My new challenge was initiated by my sketching instructor from the Minneapolis Institute of Art. I have been taking the Saturday classes for a few weeks, and I have to say it has been incredibly life changing. The instructor Kenneth Wenzel is so knowledgeable and easy going. We start out the class with a lecture (we get to drink coffee in the studio, so I am a very happy student), and then move up to the galleries to sketch.
The first week was wonderful and I was happy with my work. This last Saturday didn't go so well.... While everyone is "sketching", (it really is doing fine art, not rough sketching like I expected), Ken comes around with his chair and sits for a while talking about the work you selected to copy and any questions you have about what you are working on. So I explained that I was having an "off" day. My sketch was not laid out right, and I was having a hard time with everything coming together. He encouraged me to set aside time in my studio (yes, I am blessed to have a studio in my home) to work on my art. He said that it is good to schedule a weekly goal instead of daily, but to try and get some time in every day, even if it is only 15 minutes. Then he allowed me to scrap my painting. Here is where I ended:
So, I have stepped up to the challenge and have spent time in my studio every day and so far I have put in 3 hours and 15 minutes. And I have already seen improvements.
Here are a few of my projects (please be kind, remember I am still a beginner!!)
The tulips that our neighbors brought to us when we had them over for dinner was a wonderful subject.
This is a copy of Mary Cassat's Baby's Back, 1889 (she is one of my favorite painters).
This is an unfinished pastel painting of Pierre-Auguste Renoir's Head of a Young Woman, 1890. I have neglected to post any of my previous sketches of people, because they are really, really bad! That is why I was so excited about this one, because it is actually starting to look like a person (my previous attempts looked like aliens!). I am excited to see improvement, because I really suck at life drawing!!
