The first picture is
Algonquin Park No. 6. The second
Barn at Napanee. A word about the pictures. They are severely compressed to avoid using up my space quickly. This leads to problems with colours, contrast, resolution and blending, so the pictures may not respond well to being downloaded and blown up in size. Also, the pictures tend to be darker on the blog than they really are.
Now for the main subject of todays post.
Starting out in art turned out to be harder than I expected. I encountered three ways of teaching it. Some art teachers let the students do their own thing while continually circling the room giving advice. Others gave a demonstration at the beginning or middle of the class and then allowed the students to practice the technique or work on their own projects. A few used the "do as I do" approach in which the teacher had fairly fixed ideas about what was correct and insisted that they be adhered to. Many instructors practiced some combination of these.
As an art novice I had no drawing skills and so decided that a drawing course would be a good place to start. The instructor was a strict adherent of the "do as a I do" school. That would have been all right except that she turned out to have a domineering personality. As the least experienced person in the room I was also the least skilled by a wide margin and so was a source of frustration for her. After being shouted at and having my work defaced several times I declined to participate and dropped art for two years.
The nearby community centre offered a painting course by Roy Murgich. Roy was entirely in the first school of instruction that is mentioned above. One was encouraged to paint or draw what one wished, however one wished and in whatever medium. On the first evening I disclosed my lack of skill in drawing. He said that the ability to draw well was not necessary in painting. I think that this was a highly dubious assertion but I was grateful to hear it. In his class I developed my own style. After a year and a half of effort it just seemed to come together.
Roy was kind and patient with his students. People kept returning to his class. Some of them had been with him for more than twenty years and obviously thought extremely well of him. I was fortunate at that stage to encounter someone with fairly liberal ideas about creating art. Sadly, he had Parkinson’s disease and had to stop teaching about five years ago. He died recently and is fondly remembered by his students and the local art community.
If you are starting out in art you might be able to find someone like Roy but in the absence of advice from other art students or artists the search is a trial and error process. Not everyone is a good fit. Classes are often available at the studios of individual artists or thorough community associations, municipal governments and the adult education branches of school boards. These organizations usually publish a course catalogue and/or have a web site. There are sometimes art studios or ateliers where one can go to paint or draw in the company of like minded people for free or for a small fee. Artists in these are often happy to share their experience and expertise.
Perhaps in a class or an art association you will find a painting buddy or group of buddies with whom to paint and share ideas and gentle criticism. Gentle is important. I have on occasion encountered brutal critics whose approach put me off so much that I simply didn’t listen to them and perhaps missed out on useful advice.
There are also other ways of learning about art. Local art associations sometimes offer classes or one day tutorials, workshops, demonstrations and talks by accomplished artists, and access to a membership of experienced artists, as well as the opportunity to have one’s work hung in local galleries or other public venues.
There are of course bookstores and libraries - sources of "how to" books and magazines. Buying "how to" books carries the risk of becoming habit forming. Art books about specific artists or movements can be helpful for learning about style, composition and the use of colour, though the colour reproduction in them is often far from perfect.
Simple observation can be a great learning device. Visit galleries. Look at what your fellow students are doing. Ask questions. Most people are happy to explain how they do things and may even be flattered to be asked.
Perhaps the most valuable resource in creating art lies within. Virtually everyone has some innate creative ability that can be brought out. Don’t be afraid to listen to you inner artistic muse and try out your own ideas in subject matter, colour, and technique. They may not always work out but making mistakes is part of the process and one of the best ways of learning.
Being happy in creating art depends to some extent on your expectations going in and on how they will change over time. Perhaps it will be enough to do work that you are satisfied with and can hang in your home or give to friends and relatives. You may decide at some point that you want to seek a greater level of validation or financial reward by selling your work, as do I and many of my painting friends. Either way the most important thing is to have fun with doing it. So enjoy.
