Creative Blooms and Abstract Adventures With Bettina

You’re an artist. No really. We all are!

Join Bettina, your guide on this fun-filled artistic adventure. Whether you’ve never picked up a paintbrush or you just want to have some creative fun, this course is for you. We’ll dive into simple techniques with just a few tools—and voilà, you’ll be creating beautiful flowers and cool abstract art. Ready to tap into your inner artist? Let’s make some masterpieces together!

Week 1 (11/11): Autumn Leaves: Watercolor Made Easy

We’ll use wet-on-wet techniques to give the leaves unexpected pops of color. Consider picking up a few fallen leaves to trace for our class. If autumn isn’t your season, no worries, we’ll also draw some leaves together. No experience needed—just a love for color and a sense of adventure!

What You’ll Learn:

• Wet-on-wet and wet-on-dry watercolor techniques
• Watercolor brush strokes
• Blending colors

What You’ll Need:

• Watercolor set (feel free to bring whatever you have on hand.)
• 2 watercolor brushes, one small (size 2) and one bigger (size 6 or 8), but really any paintbrush will work
• Ideally, watercolor or multimedia paper, standard letter or A4 size
• Paper towel
• Water in a plastic cup or glass
• Pencil to trace leaves
• Scissors

Week 2 (11/18): Abstract Explorations

In this session, we’ll paint mini abstract squares using a paintbrush and then embellish with marker to make a stunning abstract piece of art.

What You’ll Learn:

• Abstract composition
• Color theory
• Adding elements to finished paintings such as marker or chalk

What You’ll Need:

• Acrylic paint set. If you want to follow the inspiration piece exactly, I used yellow, royal blue, baby blue and bright pink
• 1 brush, size 6 or 8, but really anything will work
• Multimedia or watercolor paper. Size: 8 ½ x 11” or A4
• Paper towel
• Water in a plastic or glass cup. I suggest 2 water glasses
• Regular or graphite pencil
• Colored marker or gel pen. White is always a good call, but feel free to bring whatever color speaks to you such as black, gold, silver, etc.

Week 3 (11/25) and Week 4 (12/2):

Happy Flowers- Lavender Bouquet and Easy Fall Bouquet

In these sessions, we’ll combine watercolor paint with black and white markers to create some very happy flowers.

What You’ll Learn:

• Building an abstract pattern
• Blending colors
• Adding elements to finished paintings with markers

What You’ll Need:

• Watercolor paints
• 2 brushes, one small (size 2) and one large (size 6 or 8), but really anything will work
• Multimedia or watercolor paper
• Paper towel
• Water in a plastic or glass cup
• Black and white markers, gel pens, or chalk
• Optional: Hairdryer to speed up drying of paint

Week 5 (12/9): Holiday Greeting Cards

In this session, we’ll make a couple of holiday cards using watercolor and acrylic paint.

What You’ll Need:

• Acrylic paint set or watercolors
• Ideally 2 brushes, one thin (size 2) and 1 bigger (size 11 or 12)
• Multimedia or sketch paper
• A jar lid or other circular object you can trace
• Q-tips
• Water in cup
• Any embellishments that speak to you, like glitter, ribbons, gold paint, etc.
• Scissors
• Glue/glue stick
• Weights when done to ensure good glue seal

Week 6 (12/16): Abstract Vibes: Composition

In this session, we’ll paint an abstract using a paintbrush, palette knife, or discarded credit card, with a goal of turning it into a large abstract painting down the road.

What You’ll Learn:

• Abstract composition (2-minute version)
• Color theory (2-minute version)
• How to use common household items to make abstract paintings
• Adding elements to finished paintings such as marker or chalk

What You’ll Need:

• Acrylic paint set. If you want to follow the inspiration piece exactly, I used yellow, royal blue, black, metallic aqua, cornflower blue, bisque, yellow oxide, brick and white
• 1 brush, size 6 or 8, but really anything will work
• Credit card, palette knife, or paintbrush
• Multimedia or watercolor paper. Size: 8 ½ x 11” or A4
• Paper towel
• Water in a plastic or glass cup

About Bettina Brunner:

Bettina is a self-taught painter and potter based in Reston, Virginia. She teaches art classes at various venues, including the League of Reston Artists, Art House7, and her own studio. Bettina has exhibited her work in galleries and shows across the U.S., including in Bethesda, Maryland, Washington, DC, and Reston, Virginia, as well as internationally in San-Quentin-la-Poterie, Provence, France and Stockholm, Sweden. Her work reflects a passion for creativity and a commitment to sharing the artistic process with others.

This program is offered free of charge by the Georgetown Lombardi Arts & Humanities Program (AHP) at MedStar Georgetown University Hospital in Washington, D.C.

We invite you to donate to the AHP. Your gift of any amount will help the AHP continue to provide free art and movement classes to our global community, foster a creative and constructive response to illness, and bring comfort and inspiration to those in need.

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