I was thinking about art this morning. I have so many options. I’ve got my 7″ android tablet, which has nifty drawing apps, and a capacitive paintbrush I bought, although I still prefer my own fingertips on that. I have a pentablet, not an expensive one, but it still amazes me what I can do on that thing. I’m merely skimming the surface of the possibilities, there. And I have pens, pencils, calligraphy dip-pens, sumi-e brushes which force me to meditate as I painstakingly grind the ink before I begin to paint. I have my paints, and a myriad of brushes, sponges, and of course, glitter. I have the resources of the internet at my fingertips for tutorials and inspiration.
For all these supplies, which I could use to create almost any style of 2-D art, there is no guarantee I’ll produce anything worth looking at. I am not a particularly talented artist. A few years ago, I would have sworn up one side and down the other that I couldn’t draw. Sculpture, I had worked with and knew I could do some things with. I miss having my hands in clay to this day. Photography, I insisted, is different. But when I was dropped into the deep end, I discovered that there was something. I practiced, a lot. I stretched my horizons into different things, tried techniques I’d never heard of. I was able to go take a couple of day classes with world-class body artists, and then get to a convention which was a huge thrill and learning experience.
But yesterday was the first time I’d sat in a classroom, getting ready to take an intensive, formal art class. I can’t tell you how much I am looking forward to this. A few years ago a friend insisted that I acknowledge what I do is art, and furthermore, I make money, so I am a professional artist. I came to realize that the act of creation is very important to me, that it feeds my spirit. So when an opening in my schedule came up, I signed up for the Drawing 1 class at school.
This, should be fun! Brain Food!
