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To begin with I'd like you to find a small sketchbook that has paper strong enough for you to paint on without it falling apart! If you haven't got a sketchbook use some good cartridge paper or even pieces of card or carboars. Don't go too large at this stage. I want you to have fun and not be intimidated by mark making and experimenting with color. Read through everything below and when you've done as much sketching as you need and painted your final piece please post a picture of it with or without the sketch you created before you did it!

An optional exercise ( particularly good if you want to work from life )

Begin to look around your home or studio for some objects. Aim to choose things that have shapes and colors that are interesting to you, that contrast with each other in some way. You might decide to use only natural found objects with one bright color among muted ones or a combination of manufactured and natural things that have similar tones but very dramatic shapes. Start to arrange these objects in front of you in a way that pleases you. Then choose your color palette, thinking about the mood you want to create and begin to sketch with paint in a loose way describing the shapes you see and color that you imagine.

Scaling up may or may not be tricky for you - you could literally measure your sketch and multiply it by it's edges til you reach the measurement of the sides of your canvas so that you can multiply internal measurements and marks by the same denominator and roughly plot your areas of colour with a pencil or even loosely paint marks in to guide you as to how large certain areas of colour are. If you're lucky enough to have a large printer you could, of course, scan your sketch and enlarge it to at least an A3+ size and print it out fast to look at the proportions - if it needs to be bigger still you can do it by eye - it just takes looking and cross-referencing with your eyes!

If you don't like your first attempt ask yourself why not? Can you add to it? Paint over a section and explore more? Start again if not. When you are happy with your discovery - for that is what this is please post an image of your sketch/es or even stages of your process if you want to document it as you go.

Optional exercise two - good for you if you want to work from landscape or an interior

What did you discover in your first experiment? Before you do another one ask yourself what you really liked and what you didn't and make some notes.

This time look around your home or garden and choose a view that appeals. Remember this is going to be a small abstract sketch inspired by what you see - it could be the shape of tree branches that catch your eye, or a door contrasting tonally with a wall and decorative objects, patterned cushions on a sofa, flowers and crockery, anything that grabs you because of shape, colour or tone.

Begin either with the colors you have or if you prefer, do a black and white tonal drawing of the view you chose. Concentrate on distilling the image down in a way that appeals to you. What do you notice first about the area you chose? Is it the strong shapes, the lights and darks or simply pattern? Use that information to concentrate on. You might just find you're interested in one small part of what you see. Convey whatever the answer to that is in your sketchbook.

Optional ideas for you if you want to concentrate on pure abstraction :

This time I'd like you only to think about color as your subject - of course, you will be painting shapes or forms but begin with choosing just three colors, from which you will make a variety of tones or shades. Choose one neutral - like black, grey, white, brown or navy and two other colors that you think look great together - it's up to you if you want to create a bright, energizing sketch or a calmer muted one. Your choice of shapes you create with these colors will also affect the final effect! Spikey brights will give a different atmosphere to rounded more soft shapes.

As I mention in Step 5 you might want to paint a feeling - so experiment with colours that represent the feeling or atmosphere you want to conjure - use the composition "rules" as jumping off points to construct a few mini-compositions.

Which of these approaches appealed to you most?

Continue to experiment in your sketchbook until you feel that you are itching to paint a final piece based on one of your sketch paintings or compositions.

Work until you have a sketch that you believe you can confidently scale up and begin your painting.

Choose a base material that you're most keen to work on and prepare it in any one of the ways I describe in the film. If you want to prepare more than one surface so that you can work on two or three at the same time if it helps you not overthink or worry about the outcome too much then do!

Work out your colour palette and mix your colours; you're likely to need more paint than you are used to if you are scaling up so find some good size jars or yoghurt pots to mix your essential colours in so that you don't run the risk of running out at a crucial spot and never quite getting the same colour again!

Make sure you have some white and you've mixed plenty of your darkest tone of colour too. You need to decide what your base tone is going to be. You could paint a flat colour all over to begin -or a mixure of a few tones or colours - it will depend on your design and what you worked out in your sketchbook :) Then have fun.

Ask me any questions you have at any point.

I'd be delighted to share your final piece on Instagram too so do tag me if you post your painting there and let me know if you'd like me to repost it.

View the pinterest boards here at Gabriella Buckingham/Artist

Find me on instagram here - Gabriella Buckingham

Good luck and happy painting! p.s. you have my permission to do something based on my two designs here as long as you are not making them for sale or license.

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Carol Gilliland

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