flailing about

Firstly, I’m still going!! And I’m still enjoying it! I don’t even feel slightly tempted to run away. That is very exciting.

So…I decided to try a proper online course to up my skill level and widen my watercolour vocabulary. I went for ‘Creative Watercolor Sketching for Beginners’ with Laura McKendry (hosted by Domestika). Partly because I really like her work and her emphasis on play, and partly because it was only EUR 0,99!! I haven’t finished it yet. Here is how it’s going…

In the first unit, McKendry introduces us to some artists she finds inspiring. It was very exciting for me to discover the work of Tina Berning and Emma Larsson. Both watercolour artists who use the medium in unconventional ways. A little glimpse into the endless possibilities…

This is one of Emma Larsson’s works, which I was absolutely blown away by. It just looks like she allows ‘life’ to pour out onto the page. On his website ‘Door of Perception’ Ben Roth describes her work thus:

‘Her dreamscapes are an ode to joy and all that lives. Evoking a feeling of kinship and utter strangeness at the same time. She describes her work as an ongoing exploration without rules and conventions, inspired by the desire to live.’

I was very excited to start playing…

As my creative mind was already leaping ahead into liberating beauty, I was a little disappointed to be doing ‘exercises’ again. This says more about me than about Laura McKendry. It is a beginner’s course, I am a beginner, exercises are what will familiarise me with my tools.

Spoons!! The task was to find several household objects that were similar but different and practice sketching them just with paint. No drawing first. Just lines. I found it really hard. I slightly regretted choosing spoons as they’re not very ‘liney’ and I kept weakening into smudges and shadows. Can a simple line depict a rounded hollow or a shiny metal surface? …I think I may have missed the point of the exercise. I was quite pleased with my steady teaspoon lines though…so much so that I attempted a liney sketch of Pacha…

…which I love actually. It was reaffirming to just go for it with the paintbrush and see a fairly recognisable dog emerge…the power of exercises!

Next in the course was mixing colours…woop! I was naughty and skipped the bit about using one colour to create shadow and tone…I felt like I had experimented with that enough…goodness, why do I feel like I have to explain myself?

Anyway, colour was fun…and then I went off script again…

Week 5 Takeaways

Doing this course, I found myself spiralling into a vortex of ‘shoulds’ and ‘shouldn’ts’. I should do as the teacher says because she is a professional and knows what it takes to be a ‘good’ painter. But actually, should I not follow my natural instincts? Art is different for everyone and should come from a genuine place. I shouldn’t feel bad for not following the instructions to the letter and I definitely shouldn’t worry about shoulds…and so forth.

Now the word should looks really weird…surely it’s not spelt like that? That’s half of shoulder…

Anyway, what I would like to do is accept my rhythms as they are. It seems that I naturally lean towards trying out techniques and exercises then immediately experimenting and creating something of my own with said techniques and exercises. That sounds alright to me…if I can just…

…unclench…

…exhale…