Get Your Paint On: A Five Week Painting Class for Beginners and Life-long Learners
with Lisa Congdon and Mati McDonough
April 16 - May 20 2012
Hello painters! If you are registered and paid for Get Your Paint On, you should have received an email with the login information. Are you ready? If so...
CLICK HERE TO LOG IN & GET YOUR PAINT ON!
mati and lisa {and wilfredo} in front of lisa's studio building. photo by leslie lindell.
www.lisacongdon.com and www.matirose.com
ABOUT THE COURSE
Want to start painting but don’t know where or how to begin? Feeling stuck in your existing art practice and need a little kick in the pants? Wondering how others approach their painting process? Seeking a community of like-minded folks with whom to share your painting experience? Want to be inspired by weekly artist interviews, painting prompts and chock full painting lessons?
PLEASE NOTE: this is the basic Get Your Paint On course, NOT Get Your Paint On: Beyond the Basics (which is our more advanced course). Beyond the Basics will be offered during the Summer of 2012.
Get Your Paint On may be for you!
{brushes in mati's studio. photo by kelly rae roberts}
Artists, illustrators + close friends Lisa Congdon and Mati McDonough have joined together to bring you Get Your Paint On, a five-week online course in painting. Lisa and Mati will share what they have learned painting professionally. They’ll share their unique and colorful approach to painting in a warm and welcoming environment. This class is designed to support both beginning painters and more experienced artists.
WHAT PAST PARTICIPANTS HAVE SAID ABOUT GET YOUR PAINT ON...
"Thank you so much for offering this class, it has been wonderful and inspirational, just as the community that has grown around it. I appreciate you both sharing yourselves so openly and helping us all no matter our level of skill or expertise."
"Thank you so much for this wonderful class. I've been wanting to start painting for a LONG time and this class finally gave me the kick in the pants to DO IT. I am so glad I signed up. I learned so much. Mati and Lisa, you were so encouraging and made this a really fun experience (even when painting was frustrating)."
"Yay! As a newbie I was so worried that I was going to be out of my depth, but the two of you & everyone else made this space so relaxed and easy to take risks and the support and encouragement made me want to paint more and more and more. I have loved every moment and will be looking out for the next class. Thank you!"
"I am really going to miss this class. The dialogue and inspiration,and assignments have really reignited my love of creating."
"I really appreciate the way this painting class is set up. It's so good to learn to work with assignments. There is definitely a good thing going on here with all the creative community being built as we're able to bounce ideas back and forth."
"Thank you to you Lisa and Mati! I have been so happy inside since I started painting. I have always known that I have this creative molten magma inside of me and now it is getting to come to the surface. I'm loving it!!"
{photo by Stefanie Renee Lindeen}
WHAT THE COURSE WILL COVER
The course will be conducted in a safe, private, password protected online environment. Each of the five weeks, we’ll focus on a different topic:
Week One: Selecting and using materials
Week Two: Choosing subject matter and style
Week Three: Using color
Week Four: Creating beautiful composition
Week Five: Virtual show and celebration
{one of lisa and mati's collaborative paintings.}
The course will have lots of information to get you going each week, including:
1) A detailed post by Lisa or Mati about the topic for the week. It will include information, tips and important ideas. We’ll post a video introduction, images and photos that elaborate on the topic for the week.
2) A painting assignment that is connected to the topic for the week. Participants will have one week to complete the painting assignment and post it to the private group for viewing.
3) An interview with an established painter or illustrator about their work and process.
4) Inspiration for the topic area.
{painting by lisa}
HOW PARTICIPANTS INTERACT IN THE COURSE
Participants will have the opportunity to make comments and ask questions each week on the topic area. Participants are also encouraged to post images of their weekly paintings in our safe, private flickr group and are encouraged to leave questions and positive/ encouraging feedback for their classmates. Mati and Lisa will comment and answer questions posed by participants as the weeks unfold.
WHO ARE MATI AND LISA?
Mati McDonough and Lisa Congdon are artists who also happen to be close friends. They live about 9 miles from each other, Lisa in the Mission District of San Francisco, and Mati in Oakland, California. They are passionate about painting, creating community, color (especially hot pink) and love teaching Get Your Paint On! Frequently, they are asked to share their art-making knowledge and technique and so they’ve joined together to present this five week course. This is the third time this course has been offered.
More about Mati:
{photo by Leslie Sophia Lindell}
Mati McDonough went back to art school when she was just shy of 30 years old to study painting and illustration at the California College of the Arts. She made art from the time she was very little growing up in Maine, but never considered herself an artist until recently. Now at 34, Mati has had over a dozen art shows, taught painting classes in Italy, Santa Cruz and Utah, had her art and illustrations used for Patagonia, University Games, i-Pop for Madison Park, as well published in numerous books and magazines worldwide and is now happily represented by Lilla Rogers Studio.
More about Lisa:
{photo by Leslie Sophia Lindell}
Like Mati, Lisa did not begin making art seriously or professionally until she was in her 30's. 12 years later she makes her living doing professional illustration. Her clients include AOL, Chronicle Books, Random House, Running Press, Harper Collins, Pottery Barn Teen, Target and Urban Outfitters. She is also happily represented by Lilla Rogers Studio. Lisa also maintains a thriving fine art practice and shows her work regularly in galleries across the country. She is incredibly grateful to wake every day and paint for a living.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
1. When does the class start and end?
April 16 through May 20. It is 5 weeks in length.
