Saying "YES" to art

Hello all!

I am a person who has wanted to be an artist my whole life, and felt a great deal of frustration when I thought I wasn't, that it was too late for me. I remember having so much fun drawing when I was a child - but then got sidetracked.

I have always been involved in creative pursuits. My energies were channeled into music, for that was my mother's passion. It was probably a good example of living vicariously through another person, for she steered me clearly towards the music - something she always wished she could have studied more, and mastered. And I did enjoy it, and become quite good. I did not, however, enjoy practicing - and tended to avoid it.

I remember in high school I took one semester of art, and told my mother that I thought I would drop choir and switch to art. Her response: oh no, that's not who you are. You are a musician. Then in college, I had a friend who was double majoring in art and music - and I was so envious of him - because I wanted to study art!

The year I was 28, I finally allowed myself to take weekly oil painting lessons for about 6 months - and really enjoyed it. Then I stopped - and really did nothing more than maybe 2 attempts at pencil portraits for the next 30 years. All this time, I had an ache in my heart because I thought I had missed the boat - that it was too late for me.

The year I was 59 - I told myself - it is now or never - and I committed to taking a weekly art lesson for a minimum of 1 year. I lucked on to a really good instructor at a Hobby Lobby store. Her medium was water color, so that's what I began with. Then I began taking a 2nd class with her, on watercolor portraits. Within 18 months, I was independently painting watercolor portraits and had won an Honorable Mention in a juried watercolor exhibition in Fort Worth. I have continued this pursuit, and have been able to paint commissioned portraits.

I have continued to read, take online courses, and an occasional workshop. It is now my goal to understand the medium of oils better, and to learn to do my portraits in oil - as well as to learn to do landscapes. I also want to master drawing. I want to loosen up my style, for I am always drawn to work that is impressionistic, or with elements of abstraction - but I also really love realism. I like to blend the two.

It is my goal to spend my senior years getting better and better as an artist.

I am attaching one of my favorites of the portraits I have done