Amber and I took a watercolor class for the past month, mostly because it’s precisely the opposite of the sort of thing that I’m inclined to do. This was the pinnacle of my work:
I took a two-week songwriting class as a teenager. I learned that I have no business writing songs. I’ve learned the same lesson about painting.
Actually that painting is good! You are too hard on yourself in this matter.
It’s the technique that kills me. It’s just straight-up hard to wield that brush correctly. The water runs down the page, the paint bleeds, the paint gets all gummy…it’s a mess.
That’s that’s to say nothing of the difficulty of actually having the skill to envision and accurately lay out a portrayal of something being observed.
I think I’ll take a drawing class next. I have no capacity to render anything on paper, even if I did have great technical skills. A simple drawing class seems like a step in the right direction.
This was, by the way, on my list of things to do. I still haven’t taken up knitting or sewing, and I certainly haven’t learned to play an instrument, but it’s a start. :)
It actually looks like an apple, which is much better than I could do!
It may not be your “thing” so to speak. But you managed that quite nicely.
Waldo, I think you did a great job with that apple!
That is one of the reasons why I love our school: Alex is only seven and already wields the water color brush, draws and understands color beautifully; knits (and will learn crochet next year); sews; and is learning to play the recorder (and will have learned at least the violin and likely another instrument before he graduates). :-)
I guess I shouldn’t have used the less than and greater than signs to put in my shameless plug markers before and after that second paragraph…
‘Fraid not. :) WordPress figures those are HTML tags (like <strong> to bold something) and strips ’em out because they’re invalid. But, hey, shameless plug it is. :)
It’s a great apple, but why does it have goose bumps?
Interestingly, the right side of the apple looks nicely rounded, but the top and left sides look more… cubist. One of the factors that seems to make watercolor difficult is that as a patch dries, the water pulls color to the edges (just like a drying coffee stain that leaves a ring.)
Well, I like the shiny spot. :-)
I looked at your apple on my laptop screen, then I stood up and walked about ten feet away and looked again. Yes, a good clean apple, a very appealing, edible apple. Frame & hang the fruit.
Did Amber do a companion piece?
It’s the texture of the paper.
*Laugh* That’s an awfully kind way to put it.
The whole class did apples. Apples for everyone! :)
I taught my daughters to sew, and I haven’t tackled learning anything new in ages (as long as you don’t count learning when to hold my tongue and when to speak up; a very useful skill).
I have been a hobby photographer since I was 11-12, but I am still struggling with it. I like some of my photos, but I am unaware of whether anyone else thinks they are worthy.
Painting and drawing are especially daunting for me. I only learned to draw well enough to serve my occupation (land surveyor) and I am more comfortable with 2D drawing, like AutoCad or a similar program.
Nice job, I’ve been painting for thirty years, been to art classes in a school of art for five years, etc. and my apples come out looking like tomatoes…so not bad, I declare “you’ve got the touch”
Which is partly why I’ll be taking a graphic design course next semester. It’s something I’m not too good at, and I need to learn at least the basics.
You and Amber come up to Alexandria, and I’ll teach you both to crochet, knit and sew, which are three skills I learned precisely for the same reason you learned to paint. :)
My wife and I took an art class though a local church with some friends for that same reason. My brain enjoyed the different style of thinking required. Our class used pastels and we all did the obligatory pastel apple as well. It’s good to reach out of the comfort zone and it’s quite surprising to find out you can actually put something down that looks vaguely like the subject you want it to look like.
Hey there, I think after a month or so when you come to that apple you will love it and appreciate it. I believe you lack determination to become a painter. Try a pumpkin and you will see progress.