Get Sketching

   Thank you to all who have commented or emailed with nice words about my watercolor experimenting!  I have really appreciated it.

   I am in a phase of life where I'm feeling a lot of turmoil, and I think that sitting down to draw and paint something is becoming an addictive sort of meditation for me.  The act of really looking at something, studying its lines and shapes and colors and shadows, is a very focusing and calming thing.  I'm also making some discoveries about self-acceptance along the way.  At first, I was irked at feeling like I couldn't draw.  Now I feel like I CAN draw, it's just my own, wonky way and it's not perfection I'm aiming for anyway.  I'm accepting and enjoying the process, and finding that the imperfections are what make these drawings MINE.

   Ah, a bit of psychological discovery with pencil and paints.

  

  Yes, yes, this is all about me.  But here is the good news for YOU:  Jane LaFazio, the delightful woman who set me off on this free and fun sketching and painting path, is offering online classes again at Joggles.com, and they start soon -- November 8 and 9, I believe.  Jane is a terrific teacher, and her focus is on giving tips and encouragement.  It's less about learning specific drawing or painting techniques than learning to LOOK, and to just try, and to experiment and have fun.

  The online course "Sketchbook and Watercolor: Journal Style" is the one I started with, and was very loose and fun.  It starts again on Nov. 9.  It's 6 weeks and you work at your own pace.  

  I did the dumpling squash page in response to an exercise we did in that class, and we all had so much fun with it (extrapolating designs from things) that Jane turned it into a separate class called "Watercolor Sketchbook: Designs from Life".  That class starts on November 8. 

  So if you are inspired to try a bit of sketchbook style painting, I highly recommend these classes as a way to jump-start you.