this is going to be finished. I am not going to let this become another UFO. I like this. I never thought I could do this.
If you ever get the chance to take a class from Bonnie, do it! You won't regret it and you never know, it just might lead you down a different path.
What did you learn today?
That is really neat Paula! What a great idea Bonnie has in using the video camera so everyone can see.
ReplyDeleteI would probably be too scared to take a difficult class like this one.
It's amazing! Looks like something I would enjoy learning.
ReplyDeleteThat does look like a really great workshop. It is so good to take workshops where you really do learn something new. Becky Goldsmith used one of those cameras as well for teaching her applique course. Much better system then standing around the table.
ReplyDeleteDid Don Henley ever reply to your email? Of course now me curious as to what the quilt will look like and what the title is -- LOL
I would love to take that class! There are very few classes being offered lately at the LQS that would entice me to take, but this one would have me running to the door. The video camera is a great idea. What kinds of paints / pencils are you using?
ReplyDeleteThat class would appeal to me in that it is out of the ordinary. This piece looks so interesting and I'll be back to see the finished quilt.
ReplyDeleteAwesome! I would love this... I took a workshop last fall from Sue Nickels, she did the camera/projection thing too; a huge improvement over table 'clumping' method! I'm eager to see what you do with this portrait.
ReplyDeleteHi Paula,
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting the results of the class. You're a delight. The paints I use are DecoArt SoSoft Fabric Paints. And I wanted to let the others know that we now have a "Painted Face for Beginners - Workshop on DVD". It's almost like taking the clase except you don't get the personalized critiques.
Bonnie McCaffery
Wow...that piece is incredible! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHow cool! Looks like you had a lot of fun and learned a lot too--just the kind of classes I like!
ReplyDeleteI think my second time at quilt guild, Bonnie was there teaching her kaliedoscope quilts...
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