Build WORKSHOP
There’s a group of artists that fascinates me. They
fall into a category known by a few labels, such as
primitive, naïve,brut,oroutsider. In essence, these
artists are untrained but certainly not unskilled.
They’re people who are motivated by their need to
make art, even without the benefit of an instructor.
Often these artists pull their materials from whatever
is available, sometimes even resorting to making their
own pigments.
I think this drive to create is something many
of us relate to. A number of years ago, I discovered
a wonderful museum in Baltimore—the American
Visionary Art Museum—which is devoted to telling
the stories of outsider artists and their work. It’s
certainly worth a visit.
I based this lesson on the work of Henri Rousseau
(French, 1844–1910), who worked in a government
job for most of his life but painted whenever he could.
He claimed his only teacher was nature. I was privi-
leged to see Rousseau’s paintings in Paris and can only
say that nature taught him some unique lessons well.
The element that struck me most in Rousseau’s work
was his use of simple shapes, subdivided by lines, with
colors varying within and between those lines. Rousseau
used line to bring a surreal aspect to what he painted.
I find myself drawn to this technique and used the
approach to createNight Garden(right). See my demon-
stration on pages 34–35, and discover how you might
use line and color à la Rousseau in your own work.COMPOSITION
Taking a Cue
From Rousseau
Materials
SURFACE:11x14 canvas or
canvas board
BRUSHES:
·angle
·fine-tipped
GOLDEN ACRYLIC COLORS:
·High Flow nickel azo yellow
·High Flow turquoise phthalo
·High Flow cerulean blue
·Fluid Hansa yellow medium
·Fluid teal
·Fluid titanium white
·Fluid quinacridone red
·Fluid Prussian blue
OTHER:
·sponge or spray bottle
·No. 2 pencil
·Golden acrylic glazing liquidCHRIS COZEN (chriscozenartist.com) is a self-taught artist. For much of
her career she taught children, from whom she learned the value of play in
learning. As an art instructor and an author of fi ve books on acrylic
painting, she applies this principle in her instruction for people of all ages.
Cozen has presented lectures and classes throughout the United States
and is an Art Educator for Golden Artist Colors.CHRIS COZEN builds an engaging composition
based on line and color-fi lled shapes.32 Artists Magazine May 2019