Tulips

My first time trying acrylic painting at VisArt workshop in Rockville, MD was a blast. The class was on a saturday from 2pm to 5pm. Before I started the class, I was dwelling around downtown Rockville. The red-bricked streets and the close proximity of restaurants and shops reminded me of downtown Bethesda, vibrating a very modern yet rural feel. My major discovery was BonChon (korean fried chicken that is slightly different from American fried chicken) on Gibbs Street. The town center of Rockville is a big square plaza surrounded by 3-4 story-tall early modern offices and shops. It had a stage set up with chairs and tables, seemed to be getting ready for a performance.

I was early for my class, so I was able to do a little chit-chat with our instructor of the day Mark Collins. At the beginning of the class, Mark tried not to give us lectures but instead pointers on color and brush techniques. Apparently to make a color darker, you have to mix with the opposite color on the color wheel, instead of just mixing the color black. We were painting a field of tulips with a windmill. I had major problems with the clouds. Often times painted something good and have no idea how I did that. But after 3 hours of battle, I was finally able to whip up a painting that is recognizable. I think this is a good start on my painting career. My next project will perhaps be Albert Bierstadt's Among the Sierra Nevada Mountains.