Abstract Painting with Palette Knife (P.M. Session)

This is an ideal course for beginner and intermediate students who want to improve their painting skills and learn to create abstract paintings using the palette knife painting technique. While working with a palette knife, the students will create texture and play with the accidents of applying paint, developing a sense of intuitiveness, self-expression, and creativity.
This course is perfect for new students or a continuation for those who took previous classes during the year. The class virtually meets once a week for four consecutive weeks.
Students will complete two or three paintings through individual instruction, demonstrations, and exercises: one following a visual reference and two working on their own projects.

Classes will cover preliminary drawing, color combination, paint application, light, tones, values, form, texture, composition, blending, and the application of paint with a palette knife.

Class Plan

Through individual instruction, demonstrations, and exercises students will learn in the first half of the course how to make an abstract painting with the technique and in the second part, they will have the freedom to experiment and play with it. They will complete at the end of the course two or three paintings.

In the first two classes, students will learn, practice, and get familiar with the palette knife technique using a visual reference and following an open method guided by the instructor to complete the painting.

In the last two classes, students will practice working with the palette knife technique in an individual project with more sense of freedom and playfulness using their own images/ sketches or by memory if they prefer

First and Second class
● Presentation palette knife abstract paintings samples images in art history.
● Color Theory and practice and palette setup.
● Starting an abstract painting using palette knife technique
● Color application and comparison.
● Creating a variety of different textures
● Learning stunning effects which are not possible to make with a brush.
● How to use the edge of the palette knife to create sharp lines.
● Painting on top of wet layers without having to worry about the paint blending
● Sense of unity and balance of the composition and final details.
● Completion of the painting.

Third and Fourth class
● Working in their own abstract projects.
● Blending edges by dragging one color into another.
● Combining bold palette knife’s strokes with delicate strokes created by the brush.
● Scraping details into the painting.
● Multi-colored palette knife strokes
● Scumbling over an underpainting.
● Dabbing small bursts of color
● Sense of unity and balance of the composition and final details.
● Completion of the painting.

Evaluation
The instructor will evaluate each student’s work while they are painting. At the end of class, he will provide a final critique to raise awareness of all learned techniques and approaches, proper execution, and areas to improve and modify to improve each painting.

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Pablo Contrisciani earned his Masters in Fine Arts, Painting at Facultad de Bellas Artes, National University of La Plata, in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
He has participated in several solo and group exhibitions locally, nationally and internationally. His work forms part of public and corporate collections from USA, Latin America and Europe. Pablo is an Oolite Arts alumnus (1998-2006 and 2010-2015) and works as a painting instructor since 1998.