At their
last meeting, members of the Tisdale Visual Arts Club explored the medium of
acrylics under the tutelage of artist Karen Robbins.
Robbins,
who was profiled in a Recorder
article in May of last year, came to art late in life. But it would be fair to
say she is making up for lost time, for since she and other club members exhibited
at the Doghide Gallery last May, she has barely had time to let go of her
paintbrush.
“I had
several commissions that were a result of the exhibit,” she acknowledged. “And
it’s kept me busy with painting since then.”
Although
she dabbles in other mediums, painting with acrylics is what she prefers.
Robbins instructed the club members on a specific style, mixing opposing
primary colours to create a chiaroscuro effect, or a contrasting light and dark
background. She used a couple of her own paintings as examples for the class to
follow.
In order
to achieve the desired effect that Robbins’ paintings possess, it takes more
than just a dab with a brush. Some of the artists in the club who were already
familiar with the technique were able to mirror the master copy. Others – such
as this columnist who was using acrylics for the first time – labored at trying
to reproduce something that came close.
But that
is the beauty of art – it is an individual’s interpretation of what one
person’s vision tells them they are seeing. There is no right and wrong, and no
two paintings will ever be identical.
The
Tisdale Visual Arts Club meets every two weeks, and their next session is on March
26, when everyone will get “back to the drawing board,” working on whatever
takes their fancy.
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