When I returned from my workshop a week ago and told a friend about all I learned, she said something like, “I can’t wait to see your paintings and how what you learned has improved your work.”
If only it were that simple! Learning HOW is quite different from being ABLE to DO what you have learned. Especially when the teacher you study with has painted 8-12 hours a day for 20+ years honing her ability to see, draw and paint. Even when the teacher is extremely generous in her teaching and tries to tell you everything she knows during the intensive week of painting and learning.
I’m still processing what I learned, experimenting with it, and trying to incorporate it into a way of painting that works for me. I promise a post about what I learned soon. But no promises that you’ll see big “improvements” in my work yet. That only comes with practice and time. In fact, after “learning” something new, it’s not unusual for work to show signs of struggle and get “worse,” not “better” for a while.
MEANWHILE…The Studio Conversion
I’m still in the construction/remodeling/moving and sorting stuff process of converting my former studio (half my duplex) back into a rentable apartment and remodeling my former 2-car garage into my new studio (almost done; pictures soon). My carpenter planned to finish a few weeks ago on what turned out to be the only rainy weekend of the winter, which forced postponement. Now he’s tied up on a big job but hopefully will squeeze mine in over the next week or two.
Jana Bouc, Artist 