How did you learn art?
- Thread starter Artyczar
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Great reading about your different experiences. I loved art as a child, but went into the legal profession, and left it far behind. I nursed my Mum, who had dementia, until she died. I started painting to help with my grief. Although it was a stop start process to begin with, I decided I was going to keep at it about 2 1/2 years ago. I have tried reading books, and they helped a bit, but now I just paint, paint and paint some more! I can't imagine stopping now, as it under my skin!
Thank you laf.art for your kind words. I agree about older work - many I have thrown out in disgust, but I have kept a few to remind me of how I have improved overtime. Fortunately, the world has been spared viewing my 'progress' on the other site, as, because I uploaded my pics as an attachment, when the change over happened, all those images were lost.
laf.art
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Yes I do have them, I was just musing that it had saved the rest of the planet looking at my early efforts!
Desforges
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I think that this is supposed to be in the thread ‘what are you listening to’ , but it is also how I learned to draw from models. There was a advertisement posted on a billboard ‘four hours with a model on Saturdays at this studio on Main St.
It was $15. for 3-4 hours of drawing with a model plus one beer. You could buy more from the fridge.
This studio was rented by these two artists. While we were drawing , one of them would play records on two turntables and ´scratch’.
Best Saturday’s, 20 years ago.
I liked this and asked for a little more.
It was $15. for 3-4 hours of drawing with a model plus one beer. You could buy more from the fridge.
This studio was rented by these two artists. While we were drawing , one of them would play records on two turntables and ´scratch’.
Best Saturday’s, 20 years ago.
I liked this and asked for a little more.
I love Cypress Hill. I often listen to them when painting, they never fail to get my energy levels up
WFMartin
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The only real "schooling" I had that was art-related was one course in freehand drawing that I had in college. I went to a teacher college, specializing in "industrial education", and my major was printing. Yes, I wanted to be a teacher of typesetting, and presswork--which I actually WAS for one year. Then, I went into the lithographic trade, and worked as a color separator for the remainder of my working life.
I received an "A" in the course.
Years later my dad retired from the printing trade, and, since he was always what I would call a really good "cartoonist", he bought some painting equipment related to Bill Alexander (who was the precursor to Bob Ross), and tried his hand at oil painting. He never got it off the ground, and never completed one painting. Shortly after, he went legally blind, and could not see well enough paint
At times, he begged me to take his equipment because he said, "You could really do something with it." But, in those days I was busy with my work, and felt that I couldn't devote any time to it. I also was not very interested in it, actually.
While my dad was taking one of his last breaths just before he died, he asked my mom to be sure that I got his painting equipment. My dad did not know it, but Mom had already given it to a neighbor of theirs who was a painter. She went to the neighbor, and though she was embarrassed, asked if she could have the equipment back, because my dad was so insistent that I be the one to receive his art supplies. Of course the neighbor agreed, and so Mom gave me the art equipment. I was still not interested, and stored most of it in a corner of a closet
Then, at the lithographer for whom I worked, we began doing color separations for a noted wildlife artist, Gary Swanson, and while he was in our plant for press checks, set up a temporary studio in our conference room. I became interested in what he was painting, and asked him if he could give me a few tips, which he graciously did. THAT inspired me to begin painting, and I was about 49, or 50 at that time. I hauled out all my dad's equipment, and began painting!
I've been painting ever since, and I've not thrown even one painting away. I've never allowed myself the "luxury" of pitching my work, even though I believed it to "not be working out". THAT was the best discipline I could have imposed upon myself, because I am, by nature, a "quitter", and if I had begun to discard paintings merely because they did not happen to be meeting my "standards", I would have never completed one painting. I believe my dad had that same problem, and I did not want to fall into such a terrible habit.
There is not a painting that I sell, nor an award that I have received that I have not thanked my dad for having given me his materials, and equipment.
Oh I've most certainly gained valuable knowledge from the internet, but that was not available when I first began painting. I gained much knowledge from Rob Howard of the Cennini Forum, and numerous members of that art site, when it was still functioning, and Rob was still alive.
And, I took one brief class in "Portrait Drawing", which really didn't help me very much. I suck at "drawing" portraits. I can only paint portraits, and I've developed a sure-fire method for doing so.
Such is my "art schooling". Basically, non-existent!
I received an "A" in the course.
Years later my dad retired from the printing trade, and, since he was always what I would call a really good "cartoonist", he bought some painting equipment related to Bill Alexander (who was the precursor to Bob Ross), and tried his hand at oil painting. He never got it off the ground, and never completed one painting. Shortly after, he went legally blind, and could not see well enough paint
At times, he begged me to take his equipment because he said, "You could really do something with it." But, in those days I was busy with my work, and felt that I couldn't devote any time to it. I also was not very interested in it, actually.
