Everyone had an exciting time exploring paint and the world of abstraction this past weekend in the Abstract Expressionism workshop. I prepared the studio the day before by covering the walls and floors with tarps so my students would be able to splash and drip paint freely. I also salvaged several boards from a construction site to use as support for the larger size art. I had purchased a couple of large rolls of paper from the art store in Kona that we cut into 3-4′ lengths and stapled to the walls. I wanted people to paint big with a variety of larger brushes than they normally used for painting. The experience of painting in a large scale lends itself to both abstraction and personal expression. The class was well attended and I was able to offer the class again the next day to several students who missed Sunday’s workshop. I believe even for representational painters, changing up the scale and painting abstractly is important as it ‘informs’ their other artwork. Plus… it’s just plain fun!