Back to the Drawing Board

Yes, I’m back to my art studies now, and it’s almost like beginning again. After nearly three months away from my easels and sketch pads, returning now is definitely an adventure.

I’ve been doing a bit of sketching, but mostly I was anxious to get back to my oil painting, and I use that word — anxious — in its fullest sense. I was looking forward to standing at my easel with brush in hand, yet I was also nervous about the prospect of doing so.

Would I still remember anything about colors and brush strokes? Could I actually put paint on the canvas in a way that might resemble something? I had my doubts.

But at least I did have a little inspiration. We’ve had some stormy days here, and one day last week the skies were absolutely awesome! I took a lot of pictures and told my husband, “I want to paint these cloudy skies.” So with my first painting attempt, that’s what I focused on. Even though I could envision a complete landscape with trees and even a few buildings, I didn’t worry about those elements. I simply wanted to refresh my painting mind on how to create skies and clouds.

I was right to be anxious.

 

Spring Clouds

Please don’t look at anything other than the sky. Even the sky isn’t quite what I wanted to create, but it’s a starting point for me.

Oh, the troubles I had!

• I discovered that many of my tubes of paint had dried up.
• My brushes were in a disastrous state.
• I didn’t have a clue what I was doing.

I recently moved my painting easel. It’s still stuck in the dining room, but it’s in a different location, and trying to regroup and get all my painting supplies conveniently situated was another challenge. I felt awkward and very unsure of myself.

My paints need a good re-organization. I’d wanted to include a bit of Paine’s Gray in the sky, but trying to find it…well, I gave up. Next time, I’ll get my paints out before I pick up my brush. As I said, I was anxious and eager, and patience has never been one of my virtues.

As for the horrible Sap Green, it wasn’t at all what I wanted, but I chose not to think too much about anything other than the clouds I wanted to paint. Being nervous about doing the painting, I sure didn’t need to pressure myself, so I just had fun dabbing in some sort of trees and painting broad strokes of grass. It was good to have a brush in my hand again, and very good to get back to my easel.

The first step is always the hardest. I’ve gotten past it now, and hopefully a bit of my “painting anxiety” will go away now. Next time, I’ll plan and prepare a bit more, and hopefully I’ll soon have a few paintings I’m proud to show to the world.

 

Have you ever suffered from “art anxiety”?

How did you deal with it?