Tag: paint

Learn How to Paint: Draw Or Write Like a Pro With Continuing Education Classes

Learn How to Paint, Draw or Write Like a Pro with Continuing Education Classes

Have you ever wanted to be an artist? Most of us have at one point of our lives or another. However, in school, the focus was more on reading, writing and rithmetic instead of honing our artistic or musical skills. Now that you are an adult and can make your own decisions, you’d like to try and learn these things and take up a new hobby. But how? Do you read a book or ask your friend who paints?

Well, you can, but it won’t help you get the know-how that taking a continuing education course can give you.

Continuing education courses can be anything from an accredited degree program (one where you earn a degree to use in your career at the end) to a simple day-long course at the local community college. However, it’s those simple courses that can give the students amazing experience in areas they never had a chance to learn about previously.

A student can take painting classes, learn to sew or knit, learn to arrange flowers or research your family tree-all by taking a few courses for a few weeks. You can learn how to create the next big piece of artwork or sew your daughter’s wedding dress. Or, you can do something simple. Continuing education courses have something for everyone.

Because the topics can range so widely, these continuing education courses are a great way for retirees to keep their minds sharp in their senior years. It also gives them a way to meet people with similar backgrounds and interests.

So, if you are itching to get started on that painting you’ve always dreamed of creating, now is the time to get started. Why now? Because, well, why not now? There is no better time than the present to start living your dreams, no matter your financial background or martial status. You will also find that pursuing your interests will help you with your self-confidence, self-esteem and general happiness in your life.

Where can you find continuing education courses like these?

Well, first start by calling your local community college or recreation center. Nearly ever town or city has at least one and they are sure to offer a few each month that will serve your interests.

If you can’t find continuing education courses at your local community college, head online. Search on your favorite search engine for continuing education courses in your city or region. You are sure to find a great selection to choose from, probably in places you weren’t aware of before. Then, all you have to do is register, attend class and let your mind soak up the new information. It can be that easy!

Living your dreams of becoming an artist or clothing designer doesn’t have to be only a dream. You can make it a realitywith only the tuition payment and some imagination. Just think, maybe someday you can pass on your knowledge to others and help them start living their very own artistic dreams too.

Learn to Paint Like a Child

All children love to draw or paint. It matters little whether the result is an exact copy of reality because at that very moment reality is in the mind of the artist. As they draw they are creators and each will stand back to admire what they have accomplished. It is not their desire to become an artist, they are there already!

There is that small child in all of us –an artist inside that holds a perception of the world as expressed by our feelings and thoughts. It differs from everyone else; it is unique. But during the years of maturity we became self-conscious about our abilities.

Unfortunately, we might have been criticized and decided that our talents lay somewhere else. Because it was met with some form of disapproval, we stopped being so free with our expressions.

Picasso once said, “All of my life I have been learning to paint like a child”. Did he succeed? I think he did, because he never let go of his child-like images. He was the master of innocence. Today his artworks are priceless, but at the time they were created I’m sure some judged them harshly.

My first recollection of drawing or painting was around the age of ten. By high school I spent my meager earnings on oil paints and canvas. My passion was nature – animals in particular and that was my subject material at the time. Talent has two definitions–a natural ability or a developed skill. My parents couldn’t send me to art school, so I depended on the former.

I am still painting in my senior years without the benefit of schooling. There were times when I thought I should have learned the basics of form, reflective light, color-wheel importance, composition, etc. Still, not everyone can deal with the pressure of grades or a structured format. I paint from my heart, expressing what my mind dictates, and there are no schools that teach that. I give myself new challenges, just to see if I can produce this vision on canvas to my own satisfaction. You don’t have to have a certificate to do that.

Often we look at things without really seeing them. After all, our eyes are merely lenses; they have no knowledge, no memories and no experiences. To see well we must open our minds as well as our eyes. Perhaps for that reason I like to paint the less-than-perfect subject material.

A broken sea-shell has more character than any perfect specimen. Models, just short of perfect beauty leave a little ‘yet to be desired’. My choice for portraits would be in the facial structure itself, eye or skin color and character lines. It’s been said that there are two times when a boy can be called beautiful — at puberty, and when felled by the sword. I see in each of these a child-like perception and I am driven, at times, to put these images on canvas.

Henri Matisse put it this way: “Creation begins with vision. The artist has to look at everything as though seeing it for the first time, like a child”.