Melbourne Sydney Brisbane & Perth France LA Barossa NZ TAKE MY QUIZ & ASSESS YOUR PAINTING SKILLS! Hi Bloomers, How are you going on your art path? Have you got it going how you want to? There are certain areas of learning that make creating successful paintings a breeze. If you handle these areas well, then pretty much you can paint, and the world is your oyster. This painting was created in June by newbie painter Tina R with tuition from Jacqueline Coates and the Blooms Painting Method. Would you like to know what these are? And take the pain out of painting? To see if you have it all covered or if you need help in some areas more than others, enjoy my free test I have put together for you. It will take a few minutes to see where you are at. Here we go! The 3 Minute Assess your Painting Skills Test! Give yourself a mark out of 10 for each of these 10 skills then add them for your total out of a hundred. See you at the end of the quiz! Have fun! And be honest please! 1. COLOUR MIXING CONFIDENCE Do you know what colours to pick up on your brush and how to mix them rather than being a prisoner to pre-mixed colours in the tube? Are you able to interpret what you see with the colours you mix on the canvas? Do you know how to make your own Potters Pink? If you run out of Burnt Umber what’s the colour recipe? Do you know the difference between flake and titanium? Okay time to decide…. are you a 10 and can create any colour on demand or are you veering towards the lower end of the scale and could you use some improvement?! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Um which one is the white? Rainbow cartwheels! By the way, all of this is covered when you sign up for any Blooms Painting Workshop you attend. So, we can get this area sorted very easily if you didn’t do so well. 2. PAINT BRUSH HYGIENE No, you haven’t landed in a toothbrush commercial. How you manage your brushes, paint and water can massively affect your painting outcomes and productivity and even the clarity of colour in your painting. If you don’t know what I’m talking about give yourself the lowest rating of 1! And get yourself to my Blooms Painting workshop so I can teach you my Paint Brush Licence! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I’m a swisher My water stays clean 3. HOW TO STRUCTURE A PAINTING There are clear stages to any painting where certain things take place. At least in my world, because I teach a SYSTEM of painting that is reliable and not left to chance. Knowing what actions to take are key. ü Do you start a painting with excitement and about half-way through lose faith and feel overwhelmed by the issues accidentally created? ü Do you hang on tightly almost closing off circulation in your hand as you clutch the brush tightly and even hold your breath as you attempt to create a finished looking picture from the get go? ü Do you feel like the painting is in control of you rather than the other way around? If you answered yes to any of these points, then it’s good for you to know that there are more enjoyable and fluid ways to paint. Imagine being released from the fear that creates these situations and being shown another more freed up and reliable painting method. Let’s see how you rated. Okay, pick a number that best reflects where you are right now. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Terrified of a blank canvas and busting a move Comfortably handling painting chaos 4. BRUSH SKILLS This is about brush know how i.e. which brush to use for what and how to control your paint so your painting and your brush don’t wind up looking like a Phyllis Diller hairdo. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Which end do I use? Pass me the filbert no 6 5. UNDERSTANDING YOUR PAINT Paint is the main ingredient if you want to make a painting, funnily enough! Which types to use, how to use it effectively and what not to do with it are key. So, you’d better get to know your paint! Do you know what you are buying when purchasing paint or why? Do you understand what’s in the tube? Do you know why it does what it does and why you need to care? Get this one right and you are well on the way to mastery of your paint! Which end of the spectrum sounds more like you? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Why did my painting look flat when it was dry? My painting looks vibrant when dry 6. ABILITY TO ACHIEVE THE RESULT YOU HAD IN MIND; Three peony paintings by different students of the Blooms Hamilton NZ group I’ll share a truth here gained from 30 years of painting. You NEVER want your painting to turn out exactly as you had in mind. The day that happens you will be bored RIGID! There would be no surprises! That said you need SOME control of the outcomes. I teach how to get your painting on track when things go pear shaped which puts you back in control of creating something you will love. I never expect anyone to be perfect. Perfect does not exist! Having the toolbox of how to problem solve painting issues though is very helpful. Rate this one on how you feel about what you have been creating. Are you happy with what is being produced? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 I hung my painting in the garage, back to front. My painting is hanging in the entrance hall 7. HEALTHY SELF TALK WHEN THE PAINTING IS NOT LOOKING HOW YOU WANT This is a great one to get on top of. Otherwise that inner critic will pick away at your self-esteem and you may find yourself running away from your painting before you know it, never to return! If your inner critic doesn’t bug you at all while you paint give yourself a 10. If it gives you hell and you actually find yourself agreeing with what it says to you, then rate accordingly. Show up at my workshop and I will show how to befriend your inner critic and put it to work for you in your favour. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 My inner bitch has taken over! Egad! Clear the room! I am open to learning! 8. BLENDING SKILL Do you know how to blend your paint so you can have several colours interacting at once, creating depth on your canvas and making your viewing audience weak at the knees? You’ll know if you are struggling with this one. If struggling, your paintings will look loud and discordant, scratchy and patchy, even like sandpaper sometimes. If you have it handled your paintings will look rich and harmonious. You are either closer to a 1 or 10 on the scale. It’s the moment of truth. Please rate yourself accordingly. