Today was the last day of my first real art class. Sure, I’ve taken drawing classes before but I’d categorize all of them up until this point as failures. Failures because I left the quarter (or the three classes I made it through before quitting) feeling worse about drawing than I did when I started.
Sometimes it takes awhile.
It was worth the wait.
On day one Phil, our instructor, had us do a self portrait. To be fair, this was a bad drawing even more me. I’m not used to working the size we do in class. I wasn’t comfortable even with the graphite we were using. My arm was so tired holding the mirror that it was hard for me to focus on anything happening on my face. So yeah, lot’s of variables. However, that said, what a great way to see how far we’ve come. Phil made the point that this is how far we’ve come in 22 hours of drawing. I’d say more like 18-20 hours of drawing, and what a huge difference. I thoroughly enjoyed the piece I did today. We were suppose to be doing something else but I finished early and found a reference photo that really drew me in and I just reveled in the last 10 minutes of drawing. It was fun. It was interesting. It felt god physically. It was all these things that now I know drawing can be. This class changed how I feel about drawing itself. I didn't even know that was possible.
So here’s the takeaway: Invest the time in finding a good teacher. What makes a good teacher for you might not be the same thing that makes a good teacher for the person next to you. It might take awhile but it will be worth your efforts in the long run.
And thank you to Lynn Powers for telling me, “You’re going to have to get over that,” when I told her I hated taking art classes. It was the last afternoon I spent with her and I will be taking advantage of the advice given that day for years to come.
Jun 14, 2016, 4:52pm