WATERCOLOR “ABSTRACT” CLASS FEBRUARY 16, 2020

MARILYN VALIENTE
Marilyn is a visual artist living in South Florida for most of her life. After her bachelor’s degree in art education from the University of Florida, she continued her education in psychology and achieved a Master’s degree in mental health counseling and a PhD in pastoral psychology. She continues to maintain a small private practice treating people with various mental health disorders. For the past 15 years she has become very active pursuing her love for the visual arts by entering exhibitions, fine art festivals and art competitions. She is a signature member of both the Miami Watercolor Society (“MWS”) and the Florida Watercolor Society. For the years of 2017 and 2018, she was the President of the Miami Watercolor Society. She holds numerous awards including 1st Place in the watercolor division in The Coconut Grove Art Festival in 2011 and 2012. More recently she won “Best in Show” in the Broward Art Guild 2019 and MWS Fall 2017 Exhibitions, as well as 1st Place in the MWS Spring 2018 Exhibition. Recently her work has stretched her creativity to exploring acrylics and abstractions. In 2017, she was accepted as a member of the oldest and one of the most prestigious professional organization of women artists, The National League of American PEN Women.
CLASS DESCRIPTION:
This class is about loosing up and having fun with mark making. Humans have been making marks since the beginning of time. “Mark making” is using a variety of tools to make your unique mark that comes from the joy of the process and reacting to each mark rather than having preplanned painting in mind. It is a natural intuitive process that is your own. There is no right or wrong. We will go over some of the backbones of a good abstract painting and design to help you when you feel stuck. From there we will loosen up and make our unique artwork. No previous skills needed, just a desire to have fun.
SUPPLY LIST:
Paints, Inks, Mediums
I use inks, liquid and high flow acrylics and watercolors interchangeably. If you do not have some of the following colors, we can share.
Watercolors and Watercolor Inks
Bring your favorites. I like bold as well as quinacridone (“quin”) colors made by Golden, Holbein, and Daniel Smith. For inks, I prefer Dr. Ph. Martin’s Hydrus Fine Art Watercolor Inks (1 oz.). If you only buy a few colors choose black and vivid colors: oranges, blues, purple, and turquoise. Other good choices are: Dr. Ph. Martin’s Tech Inks and Dr. Ph. Martin’s Bombay India Inks.
Acrylics and Acrylic Inks
For liquid acrylics, I use Golden or DaVinci high flow acrylics (1 oz.) in bold colors (primaries) and any of the quins and nickels such as: azo gold, burnt orange and transparent red oxide.
Paper
I prefer YUPO, but you may use watercolor paper (140 lb.). Have a mix of at least 4 total pre-cut 5” x 7”, 6” x 6” and/or 8” x 8” of these blank papers. Please pre-cut so you are ready to paint when you come to the class.
Supports
Bring at least 1 20” x 30” foam board, cardboard or gatorboard. You will use one of these to hold several of your paintings.
Mark Making Tools
Essential items are brayers, spray bottle with water and alcohol, and stencils or stamps. Other fun things to play with are: straws, pipettes, mesh screen, cheesecloth, carpet liner, bubble wrap, old credit cards, scouring pads, Stabilo “woody” crayons or other watercolor crayons, graphite or charcoal pencils, watercolor pencils, small natural sponges, old toothbrush, Q-tips, sticks, old artwork. I will bring some to share.
Other Items to Bring
Paper towels & tissues, heat gun or hair dryer, water container, artist’s tape, ruler, scissors, foam plates or parchment paper (to be used as palettes), Saran Wrap, tin foil, and wax paper.
Any questions? Contact: Marilyn Valiente (305)323-5312; valientemp@aol.com; marilyn-valiente.com