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Why does my painting look so rough? or .. My colours flow 9. ABILITY TO WORK THROUGH A PAINTING PROBLEM This means when things are not to your liking you are able to take a deep breath and take the action to resolve the problem without drama. The opposite would be to dwell on the issue, create a drama, or have a wail when things aren’t working. Actually the most important tool as an artist as with most issues in life, is to have PATIENCE to stay with a problem. When it comes to painting issues you had better make sure you have my tool kit of how to paint your way out of those issues! Making mistakes is not the problem. It’s when you don’t know how to get out of them that the mistake becomes a problem. Time to choose which end of the scale you sit! 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pass me the wine NOW! Wha whaaaa! Pass me the paint brush! I’m gonna fix this good! Tiffany B from NZ had a great attitude while developing her paintings at Blooms Hamilton. 10. KNOWING HOW TO MAP OUT A CONVINCING DRAWING Paintings begin with a sketch of an idea or the thing you want to paint to make sure you get the components where you want them before slapping on the paint. How confident are you about your abilities to get your drawing how you want it for the start of your painting? How confident are you that your drawing will deliver the painting? It’s actually incredibly easy if you know how. I have many methods to get this part of the process handled quickly and easily. Why suffer needlessly? Okay this is where you rate yourself. Are you terrified of getting the drawing done or have you got this handled? 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Feeling challenged and a bit terrified Feeling I can handle this easily Well done! Now time to tally up. TOTAL POINTS OUT OF A POSSIBLE 100 Your score Paintings created at the Perth Blooms Painting Workshop How did you go? 96 points or more Anything over 96 points, why are you even reading this blog? Congratulations! Now get back into the studio and do some painting!!!! 95 points or less Did you identify some areas where you were stronger and some others where you might want to strengthen your skills? How does it feel not being across your painting? Does it affect your ability to produce? Is your painting ability at a point where you want to kick the butt out of it and make a change? Would you like to clean up your shadow areas in just a few days? Perhaps you’d like to try but have been too scared to. In my Blooms Painting Workshops I cover all of these points. It’s possible to get them sorted really quickly. My philosophy is to liberate students from their limitations quickly. Every deposit of time and education we make to our art helps us to move forward and feel more confident. If you want to accelerate your learning and results here are the next dates where I will be helping others to do just that. All workshops include the powerful GET YOUR PAINT BRUSH LICENSE which will have you handling your paint like a pro quickly. Here's a testimonial or two just before I give you the dates so you know what others think. All of the testimonials are from the last few months. Kay from NZ shares her Blooms France experience in May Mary from Colorado exceeded her own expectations of painting and had a ball at the Paint Blooms USA in March Liora was new to painting and shares her experience of painting Blooms which she took in Los Angeles in March MELBOURNE BLOOMS 1 JULY 11,12 & 13 No previous experience necessary GLEN IRIS $1350 pp Info & Booking Link; https://artscreativehub.com/art-workshops-events/blooms-painting-workshop-melbourne/ SYDNEY BLOOMS 1 & 2 Evening July 14 & July 15-18 No previous experience necessary WILLOUGHBY $2350 pp Info & Booking Link; https://artscreativehub.com/workshops/blooms-painting-workshop-sydney-new-south-wales-4-days/ BRISBANE BLOOMS 1 & 2 Evening Aug 2 & Aug 3-6 No previous experience necessary METRO ARTS BRISBANE $2350 pp Info & Booking Link; https://artscreativehub.com/workshops/blooms-painting-workshop-brisbane-queensland-2-days/ BLOOMS FRANCE OILS AUG 25- SEPT 4 A NEW AND ONCE OFF WORKSHOP for students who have painted with me before FRENCH ART SCHOOL, LIMOUSIN FRANCE This is a one-off workshop Start and finish in Paris Paint at French Art School in the Limousin for an art residency (9 nights 8 days inc accom and catering, art supplies and more) Special offer small group; Previous MMFA or Bloom France clients, Former Blooms 1 & 2 and Paint Blooms USA students $5976pp one off offer Info & Booking Link; https://artscreativehub.com/blooms-france-oils/ BLOOMS FRANCE ACRYLICS SEPT 11-20 No previous experience necessary FRENCH ART SCHOOL, LIMOUSIN FRANCE Start and finish in Paris (9 nights 8 days inc accom and catering, art supplies and more) $7,697pp Info & Booking Link; https://artscreativehub.com/workshops/blooms-painting-workshop-france/ BAROSSA BLOOMS 1 & 2 Nov 2-5 and evening of Nov 1, 2019 No previous experience necessary SALON ROUGE GALLERY KAPUNDA $2350 pp Ask me for the local accom info Info & Booking Link; https://artscreativehub.com/workshops/blooms-painting-workshop-barossa-valley-south-australia/ PAINT BLOOMS USA Friday 25th Oct- Sunday 27th October Live workshop component accompanying online program pack available at www.paintbloomsusa.com DOWNTOWN ARTS DISTRICT LA, CALIFORNIA Up to 10 students Includes art supplies and catering Visit www.paintbloomsusa.com To learn more and sign up BLOOMS PERTH Feb 29-March 3, 2020 plus evening of Feb 28 Midland Junction Art Centre, Perth $2350pp Info & Booking Link; https://artscreativehub.com/workshops/blooms-painting-workshop-perth-western-australia-4-days/ BLOOMS HAMILTON NEW ZEALAND Nov 26-29th, 2019 and evening of Nov 25th. No previous experience necessary Hamilton New Zealand $2350 pp Info & Booking Link; https://artscreativehub.com/workshops/blooms-painting-workshop-new-zealand-4-days/ You’ll soon be painting with the confidence of a pro! Book online or email [email protected] or phone me direct on +61 ( Australia) 0429 100 929 Victoria K's stunning waterlilies created on Blooms France in May