Foundations in Oil Painting
As a baby adult, when I started to take myself slightly seriously as someone who has creative inclinations and as I trained and studied with professors and masters - oil painting was not at the top of my “wish list”.
I wanted to be a sculptor and wood worker. Did I work with ceramics? Yes. Did they all explode in the kiln or shrink beyond recognition? Yes. Did I ever touch a stone with a chisel? Not one day in my life. Why did I continue to try? Because I had people who genuinely love art and deeply believed I was capable of more than the tunnel I was looking through. Thank the Lord they didn’t give up on me. I am incredibly grateful for my college professors and community that helped launch me into the ocean waters of the world we swim through as outsiders - as artists. Showing me ways to stay afloat and swim with a determined posture.
Do I believe you need a formal arts education to be an artist? If you think the answer is yes, then you must be new here and haven’t spent enough time trolling my internet presence or know me personally. Let’s get coffee sometime :) The real point being - “natural talent” that you may see in people who are pursuing creative careers is most likely because they are presenting the skills of the blood, sweat and countless hours that represent what they never stopped practicing. I am one of those people. Today while painting with one of my friends, we often talk about this common misconception about artists. How “natural” or “gifted” phrases people compliment us with - lovely words to give, however it can feel as if the effort and sacrifices that have been made of our own right go unnoticed and misunderstood. Yes, there are natural characteristics we all possess and we can be more inclined to excel in unique ways. But there is always a deeper pursuit available that requires gritty work and sacrifices to take those gifts further.
As a young person, I took my artistic gifts for granted because that was an environment of how I was taught to think. The education system was not in my favor for a lot of reasons and I experienced the hardships of those gaps that did not protect children the way we are somewhat aware of today. Art was my outlet but it was not a modeled career of success or desire by the mainstream world around me - outside of my parents’ efforts and encouragement.
Years later, as an adult my perspective and opportunities would change. Achieving the ability to go to college and grow in an environment that felt like an extension of home - my professors truly enabled a shift in me to believe that I was capable of more. I had to come to this conclusion on my own and debunk decades of self doubt and outside voices. My pursuit of a Bachelors in Studio Art would become the first confirmation of vocational calling I knew I was meant to pursue. I fell in love with working in oils as a college student. Thousands of hours spent in the studios working through frustrations with composition, subject matter, and most of all color theory. I had to learn from scratch in a lot of ways and it showed. My student work was rough, but it came to fruition anyway. Almost a decade later and I think I’ve just started to scratch the surface on what I can do, how I continue to train my eye, and how to protect my process.
Launching a Foundations in Oil Painting course is not just like teaching another class. I want to give my community the opportunity to expand what they know or don’t know about painting and have a space to explore those same elements of painting and perspective as I have. It’s not a four year degree, but it is an open door to take your faith in yourself a little further and make work you can be confident in doing with your own hands. This is just the beginning.
