I am lucky to have made a great friend locally in artist Maggie Brown, who runs fabulous residential painting holidays here in Pembrokeshire . She sees my left handed-ness as a positive asset and has a confidence in my ability that I am humbled by. She has dragged me out sketching in the landscape and last week I even attended a three day painting course with well known local artist David Tress, something I had to overcome my fear of drawing in front of others to do. I'm not sure yet whether I want to be a painter, but I do want to be a printmaker who draws better and I have already learned so much from these two wonderful artists.
Both have made me want to go out into the landscape with new eyes and I am now being far more observant. On a clearer day I am going back to the top of Foel Eryr which I climbed yesterday. It is a bronze age burial mound from roughly 2000BC that is one of the higher spots on the Preselis, site of the bluestones used at Stonehenge. It was cold in the wind yesterday and it was not the day to linger at the cairn on the top. The views all around were not bad but on a better day could be fabulous.
I know that I don't want to slavishly draw the view but I do want to return and capture the essence of the place. I feel as if my eyes are suddenly open and I am seeing everything differently. I am also beginning to feel differently about my drawing and I'm really loving using different media and approaches. If I could find that art teacher again I'd show them how wrong they were!
6 comments:
Lovely photos Lesley - it's hard not to be inspired in your locale isn't it?! I think any kind of art encourages one to look and see differently - I see the things I'd like to be able to paint, write poems about or music if only I could in a different way now and find shapes and colours and so on where once I'd have just seen a view! I do hope you will feel confident enough to show us some of your art work in due course.
What beautiful views. No wonder it has inspired you to draw. And what a load of tosh from that art teacher!
Lesley, lovely images of a glorious place, will we be seeing your drawings too at some point? In your own time, as they say. Art teachers, well they don't know it all. I had one like that, and one that was magnificent. Thank goodness for her; interestingly she practiced as an artist as much as she could too, and I think that makes all the difference. Steph.
Well, I am another left-handed person who loves to draw. Forget that mis-informed art teacher and enjoy connecting to the beautiful landscape that can inspire you.
xo
Gosh! that view! (3 up from the bottom)
What a lot of absolute tripe is said by some people who teach. Drawing is about looking and explaining to others what you see. It's not about making it look like 'a drawing'.
So good to hear you are gaining some confidence in your abilities.
btw have you been watching The Big Painting Challenge on BBC1?
C xx
So pleased that the drawing is enthusing you and giving you so much enjoyment - with fabulous teachers as well. The view of and from the knoll is wonderful. It never ceases to amaze me the little voices we carry with us for so long - even tho we know they have been proven wrong. I wish you well as you hit the mute button on that teacher - then maybe even delete!
Post a Comment