It has been a lifetime since I last had an art class at school so it was a bit daunting to start one as an evening class. The group is mixed. Mixed people. Mixed experience. Mixed expectations. But I like it. I felt a bit intimidated that others arrived with boxes of materials and reams of paper. Sitting at the table in the classroom felt alien and strange. But trying to paint a nasturtium using only the primary colours in watercolour became all absorbing. The stresses of the working day slipped away from me and my mind was occupied with trying to work the paint and the paper. It felt strange and I was so critical of what I had done. But as it dried I felt different. It did look like a nasturtium. It did have some colour and texture. It wasn't too bad after all.
The still life was another challenge. Fruit arranged on a cloth. As Cezanne did. The work is unfinished. I started the watercolour on paper that was too thin so it wrinkled and was difficult to work with. Then I was given thick rough paper and it was so different. I loved it. I could put paint on and take it off. The colours blended and flowed from one to the next. The shadows and folds in the cloth started to have form and shape as I worked on it. I was struggling with the red of the apple. Add blue said the teacher. I looked baffled. But its red. Add blue and you will see. I added it. Tentatively. And then by some twist of science and art the apple became the red I wanted. Intriguing and quite enchanting too. Inspired by the paper I have bought a pad and long to add colour to its clean surface already. Am I getting hooked on this?
