vilakins | Mall fitness and an art class!

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Mall fitness and an art class!

I haven't posted for a while, I see. This is because the most interesting thing I've done recently is join a "mall fitness" group where we meet at Sylvia Park Mall and walk as fast as we can through it, up and down stairs, onto the roof, and round the outside (depending on weather), then have coffee together afterwards. There are stretching exercises and push-outs against walls etc so it's a pretty good workout and I enjoy the kaffee und klatschen.

But today I did something new. Last week I ran into artist Tony Roche in another mall where he was selling some small paintings and advertising his classes. I signed up for one which I went to today and did a sort of impressionist oil painting of poppies. This was fun and involved some interesting techniques using not just different types of brushes but fingers, cotton buds, and rags. I took several photos during the process, and afterwards Tony's partner took one of me and another student with our paintings to put in his class scrapbook which he shows to potential students. The painting will take at least a week to dry, and I'll get it matted and simply framed and whack it up on a wall somewhere. I'm going back to another class in two weeks to do a landscape: beach, sea, pohutukawa tree, and Rangitoto (island) in the distance which will require quite different techniques. There are advanced classes too if I want to go further.

Photos of the process

First paint your poppies. Not the order I'd have thought, but it makes sense because you can rest your hand on the board.

Then add background fairly thickly in various greens and purples (mixing colours to taste).

Apply paler colours in top half using fingers to blend. :-) Then use a rag with some turps to blend the darker colours.

Add stems and blades of grass, pale ones on the dark background and darker ones on the paler parts.

I liked this student's version.

Some time I'll have to sort out and post the gorgeous photos I took of the garden of art at the Cafe L'Arte on my holiday. I am slack.

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I've never heard of mall fitness, but it sounds like fun. The painting sounds like fun too, and I love the results

I'm not sure if many places do it, but the group's fairly new, only two years old. You start at 7:15am and finish at 8 so people can do it before work and before the mall shops open. I'm impressed with how fit some of the older ladies have got doing it, especially one who's had two strokes; she powers along. It's great because you can walk regardless of the weather.

The painting was lots of fun, and I'm looking forward to learning some different techniques next time.

Your painting is gorgeous!

I'm reminded now of a drawing class I took for a few months - I've never been very good at it, but that didn't matter for this class, and it was really relaxing.

I've done a couple of life drawing classes, but this is the first time since school I've worked with paint. I'd like to learn more. Most people had no experience in the class but they all went away with an attractive painting. As for being able to draw, shapes and colours are all you need: go abstract!

I'd like to learn acrylic techniques too (since my sister gave me some) but I think it would take a lot to become a good watercolour painter. Tony Roche doesn't even teach that because one mistake and the painting's history. You can correct errors in oils.

That looks like a really good thing to get into; you have such natural artistic talent, it would be great to be able to develop it even further

Thanks! My sister keeps telling me I should do "real" art. :-) Tony was actually very encouraging, saying I was fast as well. I'd love to learn more, and this sort of thing is a lot more intensive than most weeks-long courses.

Just what I was going to say.

Those poppies really seem to leap out of the painting, almost as if one was viewing them through 3D glasses.

Thanks! They're a pretty amazing colour in sunlight. I chose that class because I wanted something bright to go on the wall.

Oh, I like the painting. I'm glad to hear Mall Fitness is fun. We've thought about joining a group here.

It's horribly early to get up, esp in the dark, but it works well being out of the weather now we're getting into winter. It's also a very friendly group, so I'd say give it a try.

Oh yes, that's nice. Gorgeous splashes of red, and I think the blades of grass are very effective.

Thanks! The grass was really what brought it all together. I chose that class because I wanted to do something colourful. Next: a bright beach scene.

So pretty! And really interesting to see the stages of that technique. :)

There were some interesting ways of playing with the colour; I learned a lot.

OOh, what a great painting- that'll look gorgeous in any room. Mall-walking sounds like a great idea- safe, weatherproof, and with convenient drinking fountains & toilets, I'm sure.

I'm glad you've got at least a few fun things to look forward to.

I'm wondering what colour matte to get. Tony demonstrated a dark green around it which looks very good, but a lighter one would give a brighter effect. I'll test some at the framer; there's one more far away.

No drinking fountains--I think only schools have those--but we all have water bottles. There are three lots of toilets along the mall (a stretched-out one) but so far we've been outside a lot around the mall, in the (still empty) carparks and up and down the stairs to the railways station.

You could run the second photo through a photo editing program to try out different colors around it, print up the ones you like best & check how it works in the room you'd like to display it.

A paler tint of the 'poppy red' might be very nice.

