Friday, March 14, 2008

My Mona Lisa


I've been playing in my sketchbook while watching tv with the family at night. I've only recently discovered I can actually draw a bit. I never used to think I had an artistic bone in my body. I had the most horrible art teacher in jr. high. She would give us assignments, but never actually TEACH us ANYTHING! I didn't learn anything about color, composition, shading, drawing, painting - NOTHING! Because of that, I thought you either had the talent for art or didn't. It never occured to me that art could be LEARNED, PRACTICED and PROGRESSED! Sure, talent and desire are a part of art, but like everything else in life, I believe being good at anything is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration ( I think Albert Einstein said that). So, I've been sketching and painting and studying, taking classes and just having FUN! I may never be a great artist, but I enjoy the process and the end result and it's so satisfying to create.

BTW, did you know that Leonardo daVinci only has about 15 surviving works? I was reading about him last night and found out that he was not a prolific artist at all- he often ruined pieces by experimenting with different techniques and was supposedly a great procrastinator! This is encouraging in a way- it gives me the courage to experiment, make mistakes, produce AWFUL art and still consider myself to be an artist after all.

Have a BLESSED and CREATIVE DAY!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...
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reagan said...

Lennea, that just makes my art teachers heart sore! I taught art for grades k-7 last year and the one thing I could not tolerate was ANY student saying they couldn't create art! It's all about the process, not the product. I agree that while some may possess more "talent", EVERYONE of us has creativity in our souls. It just comes out in different ways. I brought in tons of books to show them all different kinds of art, some masterpieces, some looked like children had done it, it was ALL art. Children especially need to be able to express themselves this way. As far as learning art, you betcha! We hear all the time that it's a journey. It is! Love your Mona Lisa!
smiles,
Pam