Beginnings

This blog is about art that I have created and how the art shaped me into a better thinker.
Early on in college art courses I realized how often I heard the phrase that "art is problem solving".  True. It is.
It is also about developing critical thinking skills. There were many hours spent in art history  viewing slides. ( I genuinely enjoyed every minute of those classes because they were usually full of stories behind the art! )
But not only in art history papers and tests were we thinking critically about art.  We would have plenty of time at the end of projects for group critique.  And at the end the professor would see if we met the objective criteria for such and such a grade.  There were times when someone would come to class with a painting that was well executed and enjoyed by all during the critique but the criteria was not met for the assignment.  And the professor would have to gently point that out.
I was usually not that person.  Normally I diligently wrote down what was the assignment.  I would reference my syllabus during the semester.  I had to work very hard to learn because I was not just fulfilling the assignment, I was learning how to use the materials and techniques at the same time.
Yes, I was one of those people.
I wanted to create art but never thought I could so I didn't take art classes in middle and high school.
But once I went back to school to get a college degree, I knew what I wanted to learn.  I wanted to learn how to communicate visually.
I had seen how much children like the illustrations in their picture books.  As an adult, I even liked information more if there was a graphic element.
So I launched into the world of the visual arts and I learned.
I learned how to draw.





Self portraits were common since I had a free model.

This model was included in the cost of the course.  This is a cropped picture for obvious reasons.



It is great to learn to draw with someone in front of you but drawing from instructional books comes in handy too. In fact, I practiced learning how to draw before my first college art classes.



I will share two of my favorite books for that purpose in another post.  And of course, more of my drawings!