The Painter in Me

A few months ago when my pottery class finished, I was debating which art class to take next. Part of me wanted to continue taking pottery, but another part wanted to explore something new. I was unsure of whether I wanted to "master" a craft before moving unto the next or testing out a few and then determining which one I liked enough to master. As this post proves, I've moved on from pottery. Since all the painting classes in DC are booked before one can even think about taking a class, I got on the wait list for a local painter, Dana Ellyn, who provides classes out of her small studio. After waiting and waiting and waiting, I finally got the nod that there was a space available for me. I got off to a nervous start last week but after doing a simple color while and painting the very first layer of my background, I realized that it was clearly too early to be nervous.

I went back for more yesterday and it was much better! My painting is slowly starting to come together and honestly a few "bad" strokes can easily make it fall apart but I'm having a good time and learning something new which is the whole purpose of me taking the class. I like all the little things that I'm learning to make. For example, there is a lot about layering on paint and using different shades and levels of transparency to add shade and depth to an object. I also like the challenge of being out of my comfort-zone. I swear I have no idea what I'm doing in front of the canvas, but when I put paint to canvas I just tell myself to pretend I know exactly what I'm doing and just to make it work!

The main thing I learned yesterday is was, much the way it is in life, one must step away from the painting to really see what is going on!

Anyway, are you taking any fun classes or doing something small that ruffles the feathers of your comfort-zone? I'd love to hear about it!

{Photo from Medici Club}