MY YEAR OF WATERCOLOUR & HOW I BECAME AN ARTIST

Recently I was asked by my artist friend Louise Primeau, to comment on my thoughts of myself as an artist, and when did that realisation come to me. I answered that question, then realised that there was more to it than the simple answer I gave. So for Louise and others who read this blog, here is how I came to be an artist.

I joined Facebook at the end of 2017, not initially for social contact, but to follow Jane Davenport’s site as I had just discovered her gorgeous work on Pinterest.

I’ve always drawn faces, along with dabbling in folk art, then landscapes in oils for a short period, then zentangle.

By the end of 2018 I had just completed many online art lessons and was excited to start 2019 with all my newly found skills.  

In January 2019 I was asked to be a guest artist on Louise Primeau’s web page.   I felt ‘recognised’ and honoured to be included as a guest artist on Louise’s beautiful art site.

https://louiseprimeau.com/featured-artist-jan-byers/

My journey into art soon ”hit a wall” and felt I didn’t know how to do art without a lesson to follow ... I began sketching in my sketch book, just doing faces over and over and practicing eyes, lips, ears, hoping for inspiration to strike... but I felt totally stuck.

Eventually I decided to just try painting and drawing whatever I felt like, rather than trying too hard to ‘create a masterpiece’.  Using good quality watercolour paper and my trusty watercolours, I began to paint.  My first attempts   seemed  ‘lifeless’ and a bit boring.  I had the sinking feeling that I wasn’t good enough.

Again I went to what I had previously loved to do ... zentangle.

I had spend many months learning and practicing zentangle in 2005 and had fallen in love with the pen strokes.  I began collecting and cataloguing patterns for my own reference.  This was before I joined Facebook  and the start of my learning experiences... My zentangle was my beginning into wanting to create again after many years of working and raising a family –  so now I decided to start using my patterns in my watercolours.

My watercolours slowly morphed into an “Australian series”, where I included animals and scenery along with zentangle .. I was beginning to really enjoy this and was posting online every day.. I was obsessed and totally into making my creations.

Towards the end of 2019 I was asked if I would do a commission for a lady on facebook... she wanted 3 large paintings for her home and I was ‘over the moon’.  I think it’s the ultimate compliment for an artist when someone wants your art in their home. 

 

I felt I was indeed becoming an artist.

I spent the whole of 2019 doing my watercolour and zentangle art, then came a minor ‘blip’ when a person on Facebook  criticised my art and the number of times I posted .. in a very subtle, but to me, damaging way.   I think most artists are introverts and sensitive types, and this hit me badly.   I stopped doing my watercolour and zentangle and lost my confidence.

I’m happy to say that I’ve re-found my confidence and I’ve used the negative experience to propel me into a new direction and to start my own Facebook group.  

I’m doing lessons again and practicing new skills, even taken up oils and learning to love acrylics.

My painting inspired by Maria Pace-Wynters 2020

So to answer the question of when I came to realise that I’m an artist:  The process has been all of what I’ve just written about.  The kindness and support of other artists, being featured in a blog, doing classes, selling a commission, ongoing practicing and seeing my art posted online, all helps me know that I am an artist.    It’s a feeling of self acceptance, recognising that we all have a certain style, just like a fingerprint unique to each of us, and the desire to do art.

I want to thank those who’ve helped me by sharing their amazing lessons on line and who have encouraged me on my way to discovering that

I AM AN ARTIST.

Thank you to:

Jane Davenport for inspiring me to want to learn beautiful faces.

My painting inspired by Jane Davenport

“Paint your Heart & Soul 2018” with artists such as:  Pia Rom, Annie Hammon, Olga Furman, and many more.

My collage painting inspired by Pia Rom

Katrina Koltes – who taught me my first watercolours in “Watercolor Dreams” online course.

My painting inspired by Katrina Koltes

Karine Bosse (Kabo studios) – for her wonderful classes both in “Paint your heart and soul” and her online class “Stitching it up”, which is a series of beautiful paintings and stitching on canvas.

My painting inspired by Karine Bosse

Natalie Eslick (Shady Bowers) for her amazing drawing class "Drawn to Faery"

My drawing inspired by Natalie Eslick's class

And currently: 

Carol Desjarais  For inspiring me with her enthusiasm, confidence, acceptance and openness.  Thank you Carol xxx

“Let’s Face It 2020” with artists such as Kara Bullock, Marie Pace-Wynters, Angela Kennedy, and many more to come.

and of course Louise Primeau who is always there encouraging other artists along the way

IMPROVING YOUR DRAWING SKILLS

IMPROVE YOUR DRAWING SKILLS

The more you practice drawing, the better you get, and the better your hand, eyes, and brain can harmonize together. Your hands become an instrument to help you record the world around you.

Here are some tips to improve drawing skills:

Practice

Practicing your drawing consistently is the number one thing that will improve your skill.

Draw something every day. It doesn’t have to be a masterpiece.

You can draw repetitive patterns, doodles, interlocking circles, pictures from magazines, anything that keeps your pencil moving.

Trace

Print off a picture of something you would like to draw and then trace over it numerous times.

This helps to build a muscle memory for curves and angles on the subject you want to draw and will help to quickly improve your drawing skills.

Also, you can use tracing paper to trace the subject and then transfer it to drawing paper. This will give you a more accurate line drawing to start with.

Use Reference Photos

It’s hard to get an accurate drawing of a specific object if we aren’t looking at it.

Using reference photos to see angles and shadows will make the drawing easier to render.

If you intend to exhibit or sell your drawings, be careful to only use reference photos that are not copyrighted. (I have a list of free reference photo sites in my group under ‘files’)

Just taking any picture you find on google without checking to see if it is free to use can end up getting you sued.

Paper

The quality of paper you use can make a big difference in how your drawing turns out. Regular printer paper is rough and will not give you a smooth blend of graphite for shading.

Most art supply stores carry drawing paper and sketch books.

Values

Value refers to the darkness or lightness of an object. Learning to see the values in an object will greatly improve your drawings and give them depth and movement.

Study different objects in different light sources to see the gradual changes in value.

 Shapes

Focus on drawing shapes at the beginning of a drawing, rather than outlines.

For example, if you are drawing a dog, draw a circle for the head, an oval for the body and rectangles for the legs. Then go from there, connecting the shapes and adding details.

Keep your initial shapes light so you can erase unnecessary lines as you go.

Stay Loose

Most of us hold our pencil close to the bottom and draw by moving their wrist. This constricts the range of motion and makes the drawing tight.

Try holding the pencil a little closer to the top and drawing with your shoulder, you will make the drawing looser and flow more.

This takes a little practice to get used to but you will be happier with the improvement to your drawing skills.

Avoid Smudges

Graphite and charcoal are soft and can be easily smudged and transferred to your hand and thus to the paper. You can avoid this by putting a piece of printer paper or tracing paper under your hand to protect the drawing.

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