Lecturer: Melanie Cooper
Sat 7 Oct – Sat 4 Nov 1.30pm – 4.30pm (Please note: this is a 5 week course)
Level – Beginner to Intermediate
This course is designed for beginners and intermediate students keen to explore a range of approaches to abstraction with acrylic paint. We will experiment with a range of processes and techniques to learn more about the potential of the medium and develop confidence in balancing an intuitive approach to painting with considered decision making. Drawing on historical and contemporary examples, students will abstract from observation, gestural response, and invention. A range of experiments and projects will be developed in class each week.
Materials required:
Surfaces: 4 sheets of A1 cartridge paper *(2 sheets for the first class)
3 sheet of A1 oil sketch paper *(1 sheet for the first class)
3 sheet of A2 oil sketch paper *(1 sheet for the first class)
Acrylic paint*– a decent student quality brand will do if budget is tight, eg. Derivan, Reeves or similar.
Titanium white* (a larger tube if available)
A warm yellow* – yellow deep or yellow ochre
A cool yellow* – lemon yellow or hansa yellow
A warm red* – vermillion or cadmium hue
A cool red* – alizarin crimson
A warm blue* – ultramarine blue
A cool blue* – prussian blue or pthalo blue
Hogs-hair brushes in a range of sizes – flats and rounds. For example, sizes 2, 4, 8, 12.*
2 small round synthetic brushes in size 0 and 1*
Old cheap scratchy flat house paint brushes that you can find in the dollar store or hardware shop*
Other tools and materials for different projects will be discussed in class (these will be things you most likely already have at home or in the shed!)
For every class:
A4 visual journal*
Pencils*, sharpener*, eraser*
Scissors*
Glue stick*
Pen for writing notes*
Masking tape*
Bulldog clips*
Palette – a plastic serving tray, ice cream lids, old plates work well*
Jar with a lid*
3 plastic containers with lids (eg. Old margarine or yoghurt containers)*
Soft rag*
*Asterisk indicates the materials that will be required for the first class.
For all your material needs and advice, Central Artist Supplies is located next to our Administration Office at 7 Mulberry Road, Glenside.
Hours: Monday – Friday 8.30am-4.00pm, Saturdays 9.00am-12.30pm (9.00am-2.00pm when short courses are running). Phone 08 8271 6912. Email mail@centralartistsupplies.au
Melanie Cooper is an Adelaide based artist working across painting, drawing and textiles. As a graduate of the North Adelaide School of Art, she was awarded a Masters in Art History from the University of Adelaide in 2008 and a PhD in 2017. Exhibiting widely, her work was more recently shown in the Supermarket International Art Fair with FELTspace in Stockholm, Sweden. Her current practice is inspired by natural forms and concepts of interconnectedness, identity, and memory. She teaches painting, drawing and art history at the Adelaide College of Arts and Censors, Vandals and Iconoclasts at Adelaide Central School of Art. She also currently serves as state representative for the Art Association of Australia and New Zealand.
www.melaniecooper.net
@melaniecooper14
Image: Melanie Cooper, Thinking through violet, 2021, acrylic on canvas
