The Exchange #4: Painting with Annie Liu

A community class, by the community, for the community!

This is an amazing class by Annie Liu!

• All supplies will be provided. • No experience required. • Wear something you do not mind getting paint on.

Annie will guide you through the process of painting the cloud photo posted below (stay tuned)! You can paint the same cloud, bring your own cloud photo, or pick from some other references provided in the workshop. The workshop will cover general acrylic painting techniques and ideas to inspire artistic creativity in people of all skill levels. Ultimately, this workshop is a time and space to create, and finding both is often the hardest part of making art. Cloud or no cloud, you are free to make whatever art you wish!

Why clouds? Clouds are dynamic in color, shape, and mood. Our eyes are so used to seeing clouds and our brains can easily process the concept of a cloud. And yet, painting a cloud can really challenge how we perceive them (or anything else we see). We will learn about color values, color theory, and mapping a reference photo on canvas, and it doesn’t matter if you mess up! By the end of the workshop, you will all have a piece of sky to take home with you

ABOUT ANNIE: Annie’s relationship with art began when she was a baby. She learned how to draw faces from her daycare teacher who, per her request, would sketch her a different person every day. She would mimic the strokes until she was creating her own imaginary people on paper. Soon, her house was covered in portraits of people with “necks too thin to support their heads,” as her grandfather would say quite honestly. As she grew up, her art evolved. She explored ink, watercolor, oil pastels, printmaking, etc. and ultimately fell in love with acrylic painting in college. Acrylics were vivid and bold but also forgiving. She painted portraits and landscapes and took classes to understand this medium. Annie also discovered social dancing around the same time. Her world opened up from classical piano and realism paintings to Swing, Salsa, and Brazilian Zouk. Her new challenge was improvisation and free-flowing movement. Letting go of perfection and simply enjoying the process. Finding curiosity in human connection. Creating something spontaneous out of nothing. When Annie is not at work being a chemical engineer or home cuddling her two cat-children, she is constantly exploring ways to do that in her art, dancing, and music. The Exchange will be her first time teaching painting. She is very excited to share this medium with her community!

Contribution: $20 (Venmo, Cash or Card) Location: Dauntless Dance 3221 Houston Ave