Hmm...most of the larger/newer malls I've see have water fountains somewhere. I dunno whether it's regulation or tradition.

That poppy painting is beautiful - you really do have a gift.

I'm looking forward to seeing more of your sci-fi alphabet. A friend's little daughter has a space-themed bedroom, with blue walls, planets, stars and rockets. Your sci-fi alphabet would be perfect for it.

Thank you. :-)

I shall have to think up some more ABCs for August art month, though I won't do them all then as I want to experiment with techniques and I try to make those in the same style. But yes, I should get back to them and see if I can find a publisher, though I'll have to change things like the green Toy Story alien first.

Oh gorgeous! I wish so much you could find some place to show your talent, and I assure you here in Europe you will find lots of fans - especially if you stuck with NZ motiffs - pohutukawam and those fernsm and the landscape and all, you know. Your colours are exactly what our soul longs for too.
Thank you for showing us!
I am glad you do the exercises too:-)

We don't even have poppy fields here, but I chose that class for the bright colours. I'm looking forward to the Rangitoto one in two weeks which will be very Auckland, and I'll pick nice bright colours. I could also do a South Island mountain and lake scene next month which would also be fun. There are advanced classes if I like, but once I have the techniques and some good ideas, I'll start buying stretched canvases and oils etc from the stationers; much cheaper than art shops.

Have you ever thought of opening a selling gallery on Ebay? I have a friend in the USA, she does sketches...
Of course I don´t know how to arrange it but I have bought a small portrait for my friend Shirley there and it worked nicely.

Appparently eBay is no longer worth using, they take so much from sellers. I've considered selling on Etsy though, and here through a cafe or something; overseas freight would be expensive and a bastard to arrange.

Aha, I keep forgetting you live so far far away, you are right.
Do you mean that there are the pictures on display in a café? If so, there is a reastsurant in Třeboň, and an artist has small oil paintings there on the walls with prices and lots of people buy them, mostly landscapes or still-lives. Of course it is not a fixed income but the word about the artist spreads.

Yes, some cafes here have art for sale on their walls. I'd have to get betetr before I did that though.

How cool! And what a gorgeous result!! Can't wait to see it framed on your wall! I'd love to do more art with actually paints. I should look into a class. And the mall thing seems a great idea. I've definitely seen groups like that at malls before. Whatever motivates people! I say go for it!

I'd like to learn acrylics too since my sister gave me some. Oils are surprisingly easy to work with and blend, but the painting will take a week or two to dry. There are quite a few art clubs here, but this was a one-day class packed with good teaching. I've done life classes before, but they don't teach much; they're really just a way to get access to good models. I wouldn't have thought you'd need a class though; you do such great work with paints and pencils. But go for it; you never know what interesting techniques you might pick up.

The mall walks are fun and when they get tiring, like all the stairs at the railway station, the promise of coffee and chatting is there. :-D

These sound like excellent activities! And I think the poppies came out well! :)

It's been pretty dry here this year, but being able to walk indoors is a huge plus in this climate, and the coffee and chat afterwards is a real bonus.

Thanks! I'd like to do more classes to gain confidence for striking out on my own eventually.

oooh mall fitness sounds fun

I like the painting. :-)

You have to walk as fast as you can and you go a long way, but yay for the coffee afterwards, and it's a nice friendly group.

Thanks! There are set topics for all the classes but you learn so much about techniques. I'm definitely doing more.

And how's it going? Have you thought about having a year off after uni working in Europe or somewhere and having relaxed fun? :-)

I definitely time off but I need to get my physical strength and health back first so won't be going anywhere for a bit.

It's going...precariously. I'm trying not to think about it

what about you? how are you and the cats?

I'm fine, and the cats are too. I had a nice day out today which was cool.

It would be easier to have a non-stressful holiday job doing something mindless than to try to start you career odd straight away. Shouldn't all your exams be over soon? Maybe a few months rest, then some fun? :-)

I love your painting! It's beautiful.

Thank you! It was a lot of fun too.

Your painting is awesome. I haven't really seen much of your work that hasn't been made on a computer.

I've been going to a gym since January (even lost 15kg) ... but it lacks the social aspect. Mall fitness sounds great.

Thanks! Computer graphics makes it easy, but I want to learn how to paint and use different media.

I don't like gyms: too many really fit people there to make me feel inadequate. This is fun because it's at your own pace, it's out of the weather if it's bad, and there's friendly coffee (or tea) afterwards.

That all sounds like a lot of fun.

It was! I hope to go to another class in two weeks.

Yay, Abby. There needs to be more Abby.

Very nice - it's good to see the steps involved. :)

I'm going to have a go at a Rangitoto. [uses icon of beach scene done of graphics pad]

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