Just a Beginner

One of my good friends from the Generations Writers Group came to pastel class today. I was so happy that she came and played with us. Preston, of course, separated us, so we wouldn't talk, and I had a momentary relapse, thinking I was in second or third grade, but had I been teaching, I would have done the same thing. Sometimes students who have been taking a class in any subject (or art) may inadvertently say or do something that is not exactly in keeping with fundamentals the teacher hopes to convey. Not only that, but it can be unproductive for the seasoned student as well--one might think one knows what one is doing, which, for me, is not good. I approach every painting and every piece of writing, as if I were a beginner. I try not to let myself think of myself as intermediate or (worse) advanced. If I do, then I'll forget the basics--and I don't want that.

It was delightful today to hear Preston telling Kelli and Carol the basics he's always told us: "Simplify. Whatever your subject is, look at the shapes. . . . Don't try putting eyelashes on the mosquito yet. . . . No, you're not done yet. . . . Keep your fingers out of it . . . . Let the pastel do the work."

It took me back to the day I got up the nerve to come to my first pastel class and completed the ever popular apple:

After I completed the apple in class, I came home, found a picture of a comely pear, and painted it, so that I wouldn't forget the technique and so that I would be able to keep my fingers dusty. Naturally, having done it at home, there are flaws . . . the shadow doesn't "kick up" the way it should behind, and there's a "halo" around the pear, that I realized was there, but at the time, didn't know how to correct.

Still . . . I'm so very glad I worked on the pear at home. The one thing I realized about both the apple, pear, and any other class I've ever taken: if I enjoy what I'm doing, and being taught by someone who knows his/her stuff, I work twice as hard at home, to be prepared for the next class. It might not show it in my work, but . . . I'm just a beginner.