The Fullerton Museum Center is providing a Creative Co-Op Wine and Paint series to the local community through a sip and paint event.

I attended the December 9th Wine & Paint Night: Abstract Portraits session and was painting abstract portraits of the Mona Lisa in no time. There were only a few of us, but we were ready to learn. I’m not an artist, but I like art, and I do enjoy wine and painting.

Our instructor was Shay Jones, the communication coordinator for the Fullerton Museum Center, and Jones was kind and talked about abstract painting.

What does “abstract painting” mean?

Abstract art is art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead uses shapes, colors, forms, and gestural marks to achieve its effect.

Did you know?

If you look closely, you can see Mona Lisa is wearing a veil. Bruno Mottin, an expert at the Louvre, believes this is a guarnello, which was traditionally used by women while pregnant or just after giving birth.

Jones gave us three primary colors to use, which are red, yellow, and blue. Jones also gave us white paint, and white will lighten a color, but it does not brighten a color. She told us to trace with yellow; the yellow color palette can be used as an additive, mixed with different pigments to add light and brightness for glazes and lighter tones. Jones mention creating a shadow on the face.

What does shadowing in art mean?

If art can be defined as creating visual or auditory elements that express the author’s imaginative or technical skill, then shadowing in art represents those skills in play with shadows. Drawing lines out of the insubstantial, creating forms out of something that isn’t there.

Jones gave us step-by-step directions explaining the process. Jones gave us plenty of time in between to paint and sip wine. Jones was there to help us if we had questions on how to improve our work.

It was a fun night and there was wine.

The next Wine & Paint Night: Dream Collages on Friday, Jan. 13, 2023, from 6:30 to 9pm at the Fullerton Museum Center Located at 301 N. Pomona Ave Fullerton. For more information, please visit: http://www.fullertonmuseum.com/events