The Week ahead 30/8 -5/9...what's in store

I said to Bryce yesterday that for me a whole weekend of sketching was almost too much. Too much concentration. Too much focus. OK if it's just the art but when it's also meeting new people and connecting with them you either put your energy in one or the other. I love meeting new people and talking about that shared interest of art. I love drawing. The latter I can do by myself but then it's hard to get up close and personal with your subject matter, especially if it's people studies. Certainly there was a colourful bunch of people at Balmoral Beach and an abundance of subject matter. And then of course, there's always the water. Not much is planned art-wise for me this week, but I will work on Julia Cameron's book "The Artist's Way". Bryce too is working on it. We are embarking on the 12 week program together to "unblock" the obstacles that are preventing us from living up to our true potential. This book comes highly recommended by those who have read it. Every morning I have to embak on what is known as "The Morning Pages" - essentially 3 pages of writing to "loosen up" and get you Headed in the right Direction! So open the book and write I will:)

A weekend of sketching

Saturday... entire day of life drawing at AGNSW. Great practice and actually felt like I was getting somewhere. It's not easy getting the perspective right, but slowly, slowly I am getting there. Today was drawing at Balmoral Beach with Sydney En Plein air artist group. I hurt my back when I fell backwards off my stool. Bang! ouch. And now residual pain. Gem says "just Keep Moving" Anyway postings of pictures on the group website. I enjoyed a slow drive back home through the back streets of Mosman. Such wealth. Such views. One house right on the water was 4.5 storeys tall. Yes, it was a house. I tried to draw some of the things that I'm not comfortable drawing. Cars, buildings, road perspectives. But most of my drawings today were of people. . Came home early. Whilst it was warm in the sun, it was cool in the shade... very cool. Favourite 0.28 pen ran out of ink. Going to have to get to Kinokonua ?? (can never say that place) to get some more art suplies. I'm loving the pen and ink pics. Your pen just keeps mving all the time and it creates an interesting effect.

CLASSES

I really enjoy that once a month going to a class. It's a sort of class and yet it's not. It's disciplined and yet it's not. But I come away feeling that I have achieved and that I have improved in one small way. What I love is meeting with new and old people who love to draw. I have never really been in that situation before. When I was at school, I loved art and people did art classes. But there wasn't the same feeling there. I never shared my love of art with anyoneI guess when you are immature and in that teacher/student mode- you are not free to express yourself and you are there to do what the teacher tells you. You look at other students' work as "that is REALLY bad/ REALLY good" but you know that the talent you have is only luck at the time as we are just kids and are just evolving. There is no one there to really encourage you on , and at the same time you are also trying to do well in 5-6 other subjects, so art is just another subject in your busy school day. Art now is far more indulgent and enjoyable. I am older now than a lot of the artists were when they died. And they were famous. Heck! The Archibald prize winners are often nearly half my age. WHAT HAVE I DONE WITH MY ART LIFE? I feel like I wasted so many years. So many years spent NOT DOING ART. Well, that's why I am here doing what I want to do (It does feel selfish and indulgent) but I kind of feel that it is also WHAT I WAS MEANT TO DO. So here I am. Take me, Art!

LIFE DRAWING

Am kind of looking forward to the life drawing classes tomorrow. It's going to be a long day as I am the volunteer for tomorrow. I have to get the express bus to the city. I think the first bus goes at 8 am so I'll be on that. Then off to the AGNSW and through the tradesman's entrance and set up the easles and the room for the art class. The day is long. The first class goes for 2 hours and the second class goes for 3 hours. There's an hour off for lunch. So I get my classes for free. It's enjoyable but it's hard work and big concentration. I want to be good but some times I get almost a block to my ability to move forward. I'm going to look through the quick sketching book tonight and I'm going to do my morning pages every morning (as per The Artist's Way) - 3 pages of writing random stuff. I just hope that what comes out on the paper looks Ok. Sunday at Balmoral Beach could be fun, though I'm a bit apprehensive about whether I can turn out anything decent (that's really negative I know). Wait and see. Make or break.

