A amazing day...

...first of all I got an urgent text early this morning and had to go out. Which meant I had to throw everything for the art group this afternoon in a bag. I didn't even have a chance to prepare a second picture to try to teach them. (We normally all paint our own thing, but last week I had said I would show them how to paint on velvet...just for something different).

Anyway, this afternoon came around and I showed them the mermaid velvet painting I did last night. Have a peek at yesterday's blip if you want to know more. I hoped I had prepared a simple picture that they could recreate into a successful picture.

But an extra person turned up and so I didn't have a spare velvet piece for me to demonstrate to them how I did it because I gave her mine.

So a quick re think and I then used the plastic round top for my cocktail sticks and I then put white on the rim and I positioned the moon on the top left of their black velvet pieces. That gave each person a starting point on their painting. Then I told them basically they were on their own after that. I told them roughly the position to start the mermaid's hair. And they had the velvet piece (from last night's blip) which they passed around, and they got stuck in. See yesterday's blip how I proceeded.

And each person produced a brilliant mermaid black velvet painting.

Coffee break next.

Then I gave them their second piece of stretched black velvet, and I added a few more colours on their palettes (each person had exactly the same colours).

I then told them to play. They could just play at creating different effects or do a finished painting. It was up to them. And I sat down.

There was no source material. They just had to do it out of their heads. (Although I didn't tell them that).

Immediately, they got stuck in and each person produced something absolutely brilliant. They didn't want to go home, said they could have stayed on. I was truly and utterly amazed. They enjoyed the feel of painting on the black cotton velvet. And they were discussing among themselves further potential for this.

I just sat down, no further input from me.

All these years they have copied, used source material, photographs etc. They have never actually all sat down together and done something out of their heads. I was proud of them all!

It wasn't until an hour ago 8:30 pm I realised I didn't have a painting for my today's pic. I did this one quickly, and I can assure you it is NOT a patch on what my art group created. They surpassed themselves!

So the next couple of days I might (or I might do something different, depends how I feel tomorrow) have a play at creating effects with the black velvet now the pressure is off me!

A brilliant day today! I am fantastically, amazingly, happily pleased with today.

This is my pic today for a pic every day in 2017.

I need my bed and a long long long sleep...zzzzzzzzz