Carollyn Rhodes-Thompson Artist Perth WA

I met Carollyn when she was an Artist in Residence at the Parmelia Hilton Perth. I worked in the building. She agreed to facilitate art classes for myself and two of my colleagues.

I am an art novice and had never worked with acrylics. Her method of painting appealed to me.
During our lunchtime sessions we learn’t the following:

The primary colours and how to mix them to create all other colours
Complimentary colours
Methods of applying colours to different surfaces eg canvas, paper, board
How to use the painting in layers to create depth
How to create and use stencils in an interesting way
How to use everyday items to apply the paint eg grass, sponges, sticks, straws, scourers, string etc
How to allow the paint to do its own thing. Let go of control.
What impressed me most was Carollyn’s ability to:
Provide easy instruction by showing, explaining and doing
Let your own creativity take its course
Make minor suggestions to greatly improve the look of the paintings
Allow the paint to transfer your emotions onto canvas and provide feedback in a non judgemental manner.
Carollyn’s relaxed and easy going manner made my first exploration into painting a very pleasing one. I was amazed at how emotional it could be to just let go and let the paint create the painting. It was also very liberating. I was surprised how people saw something different in my paintings and did not see them as amateur. In seven weeks we completed 4 canvases, many other paintings on paper and Xmas cards.
The course has encouraged me to continue pursuing painting in my own time and to develop my own style.If the classes were more regimented I would not have the confidence to develop a style of my own.
The exploration into colours and different ways to paint was an experience in itself with the final products being a bonus.
We are trying to arrange further classes with Carollyn as the possibilities within our creativity and artwork now seem endless.
Thank you Carollyn