Feel the Chemistry at Studio One Noosa
What do you get when you combine a blank canvas, acrylic paint, a glass or two of wine and a whole lot of creative abandon at a Studio One Sip & Pour – Colour Chemistry Workshop? A fun, memorable experience resulting in a one-of-a-kind artwork you’ll actually be proud to hang on your wall, discovers Rebecca Jamieson Dwyer.
I’m tying an apron around my waist and feeling slightly nervous. Despite having a keen appreciation for visual art, creating it has never been my strong suit (I’m more of a words girl), but I’ve been promised it’s safe to leave my anxieties at the door – when it comes to Studio’s One’s Sip & Pour – Colour Chemistry Workshops, no artistic experience is necessary.
The IN Noosa Magazine team start by sipping our BYO bubbles and snacking on a sensational cheese and charcuterie platter provided by founders Richard Donelly and Juanita Van Den Bergh, while gazing out at the Studio One Noosa gallery and workshop space’s unexpected views of Noosa National Park at the end of Gateway Drive.
With its high ceilings, gallery walls laden with artwork, and that verdant backdrop, it feels like the perfect spot to unleash our dormant creativity.
Juanita – a practising fine artist who creates organic, large-scale paintings on canvas, has a deep love for the synergy and interactions of colour, something she explores in her own creative practice.
She starts by giving us a demonstration – pouring multiple colours of acrylic paint across a ‘pillow’ of white paint then adding colour and dots of activator paint, which interacts with the elements on the canvas, causing them to behave in interesting ways: bubbling to the surface, blooming out across the canvas, and mingling with one another to create unusual and striking formations.
We can also spin our canvas on a turntable, use a cup to control the flow of paint and create unusual shapes, or blow through a straw to spread the paint in a more forceful and interesting way, she explains.
Every example Juanita shows us has a completely different feel, and the group is eager to get started and turn our creative ideas into a reality!
Deb goes first, using the straw technique to create a vibrant, hyper-feminine, highly detailed explosion of pink, purple and blue that leaps off the canvas. Never one to follow the crowd, Jakki’s is a minimalist, abstract piece that she tinkers with over the course of the evening, transforming it from its original iteration into something just as eye-catching in blue, yellow and stripes of black.
Megan goes for peach and orange tones, creating an Aperol Spritz-coloured canvas with intricate black pattern and detail; while Michelle leans into the darker colours, layering a deep navy blue with golden metallic blooms for a luxe, moody feel. Cassie also chooses metallics, but adds pops of white and tributaries of bright blue, creating a piece that’s reminiscent of an aerial portrait of the earth; while Millie is inspired by the ocean, layering vibrant shades of blue, teal, white and silver, before blowing white activator paint across the canvas to create dots, rivers and lakes of colour.
When it’s my turn – inspired by my young children, and their love for anything rainbow-hued, Juanita helps me use the cup method to mix coral, blue, green and yellow together, adding what feels like an insane amount of paint to my canvas (no scrimping on materials here!) before dotting it with the activator paint in white and yellow. I then spread this with a palette knife, creating organic forms and causing the colours to mingle and react with one another.
As we sip, laugh and chat our way through the evening, it’s amazing to see that, despite our lack of experience, we’ve all created a striking, interesting piece of art that’s destined to adorn the walls or home or office rather than being relegated to the depths of the garage.
You can check out the process and the end results on the IN Noosa social media pages and while I don’t think I’ll quit the day job just yet, I loved every moment of letting my creativity literally flow!
This is the perfect activity for people of all ages and artistic abilities – great for couples and groups alike with a very special artwork to remember forever.
In addition to discovering and ordering original local artwork or fine art prints from Studio One, you can visit the gallery for regular exhibitions with local artists or book a Sip & Pour – Colour Chemistry Workshop. It’s all part of their commitment to have us hanging local art on every wall!
