I am not an artist. I had interest in perfecting those sorts of skills when I was younger, but I never took a class {that I can recall} other than the occasional painting day with my {talented, as much as she will deny it} Gran. I considered taking art in junior high until I discovered it had the reputation for being a “slacker” class.
And so, here I am, realizing the importance of artistic instruction, but not knowing where to find said instruction, without spending money and time that we are not ready to spend. We are a bit young for such things; one of us still takes two naps per day!
However, comma.
My oldest is ready.
He experiences this frustrated, restless sort of readiness, as if he would need to climb a mountain or perform some other extreme physical feat if I didn’t teach him something new, and quickly.
So today we dug out the watercolor pencils from Christmas. They were a gift, appropriately enough, from Gran herself. And they were buried under weeks of Mommy being sick, poor things.
We stared at them. They stared back. Now what? I asked myself.
Here is the part where I thank the Almighty for YouTube. Whatever negative things may be said about it aside, I find it to be most helpful in these areas.
So this week, during Quiet Time, my son will be getting some instruction here in the office, courtesy of our computer. He’ll sit on our futon, and use a sturdy tray table I have. He’ll bring his special watercolor paper, his pencils, and borrow one of my paintbrushes.
And he will have some fun.
Care to take a look? We will start with a quick demo using the exact brand of pencil he owns, and then go on to some real instruction. I have found a few other “classes,” but this is where we will start.
How do you tackle a new medium?
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