In-Studio

Sunflower Craze: A 2-Day Acrylic Painting Workshop

Instructor: Theresa Eisenbarth

Sketching Materials:

  • Willow charcoal, pencils, and erasers are used to sketch the initial layout.

  • White chalk for layout corrections.

  • A sketchbook or a notebook

  • Tracing paper (if you need it for layout)

Reference Images:

  • A photo reference for this class will be provided for the project. Everyone will work from one or two examples of sunflowers I provide to students.

  • An iPad (if you have one) for editing photos (but not necessary if you don't have one, you can use your phone)

Acrylic Paints:

  • A basic set of Liquitex or GOLDEN acrylic paints in PROCESS colours (Process Magenta, Process Cyan and Process Yellow) and essential tones (Titanium White, Process Black) for mixing. A necessary six-pack of Liquitex or GOLDEN HEAVY BODY is another good brand. The brand TRI-ART is great too, and can also be ordered online

  •  1 gloss medium (DO NOT BUY retarder)

Bring what you have for other paints, mainly if you have attended my class previously. I use a variety of Golden Acrylic Fluids in my demos.

Brushes:

  • Assorted brushes in various sizes (small, medium, and large) – 2 flat brushes for broad strokes and detailing, 2 angle brushes, 1 round brush for fine details, and a medium-sized filbert brush for blending

Palette:

  • A palette paper for mixing and blending colours

  • Stay Wet palette

Canvas or Canvas Board:

  • 2 stretched canvases, canvas boards or a birch cradleboard (1 of each will do as well) in 11”x 14” or 12” x 12” size. (Consider the size – more significant means more time to finish the project comfortably)

  • 1 canvas pad (or at least six sheets for practice). You can buy an acrylic canvas pad of sheets, as this works for practicing.

  • 2 small paint panels (Fredrix is a good brand). No larger than 9” x 12” or 10” x 12”

Surface Preparation:

  • 1 Gesso (a primer to prepare the canvas surface)

Clean-Up and Maintenance:

  • Water container

  • Blue shop paper towels

  • A dog pee-pad – YES!!! Suitable for cleaning your brushes for dry brushing

Protection and Comfort:

  • Apron or painting shirt to protect clothing from paint splatters

  • Palette sealable bags – optional; but helpful in preserving leftover mixed colours for the next session

Extras for Creativity:

  • 1 green painter’s tape – used to create clean edges or define specific areas on the canvas.

  • Spray bottle

Bring a HUGE smile :)