It is Never Too Late to Learn...Naturally

This past week has been a joining of my past and my future.  A photographer came to photograph me in my studio. She is the fiancee of the son of a friend from my childhood, so I had the opportunity to talk about events of four + decades ago.  And there was a sale of an art collection gathered by this friend's mother over many decades and that presented the chance to see work by Lexington and Kentucky artists active in the sixties and seventies--the early visuals of my life!  Keeping with this theme, I went to figure drawing class and Tom, the teacher, had a well worn copy of Nicolaides' The Natural Way to Draw. When we students were called upon to introduce ourselves, I mentioned that I had used that book in a drawing class in the seventies.  You might notice that my copy looks fairly pristine, at least in comparison with Tom's duct-taped version.  This puts me to shame! 

       Never-the-less, I had recollection of the sorts of exercises Nicolaide's offers, such as gesture drawing, contour drawing and blind contour drawing.  In the photograph above, you can see blind contour drawing on the left, contour drawing on the right and gesture drawing in the photo to the right.  Looking back, I figure I have been drawing the figure for at least four decades.  Even so, it was clear there is always something to learn. During class, Tom pointed out one student's drawing, noting the focus on the tension in the arm and how that was the most dynamic aspect of that pose. I looked at my scribbly limb and saw the truth in Tom's observation.  We can always learn--that is what makes life so exciting!

    So now comes the invitation to you to join us for an Experimenting with Watercolor & Pastel class on Tuesday's in November, beginning November 8th from 7 - 9 pm.  In this class, we bring what we have to the art that we make: how we see the world and how our hands express that vision.  Students are encouraged to bring their own photographs for working on preferred subject matter. The use of watercolor and pastel gives us maximum flexibility for expression without painting ourselves in a corner.  Come check it out for yourself and learn something new!  Please visit the Lexington Art Academy website: lexingtonartacademy.com.