If you’ve read any of my blog posts so far then you know how much I adore art. Art history, maybe more so.

When I began attempting to paint a few years ago, some friends asked if I was going to take art classes the way I had writing ones.

I thought about it. I really did. But I agonize over my writing. I revise over and over. Painting felt fun and fast. I didn’t know what I was doing and that was fine. It was play. Sometimes something interesting came from it.

It was gratifying to discover I am good at intuitively mixing colors and differentiating shades. I could play with color alone and be almost content.

Well, since I’ve written so much about art, I thought it might be fair (and useful) to study it in a more structured way.

That said, I’m going to attempt to learn some real tips and techniques and share my results here. Yikes!

To that end, I attended a watercolor class at our local library recently. We all watched a YouTube video and painted along.

It was fun.

I learned (relearned?) important things about myself.

For instance, I don’t like to follow instructions when it comes to creative projects.

Maybe it wasn’t entirely my fault, because the “green” we were given was too blue and we didn’t have the right paints to make it so. That made me feel rebellious from the get go. I knew I wouldn’t be able to replicate the leaves, so why try?

One of the things I enjoy most is filling up the background once I’ve finished my painting. I love the opportunity to play with big swathes of color, to make bold proclamations.

This painting didn’t call for that, but I couldn’t resist. The sweet woman sitting beside me in class simply murmured “Oh, my” when she saw what I was doing. I’m not sure that was a compliment.

Without further ado, I present to you my version of the project. I’m not unhappy with it, and DH wants to frame it, but a realistic nature illustrator I am not.

Comments welcome, unless they are about technique. It won’t do you any good. She won’t be taught. Sigh. Unless maybe through further YouTube videos.

But if you like or don’t certain aspects of it, do leave a comment. And if YOU are a visual artist, show me yours!

P.S. Clearly, this is sideways.