Keep Moving Forward
I'm excited to announce that Patricia Watwood has a new book coming out in December called The Path of Drawing: Lessons for Everyday Creativity and Mindfulness. I owe Patricia an enormous debt of gratitude because if it weren't for her, I wonder if I'd be drawing at all. A few years ago, I subscribed to Craftsy in order to take advantage of their cooking classes, but as part of the membership you have access to classes in all categories. I was trying to start nature observation journal with my daughter at the time, so I thought I'd try the class Start-Up Library: Learn to Draw. The class was taught by Patricia, and back then I had no idea that she is an important artist in the classical realist tradition (the Art Renewal Center has awarded her their highest designation: 'Living Master'). What I could immediately see, though, was that her teaching is impeccable. There are four projects in her start-up class, each masterfully chosen to introduce a range of techniques that build upon each other as you move through the course. This onion and leek still life is the third project that I did in her class. The classical realist methods that she teaches in the course really work, and I was amazed at how quickly she taught me to draw by explaining how to approach task of drawing a complex image by breaking it down into manageable steps. Furthermore, back then on Craftsy, you could interact with the instructors, and Patricia was always generous in replying to my detailed questions. I had mentioned in a comment that I had three young kids and didn't have much time for drawing, and she said something to me that I think about almost daily now: "The important thing is to keep moving forward." That advice has helps me avoid discouragement in those seasons when I find it almost impossible to practice art or when I make a string of bad paintings. It really doesn't matter so long as I show up again when I can, keep thinking on why something didn't work or what I can learn next, and try always to develop an artist's eye, even when I go a long stretch hardly picking up a pencil. All that to say, I look forward to Patricia's book and am confident it will be a wonderful resource. I also recommend the art classes on Craftsy, especially Patricia's classes (she has three others as well on that platform). I learned watercolor from another Start-Up Library class, and I think I've absorbed a lot about art in general from watching classes over the years while on the exercise machine--ha! Not the same as actually doing the classwork but helpful nonetheless. Have a great day, everyone!
