It’s February…

I’m feeling happy today. I like the first days of the month. Any month. The whole fresh start thing… blah blah blah. February is especially grand because it kind of marks the end of the previous year. Officially. Christmas grumbles are still floating in the air during January and I find it all a bit negative.

I last made a post here during July 2017. Wow. I know I’ve been a bit lazy, but jeez. I’m always so disappointed in myself when I leave these things too long. More so because I’ve managed to still make time for a bit of other social media nonsense. Namely Facebook. Although that is becoming somewhat of a tumbleweed for me -I’m making updates less and less. Not that it bothers me. Besides, the Instagram community works better for my creative output. Junk journals, bullet journals, writing journals, stationary… all catching my eye this year and lots of those things are being shared around my Instagram account. I particularly got into mail art and have enjoyed sending happy mail for a short-while now. I really hope all that snail mail continues.

So, a new month. I already planned my February spread in the BuJo. It’s basically an offspring to my diary. I think it’s always good to have visuals.

In other news, September will hopefully mark the end of the beginning for my art degree and I’m looking forward to moving on to the next course, of which there are many options. Although, Visual Studies is a compulsory area that I’ll need to focus on at some point, so I’m thinking it might be best to get it out of the way, especially as there seems to be a lot less, if absolutely zero, practical work to be done. Then I’ll most likely choose a painting course or maybe even sculpture. Maybe. I’ll keep myself posted about that. In the meantime, I’ll be hacking away at the sketches and paintings for Assignment 3 -due in March, so I’ll end this here. That’s it for now. As usual, I’ll promise to try and keep the momentum going with the blog.

Reflections on Life Drawing Class

I’ve obviously not been keeping up with this blog as promised, but these things happen. However, art has been happening and I’ve attended my life drawing classes as regularly as possible, eventhough I’ve just had to miss a few due to other commitments. Work is the biggest obstacle, but I’ve managed to attend two sessions so far and they’ve both been brilliant! It is, by far, one of the most friendly groups I have ever become a part of and I shall be attending the next one in less than a week (:

I have learnt so much in just two classes, and not just about the drawing side of things, either; The first thing I noticed immediately, was the importance of lighting. Something I’ve never really thought about until recently. During the first session, it came to my attention that the lighting was very flat, and as a novice ‘life drawing artist’ I found it difficult to capture the depth and shape of the human form. According to the organisers, there is sometimes a lamp set up to show definiton of shadows – I am particularly looking forward to a session like this and may even replace my pencils for white pastel on dark paper.

The second thing that came to my attention was the diversity of models. The first model seemed to have more curves than the second and each pose was very similar and natural-looking, whereas the second model had less curves, but a lot more interesting poses. It’s obviously a matter of opinion, but my preference so far, seems to lean towards the more dynamic poser. I like the challenge of attempting new angles and weird positions. I look forward to that particular second model posing again.

Thirdly, the seat you choose can also have a dramatic affect on the outcome of your work. There were some artists who could visually see more chair than body and at one point I could only see a mass of hair and bit of shoulder. I wonder… Is this up to the model to vary their position in order for a full class to view in turn? Should we, the artists, move to a more appropriate viewing area on each pose? Or should we try to ignore the chair and static objects, whilst making the most of our situation? 

I imagine to the more experienced artist that I may appear not to have a clue what I am talking about -ha! but these are the little ‘thought marbles’ rolling around in my head. Where else better to talk about these things other than on my art blog?

I shall see how some of these questions unfold as the classes progress.

Okie dokie. This evening I shall post some images of my latest work. At least it may distract you from my appalling grammar, eh? 😛

Over and out.

Art Over French

It’s taken me a while, but I’ve finally managed to take the first steps towards making my blog appear a bit jazzy. Do take a look around.

Whilst I originally intended to solely post my art work, it has recently come to light that I will most likely benefit from the written word, as well. I’m hoping that through regular blogging I will be able find some kind of theme for my new portfolio.

For now, here’s a bit of information you don’t really need to know, but something that’s relevant to my new art journey…

I recently decided to leave university. I’ve been a student of French for a couple of years, working towards a degree in Modern Languages. My marks were often above average, it was something I was good at and I enjoyed it, most of the time. However, during the course I often found myself replacing potential study-time with a new drawing. And then, feeling guilty about it. There were many times I considered dropping everything for a career in art, but I either convinced myself I weren’t good enough or insisted that it was too late to start. How could I involve art in my life alongside my language studies? I settled for evening classes once a week, and through the course I had made two brilliant friends, including my new art tutor -a wonderful man with the patience of a saint and a heart of gold. I would always leave the lesson feeling inspired and even more tempted to make art a bigger part of my life. I never did anything about it. Ever.

Christmas 2014, my art teacher (and dear friend) suddenly passed away. It was truly shocking and a very sad time for many. During this period, I made the decision to leave my language course and pursue a new creative path. This is something I’ve never been brave enough to do, but through the inspiration of my tutor I am finally going to do it. Forget about time. The place to be is here and now.

There will always be a special place in my heart for French, and no doubt I’ll continue to learn in the future, but for now I am happy. I feel content with my decision.

It was my intention to apply for a position in art school this year, but after a long think it seemed more sensible to wait until my portfolio is a sure pass –something it currently isn’t, but certainly something I’m capable of putting together for next year.

And so, my journey has begun…

Some Words

Thank you very much to each visitor of my blog. I really do love sharing my art, just as much as I love perusing others’ work, too. I sincerely hope you enjoy my posts.

I have also set up a Facebook page for my work if you fancy a wander…

https://www.facebook.com/zarawilsonart

I’m looking forward to more sketching tonight and maybe even some collage work. I’ll see what the night brings.

-Zara-