While my dad was taking one of his last breaths just before he died, he asked my mom to be sure that I got his painting equipment. My dad did not know it, but Mom had already given it to a neighbor of theirs who was a painter. She went to the neighbor, and though she was embarrassed, asked if she could have the equipment back, because my dad was so insistent that I be the one to receive his art supplies. Of course the neighbor agreed, and so Mom gave me the art equipment. I was still not interested, and stored most of it in a corner of a closet
Then, at the lithographer for whom I worked, we began doing color separations for a noted wildlife artist, Gary Swanson, and while he was in our plant for press checks, set up a temporary studio in our conference room. I became interested in what he was painting, and asked him if he could give me a few tips, which he graciously did. THAT inspired me to begin painting, and I was about 49, or 50 at that time. I hauled out all my dad's equipment, and began painting!
I've been painting ever since, and I've not thrown even one painting away. I've never allowed myself the "luxury" of pitching my work, even though I believed it to "not be working out". THAT was the best discipline I could have imposed upon myself, because I am, by nature, a "quitter", and if I had begun to discard paintings merely because they did not happen to be meeting my "standards", I would have never completed one painting. I believe my dad had that same problem, and I did not want to fall into such a terrible habit.
There is not a painting that I sell, nor an award that I have received that I have not thanked my dad for having given me his materials, and equipment.
Oh I've most certainly gained valuable knowledge from the internet, but that was not available when I first began painting. I gained much knowledge from Rob Howard of the Cennini Forum, and numerous members of that art site, when it was still functioning, and Rob was still alive.
And, I took one brief class in "Portrait Drawing", which really didn't help me very much. I suck at "drawing" portraits. I can only paint portraits, and I've developed a sure-fire method for doing so.
Such is my "art schooling". Basically, non-existent!
WFMartin
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Thank you for your comment!
Today, the internet is very valuable as a source for "how to" information regarding all sorts of art, with oil painting being one of the most available and useful.
Every time I would read of some way to paint, or some medium, or paint choice that others were using, I'd give it a try, unless it sounded totally inappropriate. Throughout the years, I've been capable of sifting and sorting what I consider to be the logical information, from the not-so-logical stuff, and applying it to serve my own particular methods.
musket
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I wasn't aware that Rob had died. RIP. He gave me the great compliment of inquiring about the price of one of my pieces-- I liked hanging out at Cennini even though I wasn't a 2D person. The price was too steep for him, but it was still very gratifying that he asked.
WFMartin
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Although I never met Rob in person, we used communicate via Cennini. I modified his "Spray Medium Method for Painting a Portrait", to that which I called my "Progressive Focus Method". He felt that my modified version had more teaching merit than his, and he allowed me to publish my method on Cennini. I was quite proud of that, since I valued his opinions, and methods quite greatly.
Rob and I were almost exactly the same age, give or take one day. I was sorry to learn of his death, as I considered him to be my friend.
musket
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I remember that Spray Medium Method.
Rob was the bane of WetCanvas and had the utmost contempt for it-- he called it Wet Blanket. The Cennini Forum was inhabited by some very talented oil painters. Nicholas Uribe for one; he was just getting started back then. Rob immediately acknowledged his talent.
I left when Rob started to charge for participation-- I wasn't a painter and it wasn't worth it for me. But I was dismayed when Studio Products went out of biz. I did paint a few bird carvings in oils and like you, I used a medium which included Canada balsam and oil of spike. The SP Canada balsam was the clearest I've ever seen. True optical grade.
Rob was the bane of WetCanvas and had the utmost contempt for it-- he called it Wet Blanket. The Cennini Forum was inhabited by some very talented oil painters. Nicholas Uribe for one; he was just getting started back then. Rob immediately acknowledged his talent.
I left when Rob started to charge for participation-- I wasn't a painter and it wasn't worth it for me. But I was dismayed when Studio Products went out of biz. I did paint a few bird carvings in oils and like you, I used a medium which included Canada balsam and oil of spike. The SP Canada balsam was the clearest I've ever seen. True optical grade.
WFMartin
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Yeah, Rob did not mince words when it came to materials that he considered to be inappropriate, or inferior, and Wet Canvas did not like his comments regarding such topics. They tend to be more politically correct on Wet Canvas than Rob and I do, so they kicked him off.
I purchased a bottle of Rob's Spray Medium, and later, several bottles of his Oil of Spike Lavender. I also bought an instruction book on the use of gauche rather late in the game. Like you, I also left Cennini when the site went "pay-per-view".
Dave Woody
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A good friend said...' You ain't a painter, but you tell a good story.'
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