Update on my Artistic Endeavors

When my second born went off to college, I took my first art class. She will be graduating in May. I find it hard to believe that nearly 4 years has passed.

I am not a faithful painter. The easiest way for me to paint is to sign up for 4 to 6 week classes, which commits me to one 3-hour painting class per week. During the course of a year, I may take 2 to 4 class series. I never complete an entire painting in 3 hours, so I have several unfinished canvases laying around the house.

Everything I have read states you should paint daily if you really want to improve, but I am not there yet. I believe painting is a bit like golf. Some days are better than others. We just wrapped up a landscaping class and here are some of my nearly finished creations.

Painting comes in waves~~some days I want to just paint and drink wine (I’ve heard that really helps!) and other days, I have no desire to do so.

The fun part about taking a class is you learn new techniques with the help of a teacher. In the painting below (which I haven’t completely finished), we used a palette knife to create a chunky look.

One of my most favorite classes was where we were restricted to mostly using a very large brush. Since I tend to focus on the small details, I was pushed out of my comfort zone~~which is a good thing!

I am perhaps my own worst critic. It takes a lot for me to want to actually frame something I’ve painted. Practice does make perfect and I hope that one day I will have an actual studio set up in the house.

Trying a new activity later age in life is a bit intimidating, but so necessary to keep vibrant and interesting. I hope you have enjoyed my progress over the last four years~~I think I’m getting a little better.

Step out of your comfort zone and be creative! Please let me know what you have done lately to broaden your horizons.