2. How much does the course cost and how do I pay?
The class costs $129 USD. You will be paying for the course through Paypal (scroll down to see payment link). Paypal automatically converts currency for you.
3. Is there a deadline for signing up?
Registration closes on April 20.
4. Can you give a general description of how the course works?
The course is structured in five weekly increments. Sunday evening, the course for the following week is posted in a safe, private, password protected online environment. Each week will include a video introduction by Lisa or Mati (or both!), information, food for thought, technique tips, artist interviews and of course, a painting assignment! Participants can comment and ask questions in the course environment, and they have a week to finish each painting. By Sunday (though it can be done at any time during the week), participants will post their painting for the week in a private flickr group for other members of the group to see.
The course will cover four topics: materials (week 1), subject matter and composition (week 2), color (week 3), and composition (week 4). Week 5 will be our wrap-up and exhibition week. Each week you will get an overview of each of the topics, written either by Lisa or Mati (see above for more info). Each week will also include an interview with an established artist with more images, plus inspiration and thoughts from Mati and Lisa. Participants experiment with approaches to painting and get an opportunity to form a group with like-minded others and swap, share, discuss and exchange ideas and thoughts.
The information you receive each week will be plenty to fill your brain, but we are hoping that it’s not too much information so that you become overwhelmed. This is NOT intended to be a college-level course with lots of reading and exercises. In fact, we want to keep the course light and enjoyable.
The main thing we’d like you to do each week is work on painting! What we post on the blog is meant to inspire and spark thinking.
{painting by mati}
5. What will I need?
-A computer
-A scanner or camera to capture images of your paintings.
-An email address
-Five painting surfaces (canvas, wood or masonite)
-Paint (acrylic or gouache--if you are already an oil painter you may use oils)
-Brushes
-A Flickr account (this is easy to set up and free)
-A Facebook account (optional for networking with other participants on our GYPO page)
-Time to paint (a minimum of a few hours a week)
6. Will Mati and Lisa offer technical instruction on how to paint as part of this course?
This course does not offer more advanced technical instruction on “how” to paint. We will not be covering topics like creating shadow and depth, layering a canvas or mixed media technique. These are more advanced skills, and we offer them as Part Two of Get Your Paint On: Beyond the Basics, which is a different class. Beyond the Basics will be offered again during the Summer of 2012.
This class is JUST THE BASICS and a way to get your feet wet. We will give tips and some written material on technical aspects of painting. We will do some explanation in our weekly videos. It is important to approach painting one step at a time; we decided to cover the basics first and offer more technical instruction in the Beyond the Basics course.
We encourage you not to worry about technical skills if you are just starting out! Technical skills (or the “how” of painting) are just a very small part of making a successful painting! It’s important to get comfortable with the brush and painting surface, to allow yourself to play around, and to push yourself to explore! Everyone can paint. Some of the best artists in the world have no technical knowledge or have had no instruction. The most important part is to loosen up and enjoy the process.
You will get:
-time and a little “push” to paint (especially good for folks who used to paint, but haven’t in a long time)
-a community of folks exploring painting along with you
-instruction on the basics
-inspiration and information about artists and the painting process
-a place to ask questions and get responses from Mati and Lisa
-feedback from your peers
If you haven't painted in awhile, we recommend starting with this course. If you are eager to go to the next level, stay tuned for Get Your Paint On: Beyond the Basics course and sign up for that!
10. What if I enroll in the course and I don’t complete an assignment?
All we ask is that you try your best to complete assignments as you have time in your schedule and are comfortable. There is no external pressure from instructors.
11. Do I have to check into the class at specific times?
You do not have to check into the class at specific times. You can access the week’s assignments when your schedule permits. We’d love it if everyone checked into the course environment and read updated material several times a week, but we realize this isn’t possible for everyone. This is great news for anyone living outside the US -- time differences don't matter!
12. I’ve never taken an art class before and I don’t know how to paint. Is this class for me?
Absolutely! This course is designed for people interested in exploring painting, regardless of their level, whether you are interested in getting started with painting or whether you’d like to take your art practice to the next level.
13. Will other people see my paintings?
The course will include a private space where those taking the class can post their own work and view the work of others in the class. We do encourage everyone who pays for and participates in the class to share the work that they make for the class. Sharing your work is an important part of the process of learning to paint well. That said, mean, critical comments will not be tolerated in the course environments. We hope to create a safe and positive environment for sharing work.
14. Will I get direct feedback from Mati and Lisa?
This class is not designed for regular individual feedback from instructors, though we will be logging into the course environment and flickr group to look at work and comment as often as we can. We will be commenting on a select number of paintings each week with critiques that everyone in the course can learn from.
15. Can you issue a certificate or confirmation of participation/completion in this course? I need this certification to my work. Will this be possible?
Yes! We can issue you documentation if you need it provided that you've participated in the course (posted paintings, followed assignments, etc).
16. I have a question about the course you didn't answer. What should I do?
You can email us at getyourpainton@gmail.com and we'll get back to you as quickly as possible!
{painting by mati}
HOW TO REGISTER
1) Click on the "Add to Cart" link below to pay. You will be redirected to Paypal to complete your purchase
2) Within a few minutes you should receive an email from Mati and Lisa welcoming you to the course and giving you all the basic information you need to prepare for the course (supplies you'll need, login info, etc.).
ARE YOU READY TO GET YOUR PAINT ON?
