Previous Challenge Entry (Level 1 – Beginner)
Topic: Art (01/18/07)
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TITLE: A Work of Art In Progress | Previous Challenge Entry
By Shirley Hegwood
01/25/07 -
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Barbara Ann volunteered to teach me to paint. Combining her large collection of art supplies with my newly purchased art supplies, we began the first lesson.
"Remember, it is all about form and color." She searched for the color wheelchart that she used as much as a paintbrush. "Study these forms and practice on them while I find my wheel.
My sister's meticulous approach to new learning experiences was in direct contrast to mine. I don't read direction books. She, now as my art instructor, insisted I study the beginner book. There she goes again.
I laughed to myself. Gotta read the directions to the last period. I hurriedly flipped through the pages. Done. On to painting!
While she was distracted looking for her color wheel, I squeezed a drop of blue oil paint onto the palate and stirred it with my new brush. "What are you doing?"
"I am going to practice drawing these forms."
She removed the canvas and leaned it against the desk leg. She replaced it with a piece of art paper, took the brush from my hand and deposited therein a plastic stirrer for the paint. "First lesson: don't use expensive canvas to practice on. Second lesson: don't use your brush to stir or mix the paint. Use this spatula. Where in the world is that color wheel? I'll be right back." She walked down the hallway to her bedroom.
In contrast to my organizational skills, Barbara Ann eventually finds what she needs digging through "still-using-it" clutter from a week ago. She might find the wheel by tomorrow.
Whooosh! What exhilarating strokes! Listening to the "music" of drawers and doors opening and closing in her bedroom, my paintbrush swirled and twirled over the practice medium in a dance of circles, squares and triangles just like the ones I saw in the book. I'm ready to paint now!
I reached over to get the canvas leaning up against the desk leg and positioned it on the easle stand. I have time to paint a beach scene masterpiece and surprise her when she comes back in here.
I squeezed dolbs of basic colors from their tubes onto the palate. I remembered to stir each with the spatula. Loading, cleaning and reloading the paintbrush, I painted the sky azure blue using lines, waves and circles. A yellow circle became the sun. Green with shades of brown strokes formed the v-line grass on the white/beige sandy beach. Soft ivory filled in the overhead oval clouds and became the sea's foamy waves below.
I stepped back to look at my finished masterpiece. Something is missing. Yes! I will paint two people on the beach.
"Here it is! I found the color wheel!" I heard her footsteps coming down the hallway to the living room.
The brush bristles whizzed on the canvas under the control of my nervous hand. "Whew!"
I finished the last stroke just as she was approaching the easle.
"What are you doing?" Barbara Ann's eyes fixated on the once white canvas. The room became quiet-very quiet! She studied the painting with folded arms; moving a few steps here-and-there to get a different view. "Hummmm...nice beach scene. What is this?" She pointed to the left-hand corner of the painting.
"Lines and circles. Good form and color, huh?" I knew if I gave her more time, she would recognize what it was.
"But, what is it?" I sensed she really knew what it was but wanted me to tell her.
"Why, those are people. See the forms? The circle is the head, this line is the neck, these two lines are the arms, this line connects these two lines that are the legs...hands and feet are ovals. They're stick people!"
Again, she carefully removed the canvas from the easle and leaned it up against the desk leg.
"We'll wait on the color wheel thing. Let's start over from the beginn...ummm...stick people... don't...stick people?
She looked at me and grinned. You, my dear, are a work of art in progress!"
On November 19, 2004, my beloved sister and best friend, Barbara Ann, passed into Heaven.
Art supplies and several of her progressively expert paintings were among her possessions. Recently, I unzipped her artist's carrier. I stored it unopend in my closet. I pulled out her first watercolor painting.
Her first masterpiece now hangs on my living room wall--a beautiful beach scene with two stick people holding hands walking on the beach.
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