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Animal muse: Get creative with 'Fur, Feathers, Scales, Skin: Animal Painting in a Weekend'
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Fur, feathers, scales and skin.
Fluffy, velvety, sleek or scaly, students can learn to paint any animal they please after attending 鈥淎nimal Painting in a Weekend鈥� at the Harwood Art Center on Saturday and Sunday, Sept. 7 and 8.
Instructor and painter, Natalie Voelker, will lead artists through simple shapes, lights and darks, color and texture to bring their favorite critters to life.
It all started when Voelker painted a series focusing on her dog about three years ago. The 10-painting series sold out.
鈥淎s I was painting them, I talked about how the dog represents me because dogs are both domestic and wild,鈥� she said.
This marks her third time teaching the class.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been really fun and it鈥檚 interesting,鈥� Voelker said. 鈥淚 was kind of expecting people to want to paint just their pets. But the first one I taught, everyone wanted to paint birds.鈥�
Voelker asks each participant to bring a photograph of their chosen animal, as well as their own oil paints.
鈥淭hey pick whatever animal they want to paint,鈥� she said. 鈥淢y approach to painting is more traditional. I think that鈥檚 more accessible to people to have steps one, two and three.
鈥淎t first, I look at everyone鈥檚 reference,鈥� Voelker continued. 鈥淚 get a lot of people who鈥檝e never done this before.
Her students draw the form with paint, usually brown. Color comes later.
鈥淧ainting is a practice of observation,鈥� Voelker said. 鈥淭hen you paint over it with a second coat. It鈥檚 very process-oriented. So far, everyone鈥檚 been very happy with the results.鈥�
Some of the works are abstract, others are more realistic depictions.
The two-day marathon allows Voelker to give more individual attention to her students. She鈥檚 seen everything from crows to hawks, cats and a fox. One creative painter produced a goat person lifted from a meme. Another painted a punk rock pig.
She traced the class鈥� popularity to deeper meanings.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 very easy to say something about ourselves and our humanity by using animals,鈥� Voelker said. 鈥淭hey can express a more emotional side for us.鈥�
A Helene Wurlitzer Foundation fellow and international BP Portrait Award exhibitor, Voelker creates paintings that investigate complexity and transcendence in seemingly ordinary people. Her painting, 鈥淒avetta,鈥� has been exhibited at the National Portrait Gallery in London. Her work has been featured in multiple publications including the anthology, BARED, and the French-English magazine, VolUp. Voelker has produced commissioned works for the Harwood Art Center, 508 Mural Festival, the city of Albuquerque, and various private collections 鈥� both nationally and abroad. She has a BFA from the University of Wisconsin.
