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Posted
J M W Turner. We went one day on a school trip and did the galleries in London and I saw the Steam Snow and Rain. Later on in the 60s an artist put some paper up at a public demo, shoved some paints and brushes in my hand and said, 'paint a windmill there.' I did, and was hooked. I still have that painting, and it is up here on the site.BestMick
Posted
I've tried very hard to remember this, and yet I can't - except that as a lad, I used to get, or be given, the Classics Illustrated series: sort of comics, based on books like A Christmas Carol, Quentin Durward and others; and I started drawing from them - but that wasn't the real beginning, because when I was at Primary School I drew gollywogs (why gollywogs? I had one, that's all....) on the back of my arithmetic papers; hated arithmetic, maths and all their works then, and still do over 50 years on. Gollywogs were much more interesting.
I do remember what started me painting in oil - it was an article in Look and Learn magazine (wish I could remember the author): I learned more from that article than from years of art education at school, and found oil paint so much more rewarding than the ghastly powdered paint we were given in class. I'd like to pretend I'd been influenced by the great artists of the past, but I wasn't - knew precious little about them at that time, and they hardly figured in my consciousness at all until much later.
I'm quite glad of that in a way, because I always painted what I found interesting, and didn't try copying or working in the style of anyone else: which is why I've always been ambivalent about art colleges, but that's another topic altogether.
Posted
Like you Bloodaxe, I too visited the London galleries when I was a child, and they filled me with awe. I remember wishing that I could paint like Cezanne,but that was it,until My art teacher told me that she liked my work a great deal but didn't know if others would so much.
Well, Robert that is when this stubborn "old boot" tried to proove her wrong. I'm sure that if she hadn't made that comment I may never have picked up a brush again those many years later. I too read Look and Learn but ,unfortunately cannot remember the artist who wrote an article in there, although I remember the series on Beowolf in there: but I digress.
Thea, I like the single mindedness of your approach which has paid off so well.
Heres to future postings .
Posted
It never occurred to me to Google it - I'll have a look; the name rings a bell somewhere; the article would have been published in around about 1966 I think.... but time has a habit of confusing the memory.... I also remember another magazine for children, called, I think, Knowledge - I had long-suffering parents: they were subsidizing me in my reading quite heavily at the time, as I graduated from the Beano and Topper, occasionally swiping my younger brother's Buster, then on to Look & Learn and Knowledge - these last were fabulous magazines, and I wish something like them was available today: so many of my present interests and an awful lot of my present level of knowledge come from the inspiration those publications gave to my generation; and the wonderful encyclopaedias we had.... Ee, I'm getting all nostalgic! You sort of wish you could thank those writers of 50+ years ago, for all they offered us.... interests that have endured for a lifetime, in my case.
The spark was already there, though - I think. I still haven't been able to pinpoint any specific point in my early childhood when the desire to draw and paint was born. Maybe it was just the forceps delivery, after all......
Posted
I have to say that I always envied my brother's ability to draw. He is 13 years older than me and when I was 5 and he was a very grown up 18 year old, he used to draw endless cartoons of Mickey Mouse for me. Perhaps that's where it started. My brother went on to paint in watercolour, too. His sketchbooks in pen and wash are wonderful and he has given some to us which we treasure.
Posted
From starting Secondary school until retirement from both employment and the world...I had to put all the other things first...
The classic do well at school...get the qualifications...get the job...raise the family...pay off the mortgage...
All through that time I really fancied being an artist...
But now I'm an artist.
You will notice...no inspirational artist...no person...no museum...no work of art...no book...no video was mentioned.
Posted
Apart from art lessons at school, which although preferable to say geography, not that much of an influence. Most of my life from mid teens was spent sailing, latterley racing a singlehander wich entailed driving the length and breadth of the country saw me in the top three at the championships for six years with three bronze two silvers and a gold for my efforts. However whilst the mind may have been 27 the body wasn't and it was getting harder, so acknowledging the advancing years retired from the racing scene.
After a while i wondered what I was now going to do to fill my time, watecolour painting appealed to me and thus my real artistic journey began. Early efforts were pretty dire and it didn't occur to me to take a course! Lots of reading from the library and around that time te Watercolour Challenge series started so that helped.
I also followed Ron Ranson, but could never get to grips with his loose style, something about my meticulous mind I guess, inspirations, too many and varied to mention. I remember Adrian Hill and of course the newcomer Tony Hart, I guess that ages me (lol)
Posted
As a child and teenager, I envied my older sister's artistic abilities. she is 5 years older and so she was always going to be better than me, so I decided not to compete. After taking A level's (including Art), I took a science and Psychology degree, followed by counselling and management qualifications, but I always knew, that when I retired I would put brush to canvas. So I have been painting for over 2 years now.
My sister became an art teacher and stopped painting, but I have encouraged her to join the classes that I attend and start painting again. She is still better than me, but I don't care - I'm going to do it anyway. I'm never short of ideas for the next series of paintings. the biggest problem is deciding what not to paint.
Posted
Such profound and interesting answers.............I feel a bit of a fraud!
Nobody influenced my interest in art.
For fifty something years, I'd never been interested in looking at it or painting it. Just didn't come into my mind, and therefore into my life. A complete ignoramous in all things "arty". Picasso? A make of car isn't it?
A couple of years ago, passing the local art supplies shop, I suddenly, and for no apparent reason, went in and bought a set of watercolours. I don't know why, and certainly had no idea what to do with them. I still thought in terms of the old posterpaints we messed around with at school. Tried a few books and DVDS which didn't really help. Then I discovered POL, and got loads of good advise and a sense of direction, not only in watercolours, but arcylics, and soon I'll be trying oils. I'm still trying, still learning, still enjoying every aspect of art. And still no idea where my interest came from. Mrs C has sometimes asked why I didn't paint earlier in life. I can only answer, because nobody said I could.
Influences? None. Rather late in life, I enjoy looking around art galleries - the National Gallery had a profound effect, as did a recent visit to Italy. I like to look, and appreciate all sorts of art. But copy someone elses style? Thanks, I'll do my own thing.
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