into... The Artist's way

Somehow in this precious life I need to explore this deep creativity within me. I go to the Art Gallery NSW and marvel at the art. How do they do it? Get that perfection from their mind onto their canvas? I looked closely at Del Kathryn Barton's new painting. Wow. Such detail. Yet, such an original concept of art style. It's sort of the merging of different styles to create her own signature style of art. As soon as you see one of her paintings, you immediately know who painted it. Like a Renoir or a Modiglianni. Ochre says she "hates" Renoir. I have always loved his art. Those cherub faces on women and children. So I'm reading The Artist's Way as it is a recommended support for all artists trying to navigate their artistic way through this busy routine organised and dutiful life where allegiences to work and the arduous side of life are valued highly, and there is some hintings that indulging in one's artistic side is terribly selfd indulgent. These hintings come from noone in particular - yet they are felt. I work very hard for the health department, at least, that's how I feel. T.A.W will hopefully steer me away from the feeling that I need to prove my worth through my hard work. So far I have felt very inspired by all the art I am seeing being created at these new found art groups. It's exciting. Like art communities at Heidelberg or Montmartre... people inspiring others. And I have a weekend of this to look forward to. Life drawing at AGNSW tomorrow and Sketching at Balmoral Beach on Sunday. I have to practice. I have to loosen up.

The Artist's Way

Ok... I opened The Artist's Way, waiting for the magic to begin. I read a while. Maybe I've read a few books similar to this, but so far it's not jumping out at me. I've read 2 x books on creativity already this year and started a third, but didn't like the layout. Layout is so important to me. It has to be right. I know I take on a lot, try to do too much so that some things don't get done. I'm selfish. I want to do what I want to do and not what I should do. There is so much I should do. Will my life be better if I always do what I should be doing or if I do what I want to do? Oh well... 15 minutes more reading of Julia Cameron's book.

ART GROUPS

When I finished the gruelling "Advanced Breastfeeding" course in early July this year, I was free to embark on a lot of the creative pursuits that I had been postphoning. Alissa is a fellow art class member at the AGNSW. She is a wonderful artist and is very disciplined and motivated to draw daily. She told me about a couple of groups to join that would encourage my drawing. The first one was The Sydney Sketch Club and the second one an outdoors sketch group. I then found another group which has never yet met but which plans to focus on THE ARTIST'S WAY, a book by Julia Cameron. I have only yesterday received my copy of the book and I should read a few pages every day... starting tonight. I have met up with the Sydney Sketch Club and we have done a day at the Museum and a day at the Maritime Museum. I've really loved it. There are plenty of planned sketch days. The second group meets less regularly, but have a day planned this weekend at Balmoral Beach. I'm looking forward to this, and enjoying meeting new people. I recently met Del Kathryn Barton, who won the Archibald Prize 2 years ago. She was unveiling her new artwork - at an aquisition party at the AGNSW. She's SO YOUNG!!!

DRAW and DRAW, like you've never drawn before

And so I took every opportunity to draw. Family sitting down watching TV, reading or whatever. I was out with my sketch pad and pencil. I was loving this, and quietly pleased that I was getting more confident with my execution of the sketch. I felt that they were looking like who or what they were supposed to be. Yes, I felt I was improving. I continued with my art classes monthly. And Ijoined the AGNSW as a volunteer too, This was all getting exciting now. I was asked if I could help as a volunteer with a mixed media class. Another volunteer and I got to the gallery early and set up the area where we would have the class. It was definitely challenging. I had never volunteered before, and this was a relatively new area for me... mixed media. There were some really gorgeous works produced. Most of these people were not from artistic backgrounds and yet they were producing some delightful pieces. I also got to "DRAW THE AUSTRALIAN BALLET" at the Opera House and got to see Duncan (bro) do his daily piano work of accompanying the dancers. Drawing these models was such a challenge as they never kept still for a minute. But it made you think quick about the poses. The end results were OK I think. Then I continued on with the monthly life drawing classes (next one is this Saturday)

A long time between blogs.. but now I'm back on track

It was a wonderful lot of prompts to get creative. Bryce, Laura, Gemma and Grace each contributed to my creativity by buying me sketch pads, canvasses, paints, brushes, pencils, and ART CLASSES.
Sister Bron and daughter challenged me last year. Laura told me NOT TO TAKE MY CAMERA TO JAPAN last September, and Bron held me accountable to that promise. Bryce was encouraging with his expectations too. So when we went to Japan, I took art supplies but no camera. The people on the Intrepid tour were less than encouraging to start with. "You come all the way to Japan but you don't bring your camera! (Kind of like - you'll regret this). But I stayed true to my word and almost filled 2 sketch pads. I was pleased with the results, and when I got home I promised myself that I would draw every day. I didn't, because life got in the way with full time work, but I still drew frequently. Christmas presents last year were art inspired. One of those presents were a full day of life drawing at AGNSW. I so looked forward to the day as the time approached. Then the day arrived. It was wonderful, and as it was my first ever life drawing class, I was so inspired, and planned to get involved monthly with the Art Gallery. I met some pleasant and creative people there. The teacher was as artistic as her colourful name "OCHRE"