Fluid Acrylic and Watercolor Workshops held in October

Sharing Fish Tales by April M Rimpo - SOLD

When I teach I like to vary the lessons to keep my classes interesting. Sharing Fish Tales was a new lesson in my last Fun with Fluid Acrylics workshop held at the Columbia Art Center.  This was my practice painting before the class so I knew how to go about teaching each step of the process.  It's important to me to have a well planned class to be sure we can cover all the material. I am delighted that I just sold this painting, which brought back great memories from the purchaser's childhood. I do love when my work touches someone this way. 

This 2-Day workshop was packed with three lessons that build upon each other.  In other words, skills learned in the first lesson were used in the second, then techniques from the second were reused in different ways in the third lesson.

I always bring along examples of my work where I have used the techniques in similar ways but with different subject matter to allow everyone to see some options of where they might go with what they are learning.

A few samples of the paintings generated by the students.

I also taught a couple Nighttime Landscapes in Watercolor classes this fall. Like the Fun with Fluid Acrylics class I had done research before the class to try to optimize the chances of success of the student's paintings.  In this case the research was related to what pigments would work best for nighttime landscapes. I identified some blue orange complements that looked like they would work to create dramatic night skies in a blog post by Jane Blundell. If you follow that link you will see Jane Blundell was not investigating night skies but her color studies allowed me to identify a few blends that would get dark enough when blended properly.  When I received the tubes of painting I tried mixes of each complement to see which gave me the rich darks I wanted and allowed me to create some nice muted browns and greens for the landscape.  I ended up with 4 pigments to use for the paintings which I recommended to the students. I also let them bring their own pigments if they didn't want to buy and recommended single pigment paints since they are less prone to getting "muddy" - a term artists use when the paints mix to dull colors that are no longer luminous.

I was thrilled by the results from both of these classes. The students brought their own references for the nighttime class with Baltimore Watercolor Society; I love the variety of sites. Here are a few images of their work for you to enjoy.

Nighttime Landscapes - Student work

Closer View of Student Work

Interested in April's classes? Consider becoming a Studio Friend by signing up for her twice-monthly email. April segments her newsletter so you can select topics you'd like to hear about when you sign up. For those who include a selection of General Interest you will receive emails about twice-monthly. If you are only interested in classes, then the emails will be much less frequent discussing upcoming classes and how to register.  Thank you for your interest.

Contact April and see more of her art on her website

Copyright April M Rimpo All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

"Simple Life" 12" X 24" fluid acrylic gallery wrapped

Simple Life by April M Rimpo

Simple Life

Fluid Acrylic, gallery wrapped and varnised

12" X 24"

Available to purchase at HorseSpirit Arts Gallery
info@horsespiritartsgallery.com 

410-461-3505 

Simple Life is a tribute to the simplicity of life in Norway. This home stood on the edge of a fjord with no other sign of life for miles and no obvious entry or exit other than the water. I had to celebrate this way of life with a painting in happy hues. 

Complementary color schemes really make me smile and I hope they do the same for you. This painting include two complements: yellow-green/purple and teal blue/orange. Complementary colors are pigments that are opposite each other on a color wheel. I've used http://paletton.com/ to illustrate what I mean.

The first color scheme shows purple as the primary and a yellow green for the complementary color. Since the paletton.com site is intended to help website designers identify color schemes, the square on the right shows lighter and darker versions of the purple and green hues. You will hear me refer to these variations in darkness as the value of the hue.


The secondary color scheme is teal blue and orange; it is show at left. Although I used less of this second color scheme, it appears at the focal point to contrast the house with the background immediately behind it. The purple yellow-green scheme is more prevalent in the painting.


By using two complementary color schemes this painting really pops with color. Let me know what you think.

Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo 2016 All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.

"Standing Tall", 20" X 16" varnish acrylic on gallery wrapped paper

Standing Tall by April M Rimpo

View of gallery wrapped edge

Standing Tall

fluid acrylic 

20" X 16" varnished gallery wrapped paper

$500 within the United States*

A little whimsy to brighten your day in Standing Tall. These multicolored trees tower above the ground, so tall you can see a bit of the curvature of the earth.  Their roots intertwine and reach deep, anchoring the trees for all time. Part of me feels fairies might live among these trees.  

* Contact April regarding purchase outside the United States.

Interested in learning more about April's art inspirations, tips about her painting process, or art business tidbits? Want to know when her art is in exhibits? Consider joining her friends and collectors by signing up for her twice-monthly email.

Copyright April M Rimpo 2016 All Rights Reserved. You may share my work with attribution and a link to this source site, but all other uses are prohibited.