Life as an art student | Day 4 of 20

Started class today with a discussion examining the works of Giorgio Morandi and Paul Cezanne. I am finally understanding (and embracing) the importance and beauty of still life fine art pieces.  This makes me that much more motivated to spend time doing still life studies and I find myself brainstorming what types of objects or unifying themes I would focus on for my set-ups.

I know that the more time I spend painting and thinking in visual ways, the stronger I will be as a visual artist in a multitude of ways. I hardly ever paint at home and I am thinking I would like to try more of this especially this summer. I am going to try and get my 4 yo daughter involved because why not? My professor said when his daughter was in her early elementary years, she was exposed to plenty of art and she actually set her stuffed animals up to imitate the Last Supper. Perhaps I am a big nerd but that absolutely delights me and encourages me to be more bold in the art I share with my little girl.

Our studio time today was a continued study in torn paper collage but today we were directed to not just look at the negative space/background and to focus more on the foreground and proportions and scale of the objects themselves. Somehow my easel set-up ended up getting shifted from yesterday to today so I ended up unknowingly dealing with that and thinking I was crazy because my perspective was all of a sudden off and I couldn't explain it.

The professor was wonderfully supportive and helpful and encouraged me to note the challenge presented but not be overly concerned and just deal with the issue by making decisions based on the fact that I know/understand how to show proper perspective, scaling, and appropriate proportions without relying on the set-up itself. I did most of the hard work yesterday with the negative space and that was enough for me to fill in the foreground correctly enough.

Today after class I finally took a trip into DC to visit my local Utrecht location and I finally purchased the rest of my supplies - brand new PREMIUM-type brushes (read: expensive!) and Gamblin brand oil paints. I was going to order from Dick Blick and because I'm in the midst of "creative budgeting" while I deal with the cash flow issue of waiting for my student loans to be applied to my account, I had to wait until literally today to be able to get my supplies because I have had no money to do it. Such is life but God is so good(!) because not only was I able to take advantage of the amazing sale Utrecht is currently having but I was also able to use a 15% off coupon for one part of my oil and then my teacher discount for the rest (turpenoid, some oil painting medium, a new spatula and razor knife for my palette) - the sales associate who helped me was AMAZING to be able to help me figure this out and truly maximize the money I spent.

Old brush set on the left side, new brush set on the right

I don't have class tomorrow (it's every day of the week for four hours except Fridays) and while (earlier this week) I was excited about that since it gives me some much needed time to both spend with my little girl and prepare for her big birthday party this weekend, I'm bummed that I have to wait until next week to try out all of my new supplies! Oh well... good things come to those who wait (me included).

Have a great weekend everyone! See you next Monday after class!!