Creative Hobbies – Painting

Happy First Day of February! This month will be focused on the arts. To kick-start our focus on art this month we’d first like to ask you, our readers, what are some creative, artistic things you enjoy doing? Do you like to draw, paint or sculpt? Play an instrument? Enjoy the cinema or theatre? Do you enjoy photography? Do you like to write creative stories?

Here at ABA English our teachers have many creative outlets that they enjoy in their leisure time.

Andrea, for example, enjoys painting with oils on canvas. When the weather is nice, she can be seen on her terrace making the most of the strong light for her paintings. Her canvas rests on an easel and she mixes the oil paints on a plate. She has brushes of different shapes and sizes that she uses for different painting techniques. “I’m no Van Gogh, but I like to do paintings of still-life and pastures too,” says Andrea.

Don’t be shy! Tell us what some of your creative hobbies are!

P.S. We love to get feedback from our students! Do you know what feedback means? It means we’d like to hear some responses from you about our posts! Let us know if there is anything in particular you would like us to write about or discuss. We always appreciate your suggestions.

Vocabulary

Kick-start – to give new energy to (something).

Painting – a picture made by putting paint on a canvas, board, etc.

Canvas – a specially prepared piece of cloth on which a picture can be painted by an artist.

Easel – a frame for supporting an artist’s painting.

Brush – a tool with many stiff hairs, fibers, etc., that is used for cleaning, smoothing, or painting something.

Techniques – a way of doing something by using special knowledge or skill.

Still-life – a painting, drawing, etc., of a carefully arranged group of objects (such as flowers and fruit).

Pastures – a large area of land where animals feed on the grass.

Shy – tending to avoid something because of nervousness, fear, dislike, etc.

Suggestions – an idea about what someone should do or how someone should behave.