By following these notes each
week you will begin to understand what art is all about. Furthermore, you will
develop your own skill as an artist. It will take time and practice, but I
assure you that it can be done.
The greatest difficulty is making
a start. Even after a lifetime of painting I still feel nervous when I begin a
new painting. In my mind I can see what I want, but the challenge is to get
that vision down on paper.
To begin with we are going to
use simple materials that cost very little. You can by 17 sheets of newsprint
paper at J E Nassief on the Bay Front for EC$3.80. The sheets measure 34” x 22”. If you cut them in
two you get 34 sheets and that works out at only 11 cents per sheet! From
Garraway Enterprises you can buy a stick of charcoal for EC$2.00. For less than
six dollars you have all you need to begin, so let’s make a start.
Newsprint paper and charcoal
are two of my favourite materials. The paper has a nice off-white tint which gradually
mellows to a brownish yellow with age. Charcoal is very versatile. It can make
light lines or dramatic darks. Try making sheet after sheet of doddles and
scribbles just as I have done below. Keep the lines crisp and try to avoid
smudging. Don’t worry about making a picture, just get used to handling your
materials.
Incidentally, one item you
will not need is an eraser. Every line counts, whether it’s wrong or right, but
more about this in later notes.
The sketch at the head of
today’s notes is a still life that I made as a five-minute demonstration for a class of art
students. It was drawn with charcoal on newsprint; the very same materials that
you are now using.
Each week I will introduce
you to famous artists from the past. I will start with one of the world's best known painters, Vincent van Gogh. Below is one of his self portraits.
You can research Vincent van Gogh on the internet to find out more about his life and work.