Instructor Christina Wilson stood in front of about 20 students at the Anchorage Museum’s Muse Café dressed in a black/white blouse, the colors of the paint she was about to hand out to would-be students who were tired from a long work day. Meanwhile the staff at the Muse was busily weaving through, taking orders of wine and hearty appetizers. Black Bean Sliders: a toasted cumin black bean patty, cheddar cheese, avocado, arugula, sliced tomatoes, crispy onions with chipotle mayo, were popular as were Yam Wedges; fried yams with a dipping sauce of basil aioli and chives.
Wilson combines her University of Minnesota art history degree, which included studio classes, with a master’s degree in counselling from APU, along with her calming approach to teaching. Several years with the Peace Corps in West Africa has given her a broad perspective, useful when conducting UAA groups on how to feel empowered by painting, often in darkness with just string and marbles as implements. Surrounded by birch trees in her yard, she acquired a love for painting them and has developed a way to teach people who are afraid to paint or are just plain fearful.
Wilson began by pointing to a finished piece, the example of what students would be constructing. It was about three birch trees, several ravens and a pine tree — a simple composition. After handing out materials: black and white acrylic paint, flat, round and sponge brushes, she held up a raw piece of ¼ inch birch plywood (12” by 24”) and began to paint by laying-in three vertical white lines--students were mesmerized. This way of instructing is unusual as many teachers don’t paint art demos. More commonly art-speak, which confuses students who get more intimidated when observing a teacher’s portfolio, is the norm. Wilson’s method is akin to watching someone demonstrate how-to-cook, step by step and she knows just how much to expect from a novice.
Walking around the room with her infectious smile, Wilson encouraged students to lay down lines of white paint. Some said they had never painted or had been discouraged in the past by being told they had no talent. With two white lines on one side and one on the other, students now had a composition. I believe it was Matisse who said a composition begins with two dots placed in opposition. In the middle of the paneling she instructed students to put in several ravens in flight, which could be rendered free-hand or traced with a Wilson-template. Some Googled ravens on their smartphones.
Ravens were being filled in, wine was being sipped and salads noshed as Wilson moved around the floor exuding encouragement. Returning to her art-cart that was brimming with paint tubes, paper supplies, brushes, she instructed the group to load their round brushes with black pigment and outline the three white lines, aka birch trees. With black outlines in place, the trees stood out from the plywood and began to pull as a unit towards the ravens. The next step was giving birch trees definition, which allowed students personal creativity as they dabbed white areas with black marks, defining the birch bark. Fun escalated when Wilson showed students how to use sponge brushes, thus feathering sides of the trees using a quick dry-brush stroke and minimal black paint.
The last element of the composition was placement of a small pine tree, mid-center. Wilson returned to her art-cart and instructed students to paint a vertical black line for the tree and make x-shaped branches in a triangular pattern for limbs. More creativity bubbled as students dabbed the x shapes with texture for the pine needles.
The group beamed as their compositions took shape. One woman said she had come for the evening because of recent health issues and had found peace. Wilson’s classes are about using paint for self-expression and not necessarily to become an advanced painter. However, one student who came to her class has gone on to create more birch paintings, culminating in a show.
The Anchorage Museum holds monthly painting nights and often students bring a friend. Information is available online and buying a museum membership provides up-to-date information via email. Painting is very sensual and is zero calories, too. Famous people in history have used painting to unpack themselves: Churchill, Sinatra, Joan Rivers (who painted in her bathroom), and now George W. Bush. Art, seen as a mere frivolity, is the first thing to be cut from municipal budgets. Many children are forced to give up art for disciplines that will reap greater remuneration. Stroll down halls of any art school and you’ll find baby-boomers searching for spirituality. When I was in art school, I met an executive who loved buying multiple tubes of colored oils which he kept in stackable plastic boxes; he hardly painted. Keep on sleuthing for art.
Jean Bundy is a writer/painter living in Anchorage
Resource : http://www.anchoragepress.com/arts_and_entertainment/painting-night-at-the-muse/article_dee1c9b0-3682-11e7-bebb-bfdc7b486ab2.html
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