A few months back, I wrote about my contemplation in buying new gouache colours and paintbrushes to learn floral art. Did I stick to painting? The answer is a positive definite yes. Picking up my brushes, painting and filling out my journal with small pieces of floral art has made me feel content. To explore more, I started following artists and illustrators who showcase beautiful artwork, took part in online challenges and realised — I want to learn more. And build my niche.
Painting has helped me to focus on the process of playing with colours and techniques; enjoying it rather than impatiently complete an artwork as quickly as possible. Not everything needs to be competitive (which I end up being a lot of times, guilty)! We try to learn and give up early because we expect to hone our skills in the shortest time possible, not taking into account that the best in their skills are the ones who have spent years and laborious amount of effort in practicing the basics and freely experimenting with their art. What starts as an imitation of a particular work ends up being a different picture in the end when we tweak it to our preference. I started learning with gouache and went on to work with pencil watercolours. Now I want to learn botanical watercolour painting. Quite a big aim, but this time, I plan to invest in learning the techniques slowly and practice diligently. I am searching courses online (though I would have loved to join an art class in a traditional classroom teaching style) and then buy my art supplies. Because let’s be honest, some hobbies can be expensive! I feel bringing myself to a challenge of focusing on practicing my techniques will surely help me in the long run, and I get a little upset when a painting does not turn out to be the way I want (because social media can make you quite judgmental at times, oops). But I want to learn. So hopefully, in few months, I will be able to put up more paintings and show you my wee progress.
P.S. I might try my hand in brush lettering. I never had beautiful handwriting, but I admire well-written penmanship. So why not? *sparkling eyes emoji*
Let me know if this pandemic lockdown has made you pursue new hobbies or skills. Are you still learning? How has the journey been so far? Do you feel you are getting good at it? Let me know in the comments below.
Thank you so much for reading this post. Cheers!
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Eternally Bonkers 