nzacksart

It has been an entire year since my last blog post! Last year, when visiting Maine, I was blissfully unaware of the events of the coming year. Pandemic, crazy politics, national unrest, weird weather! Still, there were positive things about 2020. I tapped into several high-quality online art classes sponsored by community art associations. For me, quarantine was an opportunity to fill in some of the holes in my art education.

Early Spring

In March, it was difficult to concentrate until the level of biological threat was clear. Thinking that I would like to work on my drawing skills, I enrolled in Ron Krouk’s excellent class through the Zullo Gallery. This class lit the spark to continue with my drawing practice.

Late Spring and Summer

I learned so much from Ron that I took another class. This was a continuation of basic drawing with a eye toward preparing for a painting. The online format worked surprisingly well.

Late Summer and Fall

Yet another class with Ron, taking the drawing toward painting. In this class I made peace with acrylic paint – learning to build it up slowly, rather than apply it like oil paint or soft pastel. In this class, I made some good mistakes – ones I can learn from. My best accomplishment to actually start to think of using my drawings for paintings, even though most of the paintings had mistakes. It was a good year in this regard!

2021 and Beyond

I’m still fond of my colored pencil landscapes. I love to blend the colors using my knowledge of color theory. I’m going to continue with these, while trying to remember all of the things I learned in 2021. Also, I’m signed up for an animal drawing class (alpacas are a current fascination) and I will be working outside when the air is warmer and safer.

Happy New Year to anyone reading this!