Art

A couple of months ago I started an art course. I wanted a reason to get out of the house, to interract with other people and I thought that 3 hours a week plus a drive would be a good test of where my stamina levels were at.  I also wanted to improve my skills.  I've always been able to look at most things and simply draw or paint them with quite a good degree of accuracy and have many people in my life who are rather in awe of this ability.  I found this 'awe' a bit frustrating and uncomfortable as I knew quite clearly where my limitations lay, and knew that I had to learn new skills in order to create artwork at a level that I aspired to and that would give me a sense of personal satisfaction and achievement. 

In the first 7 weeks we learned about the drawing techniques of grid drawing and of construction drawing.  The above image shows my assessment piece as a work in progress. We had to grid a very detailed image of frangipanis.  A very high level of accuracy is expected of us and this took many, many hours a day.  It was an interesting experience emotionally as initially I felt quite overwhelmed by the magnitude of the task and resistant to it.  As I progressed through the exercise I quickly became more comfortable and at ease with the task and relaxed into it. By the time I was just over half way through I began to really rather enjoy it and found it to be relaxing - which came as quite a surprise. Why grid? Well it helps to train your eye to a really fine degree of accuracy and also provides you with a strategy to develop art works with great accuracy when needed. Portraiture would be an example of a place where gridding could be used, and is used by many professionals.  I have been really surprised to discover that it is a strategy used by professional artists. I think I was under the impression (as are many) that all artists are abe to draw quickly, with amazing accuracy and with little thought.  That's all changing now....

Another surprise for me with regards to the course, is the focus on turning us into professional artists.  After enrolling for something to do and to learn some new skills, this possibility is something I am yet to get my head around completely.  Being a professional artist is something that could quite possibly work well for me as it is a type of career that I can work around my needs, my energy levels and my wellbeing.  I can draw and paint when I'm well and my energy is good and rest when I need to. I had thought about developing my skills so that I could teach art to kids - a vague, distant, pipedreamy type of thought.  Perhaps that will be something that becomes a greater possibility too.  Our tutor seems extremely confident that we will have the skills and ability to go on and become professional artists if that's what we desire.  Lots to think about.