instruction paintings

Now let's have some fun!

How It Works

Instruction Paintings are paintings done by participants from instructions. As you can imagine, although everyone reads the same instructions, the results will vary from one participant to the next. That much is guaranteed. I like instruction paintings as they are fun to do.

Consider this an invitation to participate. You should participate, especially if you can't draw the proverbial straight line. All you need is an open mind and eagerness to start.

To participate, select one set of instructions from the list below and start working on your painting or other activities, as instructed. Interpret the instructions your way! Do not ask anyone anything, You will be the one to make all the decisions.

When you are finished send me your result. Share your instruction paintings with the world. Send me a color photograph of your work and a copy of any sketches or writing part of your task. Most valuable are records of the comments your friends and acquaintances make when they see your work. The work will be exhibited on this page.

Instruction Painting No. 1 Paitning for a Friend	Let's start easy. Get a piece of heavy canvas. Cut a kind of round but irregular hole in the canvas roughly two feet across. Keep the cut-out and discard the rest of the canvas. Work on the edge of the canvas cut-out to make it frailed. Using acrylic paints, paint all kinds of colors on the canvas cut-out. Drip paint on it. Get it dirty and old looking. Be creative. Then throw it on the floor near the entry door. For the next three months record all comments your friends or company make when they notice the canvas. When asked what it is just pick it up and throw it in the trash without explanation. When your friends leave, fish out the canvas from your trash and replace on the floor. The fun part comes when people who already saw the canvas once trown in the trash come back and see the same piece on the floor. After three months send me a photograph of your piece together with a copy of the comments.
Instruction Painting No. 2 Painting for a Wall	Get a piece of rough and dark beige-brown jute. Glue it to a 1/4" masonite or heavy cardboard 36"x 36" in size using white glue. Screw some 2"x 1" wood strips at the edges on the back. Screw from the front using oversized screws with round heads. Let the screw heads show. You may even put some washers under the screw heads. Using off-white acrylic or oil paint color with the consistency of household latex paint and a 2 " wide house painters brush, paint vertical stripes on jute using only one continuous brush strike. Use a constant pressure on the brush. Start painting the first stripe at the top on the left side of your homemade canvas. Dip your brush in the paint and make a vertical stripe at one go without lifting the brush off the canvas. Do not pay any attention to running out of color. Do not under any circumstances go over what you painted. Do not correct anything. Leave it alone! Paint the next stripe in the same manner only start at the bottom of your canvas. Leave about 1/4" of unpainted space in between the stripes. Paint exactly twelve stripes to fill the canvas. Frame the finished painting in a modern aluminum frame or just use latice. Hang on the wall any way you wish.
Instruction Painting No. 3 Painting for the Great Outdoors	Get a piece of heavy canvas or sailcloth from your friendly neighborhood fabric store. The size of the canvas should be approximately 5' long and 4' wide. Make a small round hole in the canvas. The hole is located in the center of the width and 2' from the top. Make two very small holes in the two upper corners of the canvas. Tie ends of a six foot long rope through the holes. Dye the canvas with several different shades of cool gray color any way you choose. Age the canvas. Drag it through mud, dust, soot, drive over it, leave it outside on sun, let it rain on it, have kids use it for a towel. Take it with you on your next camping trip or walk through a park and hang it on a tree at eye level so you can see through the hole while standing. Or just hang it in your back yard. If the canvas is not stiff enough, put a dowel through the small holes at the top. Look through the hole for 5 minutes and observe. Write an essay on what you saw and how you felt looking through the hole. Write a minimum of 1,000 words (two typed pages). Send me a photograph of the canvas and a copy of your essay.
Instruction Painting No. 4 Painting for Yourself	Have a friend or family member take a photograph of yourself. Don't care about how you look, nobody will see the photo. Your hair can be messy. The photograph should be a portrait from waist up. This is a close up and your portrait should fill the photo as much as possible. Have the photo enlarged to a 8"x 6" size. With a grease pencil or permanent marker draw a 1"x 3/4" grid on the photo. Get a 40"x 30" canvas. Draw a 5"x 3 3/4" grid on this canvas with a pencil. Make a sketch of the grid on piece of paper. The grid is 8 x 8 or total of 64 fields. Look carefully at any one field on the photograph, observe the various colors in that field and decide what is the predominant color in that field. You can make a mask to block the rest of the photo. Note the color description in the corresponding field on your sketch. Decide on and note the colors for all 64 fields. Throw away the photograph. Now, using only your notes, mix and paint the colors you noted in the corresponding fields on the canvas. Use brush or painting knife with acrylics or oils. Frame and proudly display. When asked by friends what is it, tell them it's your portrait.
Instruction Painting No. 5 Painting for the Rain	Get a one-quart plastic beaker. Paint it ultramarine blue with a very stiff paint. Very sloppily. Inside out. Then drip some more paint on it. Make it look as if the paint spilled from inside. Repeat this several times. Attach the beaker to the end of a six-foot stick or pipe. Broom handle is ideal for this. Make a hole in the bottom of the beaker and attach five foot long rubber or plastic tubing. Make sure the tubing fits snugly into the hole. Just push the tubing through the hole. Attach the tubing to the stick every so often with a twist tie from your grocery store. Take the end of the tubing and turn it up approximately two feet from the bottom of the stick and secure in that position. Don't crimp the tubing. Take your piece outside and stick it into the ground. During rain, observe what the rain will do with its painting.

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