ATC Abstract Painting: Beginner Level / Newbies

Round 2, January 2013.

This is an ATC [artist trading card] swap good for newbies and beginners. You want to make an abstract painting in the size of 2.5" x 3.5". Think of it as an exercise to have fun with colour!

You will send 1 card to 1 person.

You can use watercolour, gouache, acrylic paint or mixed media. It may be fun to paint a larger surface and cut the part out that you like the most! I suggest you use watercolor paper, gelatin sized paper for acrylics or canvas paper. You can buy ATC blanks in art supply shops in all of these varieties or cut your own card from a larger sheet of material.

â–º Paper the back side so it looks finished. Glue stick or rubber cement works great.

â–º Please sign and date your work.

â–º OK for newbies with filled out profiles and imperfect swappers that need redemption. Please have complete profiles and explanations.

â–º I will angel any flakes after you give them a 1 rating.

â–º Include your screen name and the name of the swap in the envelope when you mail it. Please rate your partner as soon as your receive your artist trading card.

â–º Try not to send out anything warped or wrinkled. I glue mount my ATC on a core of some kind [heavier material like cereal / food box chipboard, Bristol drawing board, tagboard, card stock, Paris paper, etc.]. I wrap the whole ATC in waxed paper and press it in a catalog between a heavy weight overnight if I used a wet adhesive. A lot of the time, I lay a watercolour painted ATC face down on a paper towel and use a clothes iron on the reverse side of the paper to press it smooth and flat, then glue it to the core and back it with paper. If you want to skip the core, at least make sure it is nice and flat and paper the back. Glue stick, rubber cement, YES! Paste all work well without wrinkling or need to press the papers.

There are many ways to make what I like to call a nice "Abstract Colour Squoosh".

• Monochrome [different hues of one colour, like various colours of blue or red]

• Complementary Colors [purple + yellow; red + green; Blue + orange]

• Analogous Colors [see wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Analogous_colors]

• Rainbow!

Contact me with any questions or concerns. Artist trading cards are fun to exchange. This is a fun swap to add a painted card to your collection.

WANT TO LEARN MORE?

Free download of this book Starting With Abstract Painting