Thursday, March 25, 2010

first day of art school

Yesterday was the beginning of my 5 week Art Class at Lillstreet Art Center! I was so excited all day, and once I arrived, I admit the nerves set in. It felt like the first day of school...sweaty palms, wondering what the teacher will be like, will I make friends? I know, it sounds silly! I made my way to Painting Room A and when I walked in I immediately felt a calm come over me and  smiled! There were easels, art work, and supplies everywhere. The room looked like an organized mess, which is a lot of times what I think about my own art. (Granted, this is just my sketch pad and colored pencils at home!) Other people started to file in and when class started there were about 12 of us, all first time painters. We went around the room and introduced ourselves and shared with everyone why we were there. "I have wanted to do this for so long, and was given a gift certificate as a birthday present from my fiance (I love saying that) and I want to learn and be inspired to do more with my art...and it's also a calm for me, a silent therapy when I'm stressed." A lot of people nodded in agreement so I'm not the only one that sees art that way, which was a comfort. 

Everyone in class is so nice, and it's a complete mix of guys and girls both older and younger. Meeting this group of people was like a breath of fresh air because we're all there for the same reason (to learn more about the craft of painting) and yet we're all motivated by something  different and I can't wait learn more about them! 

The first thing we started with is a gray scale, learning about tones and color. From there we sketched and then attempted to paint a still life of two objects, a ball, and an urn. My first attempt was....not as smooth as I'd hoped, but for a first painting I felt that I'd learned something new, and most of all I had fun! Next week we're going to start using color...so I'm geeked for that! Stay tuned....

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