Learning to Paint

Last winter I took my first art course since high school, a class in pencil sketching. It was a lot of fun, so I decided to keep going. In spring, I took a botanical drawing class, where we sat and drew in gardens. But drawing flowers in black and white is only so satisfying - I needed to learn to paint. I hadn't intended to get too involved in art... but now find myself taking two beginner painting classes, one in acrylics, the other in watercolor!














The teaching methods in both classes are quite different... In the acrylics class, the teacher presents us with a finished painting, then helps us, step by step, create one like it. (We're currently working on the barn.) We learn a lot as we copy her painting, but in the end, all our paintings will be similar.














The watercolor instructor has a different approach. She demonstrates techniques, using wet paper or dry paper... Then sets us off to paint, soft music playing in the background, a colorful pot of flowers on the table in front of us to give us inspiration. Invariably each of us ends up with really different results!














I'm not sure which method I prefer, the directed or the free.














But one thing both instructors have in common - they stress the importance of good brushes... (I really had no idea! I thought it was all about color on the page! Aren't all brushes more or less the same?!!)














Apparently not! So now, when I visit my local craft store, instead of heading for the yarn, I find myself drawn to the paint brush rack... Like a novice golfer looking for the right club to improve his or her game, there I am, searching for the right brush that will make an artist out of me!