Last Wednesday, 30th Sept, I took part in an acylics workshop run by artist Carole Baker in Lichfield. I have to say I enjoyed it and really learned a lot. Carole showed us how to plan a painting both in terms of composition and colour and how to use acrylics in layers to capture mood and atmosphere. I wasn't really happy with the panting I produced as I think I tried to be a bit too ambitious. The point of the workshop was to show how reference material, in most cases a photograph, can be adapted and interpreted by changing both composition and colour. I picked a forest scene taken in Spring and tried to paint it in an autumn manner but without using any green. This lead to an interesting but unsatisfying painting using purples, oranges and reds, attched to this post. What I did learn was how to link colours across the whole painting more effectively and how to paint in a loose manner. I an currently having another go at the same painting but using a more conventional colour scheme. I have posted it on my gallery and I am happy with progress as I have used what I have learned to good effect. Have a look for Autumn in the Landscapes section under Gary Austin. Still room to improve as always! If you have never participated in a workshop before I would recommend it. Everyone was really friendly and I will definitely do it again. Lots of painting to do this weekend but sad to say that most of it will be on the bathroom walls, did the ceiling last week!