When is a class not a class. I love taking art classes, (and cooking classes) but need to learn something new from the person teaching the class. This is a watercolor painting from a class I took on Tuesday. I am trying to decide if I should pay the money for the camaraderie, and know I am not really going to learn anything new. The teacher is delightful and tells other people how to mix colors, I already know how to mix.
What do you get from a class, where you are just given something to draw or bring your own photo? And there is no real instruction or suggestions for change, is that instruction. The teacher is very nice and seems to do fairly nice (standard) work, but there is not much inspiration for me here. To continue or not?
I took an art class this Sunday for the first time in the area. I admire the work of the artist, although quite different than my normal style, and I did learn some new color mixtures, which I enjoyed. The work is a little darker than my usual style, but I had fun.
One of things that I have learned from taking art classes over many years is that even if you really like their art and style, it is not your style. Every class I have ever taken the teacher thinks their style is the only good one. I do always learn something, but I am not about the confidence that comes with it. Maybe I wish I had more confidence in what I do, so I could feel that way too!
I learned some “sweet” color combinations, but think I am back to vignettes of my own choosing, or scenes I select. I just can’t get excited about either of the paintings, and I can’t sell them (legally) as his paintbrush touched my canvas?
The picture below is part of the setup:
I might have to try to do it again with a little lighter hand and see what I think. I won’t mention the instructor’s name, as I do really respect his work and he did the following in less than an hour.
I would love to know what you think of what I have posted?
So I decided to add my own personal view to the vase scene and this is what I came up with in about an hour. Would love input on what look you like best!
The view from our motel in Dillon Beach was just so beautiful. I took a photo of it and loved the photo, but I wanted to make it softer. It was early in the morning and the sun was soft on the water. Looking at it now, I see I need one straight line in the left side. And looking below, I think a little change can make a big difference. This came together in one day and is 20″ by 10″.
People often ask artists how long it took to paint a painting they might be interested in buying. What they don’t take in to account is how many years, how many lessons, how many paintings did it take to get to this point? One of my friends, an industrial designer once told me it took years of practice to get to the point where you could do something in a limited amount of time. I think that is so very true! When I first started painting I used larger canvases and most likely wasted a lot of good paint on them, but they helped me define what I now enjoy doing.
Watercolor is usually not my medium, but since there is a small class nearby once a week I thought I would give it a try. Watercolor works the exact opposite as painting in oil. Light to dark versus dark to light. The photo below is an oil painting that I did of a similar image about two years ago. Same idea, but two very different looks. I’m not sure which one I like working in better.
I’ve been doing a lot of pen and ink drawings with a watercolor wash of the houses in my neighborhood and I like the effect of the combination. Structure or no structure?