Creative reset class 2025 - by Louise Fletcher

Description Date 2025-08-27 - 2025-09-05
In 2023 I first discovered the Louise Fletcher annual;  Find your joy taster course, this was what I created then. 2024 I started the course and did the first challenge, but did not finish the exercises, mostly because it was the same challenges again.

So this year it is called Creative reset, and I'm just doing the exercises I find fun.

     


Lesson one - Abstract    
The first assignment was to take a large paper and tape it into 6 squares and then paint an abstract in blue, red, yellow, black and white - ignoring the tape and just painting for 30 minutes using a timer. After that remove the tape and study what you like and didn't like about each square.

I think I went to small, using just an A3 paper for 30 minutes made me really fill all of the paper and it was a bit muddy. But once I removed the tape I quite liked some of the squares.

Then repeat the challenge; but with any colours you would like and draw on the paper before adding the paint and leave some white paper showing. I drew with black acrylic marker. I think the first one came out better than this one.

  

 

Lesson one - Representational    
I think this was an alternate assignment, but I did both. Here you were to make 2-3 smaller representational paintings of the same subject in 15 minutes; using red, blue, yellow, white and black. I used a reference from the Food paint challenge.

When the 15 minutes were up, I continued with one of the paintings for an additional 30 minutes to "finish" it (I can barely see any difference) .

The second part of the challenge is to pick any colours you would like, but start with drawing and keep some white on the paper.  I decided that I really liked the colours I had used for the first one, so I just drew with acrylic markers at the beginning of the 15 minutes and then finished it with paint during the remaining minutes.

 

Lesson two - drawing your face    
In this assignment we were to use a mirror and draw our face without looking at the paper (blind drawing). We were to do this exercise in a couple of different ways, maximum 5 minutes per each drawing. We were also to look at ourselves as a friend and not criticise our looks.

I did it all in ballpoint pen, and I like the left handed drawing the best as most things are in the right place and my nose looks nice, when I tried to go slower I really lost track of where I was.

 

Lesson three - ugly painting    
In this assignment we were to paint with the intent of creating an ugly painting - learning to love failure. I don't want to do this one. I did this in 2023.

 

Lesson four - break the norms, mark making    
This assignment was also split into a abstract and a representational route. The idea was to try as many ways of mark making a possible.

I chose to do three representational paintings of Wonkiito, the dented giraffe in Kenya. They are all A4 on multimedia paper. Two of them I started as an ink drawing, I then used soft pastel crayons, oil pastel crayons, water soluable wax crayons, gel pens, acrylic paint with brushes, palette knives, silicon brushes, brayer, linocut stamps, bubble wrap and stencils. I added collage with origami paper and gold leaf.

  
Lesson five - surprise    
Here we had two different challenges; either pick three numbers and get challenges from a list of techniques or pick a persona (imaginary person) to paint in the role of. Both of them could be done abstract or representational.

If you pick the techniques, spend at most 5 minutes on each and then move on. After the three techniques; make max 5 more marks and then the challenge concluded (you could continue working on it later).

  1. Paint with only a cloth and one large brush

  2. Add a colour you don’t like (you can mix it with other colours on your palette if you want to)

  3. Paint with one brush held in the wrong hand - try to get a variety of marks with that one brush

  4. Use charcoal or soft pastel in your painting without fixative

  5. Scribble with a pencil or other drawing material

  6. Add hand writing

  7. Make one large mark (even if that means covering things up)

  8. Apply paint and then rub it with a dry cloth to smudge it

  9. Switch from painting to drawing (or vice versa)

  10. Apply paint by monoprinting from a scrap of paper

  11. Glue on a piece of found collage paper

  12. Add pattern, either with a stencil or just by hand painting/drawing a pattern

  13. Apply paint and then scratch into it before it dries

  14. Make at least 3 marks with your eyes closed

  15. Load a brush with lots of paint and water and then press it hard onto your paper - hold the paper up to let the paint run

 
The personas suggested were:

  1. Naughty 7-year old boy left alone in art studio

  2. Grumpy old man, tired of being ignored

  3. Joyful older lady who has decided she doesn’t care what anyone thinks

  4. Teenage girl who’s just had a row with her mother

  5. An artist painting in total darkness after a power cut

  6. Someone who has no fear

  7. An artist who only ever works with collage and drawing materials

  8. A child who has never painted before

  9. Artist known for expressionist abstract paintings of dark emotions

  10. Someone who loves to use bold vibrant colours

  11. Someone who hates colour and much prefers black and white

  12. An old “hippy” with peace signs on his wall

 

 

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© Mona Pihl