Desiree Gonzalez decided to try painting in the impressionist style after her daughter volunteered to give her lessons. Her daughter suggested impressionism and taught her about its key characteristics like visible brush strokes and emphasis on light. For her first attempt, Gonzalez painted a landscape photo of a sunset on a lake, following her daughter's instructions to use thick, short strokes of opaque paint. Though she felt her result looked more expressionist than impressionist, Gonzalez was pleased with her first try and plans to practice techniques like color mixing and using more water in future paintings.

1. Learning to Paint
Desiree Gonzalez
EDCI 622
5/1/09

2. How many of us have said,” I can
only draw (or paint) stick figures?
Well, that’s me. Visual arts is the area in which I have the
least experience, so I decided to step outside my
comfort zone to attempt a painting. Last year I bought
some supplies in preparation for a watercolor class but
was unable to take it.
My daughter is taking an art
class in high school, so she
volunteered to be my instructor,
and suggested I try
impressionism.

3. One of my
resourcesWalford, J. (2002). Great Themes in Art.
New Jersey: Prentice-Hall.
Other Materials:
3/8” comb brush
995-M mini mop
3/8” deerfoot
165-2 red sable round brush
Watercolors in tube: viridian, vermillion,
Prussian blue, cerulean blue, Chinese
white, lemon yellow, lamp black
Spatula for mixing
Heavyweight drawing paper
Warm water
Washcloth
Newspaper (to protect table)

4. Impressionism: A History:
Impressionism began in the mid-1800s in Paris
Impressionists created works that were true to sight, not just true to life; in
other words, the painting represents the impression the subject made on the
artist.
The term Impressionism actually came from Monet’s work, Impression,
Sunrise, which shows and even exaggerates the effects of light on water.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism
“Fresh, brilliant, and lifelike” are
words used to describe
impressionist art.
Impressionist and post-
impressionists focus more on
expression of feeling and inner
life (Walford, 2002).
Create your own word cloud at
http://www.wordle.net/

5. Characteristics of Impressionist paintings:
• Visible brush strokes
• Ordinary subject matter (landscapes, people in crowds)
• Unusual visual angles
• Open composition (arrangement of visual elements)
• Emphasis on light in its changing qualities (often showing passage of time)
• Inclusion of movement as a crucial element of human perception and
experience
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism
Claude Monet
Impression: Soleil Levant
http://impressionist1877.tripod.com/

6. Techniques
• Short, thick strokes of paint are used to quickly capture the
essence of the subject, rather than its details.
• Colors are applied side-by-side with as little mixing as possible,
creating a vibrant surface.
• Grays and dark tones are produced by mixing complementary
colors. In pure Impressionism the use of black paint is avoided.
• Wet paint is applied to wet paint without waiting for successive
applications to dry, producing softer edges and an intermingling of
color.
• Painting in the evening to get the shadowy effects of the light in the
evening or twilight.
• The surface of an Impressionist painting is typically opaque.
• The play of natural light is emphasized.
• In plein air (outdoor) paintings, shadows are boldly painted with the
blue of the sky as it is reflected onto surfaces, giving a sense of
freshness and openness that was not captured in painting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impressionism

7. My
Attempt
I attempted a “Gonzo” painting lesson,
trusting my “art teacher “to instruct me as I
went along without much background
knowledge. We chose a landscape photo that
she had taken of a Lake Almanor sunset.
She helped me choose paint colors and
brushes. Her main suggestion was that I use
short thick strokes, placed wet paint into wet
paint (something that concerned me at first),
and used mostly opaque colors—I didn’t mix
the watercolors with much water.
The original photo (above) by Ivy Gonzalez, 2007

8. She had me outline the bottom of the mountains first, paint my main, dark colors and leave
spaces in between brush strokes to be filled with accent colors.

9. Then I added trees…

10. …and more clouds
Ivy told me to “stipple”
my clouds so using
the deerfoot brush, I
dabbed the paint in
short, medium-
pressure strokes.

11. We added lemon yellow to fill in
clouds and we were finished.

12. My “impressionist” version side by
side with the original.

13. My thoughts
I thought my version looked more “expressionist” than
impressionist. My picture wasn’t too bad, but it
didn’t have the “serene” look I was going for. The colors
were too harsh and it made my painting look disturbing.
Still, it was my first attempt, and my daughter liked it.
With some more help with technique and color research,
I will try again. Next time I will get watercolor paper, as my
paper curled a bit. I will also do more mixing to make
different colors, and use a bit more water. I may try oils or
acrylics, too.
But it sure was fun, and I think Ivy would make a great art
instructor. From a teaching standpoint, I can learn from her
patience, clear instructions, and encouragement. I would
definitely encourage my students to research techniques
and practice brush strokes before starting a project!
I might also show them my first not-so-pretty picture so
they don’t think they need to be perfect on the first try.
Edvard Munch
“The Scream”
://www.art.com/products/p10047762-sa-i808439/edvard-munch-scream.htm

14. A Modern Impressionist
Greg Fetler, Santa Cruz Sunset
http://www.fetlerart.com/pages/Santa%20Cruz%20Sunset.shtml
Maybe with
practice my
stuff can
look like
this!

15. Time to Clean Up!
Until next time…