Hobbies and the Arts

joyful164

Was wondering if anyone else had a hobby (now, let's keep it clean)
that would be interesting to read about.

I think I know a fair bit about art and technique to explain how to paint in watercolours, oils and acrylics.
There are lots of other mediums such as pastels and watercolour pencils, oil pastels etc.
I know there are other artists on the forum and perhaps they could explain a technique aswell, something they have learned to do.
I think, when you have something like arthritis, it is necessary to have something to keep your fingers and hands busy for awhile (with rests in between obviously)
Also, you can lose yourself in your hobby, and you can forget your pain too. May seem hard to believe, but it does.
And it gives you something positive to think about, because once you start one piece of work, you are busy thinking about the next one you are going to do.
And, in the case of painting, you start looking at the world around you in a different light.

Joy

joanlawson

Hi Joy

I have just returned from my art class, which is run by a branch of A.Care. Most of us there have Arthur of one sort and another, but we all enjoy painting and drawing in different media. I think we all find that it distracts us from pain, and it is very enjoyable. We have a wonderful teacher who encourages and instructs us, so it is a very happy group.

Joan

skezier

Hi Joy,

I turned my real hobby into a way of life but I still love playing with a camera and i love writing... Used to paint but my eyes make things too close difficult and any way beyond a A level in art I ain't much good Cris xx

babette

Hi Joy

I did a degree in Art during the 80's then worked as a freelance illustrator for ten years while the family was young, but in the end I fell out of love with drawing and painting because of the grind involved in trying to make a living. Haven't touched a brush for years! I did retrain as a teacher though and the children benefit from the lovely (lol;) sketches I make on the whiteboard during lessons. I couldn't face teaching secondary art so I have wee P1's (Reception) instead! Fab!! I think the constant drawing (when I did illustration) has affected my hands though, because they're always very stiff and claw like in the morning. Glad you love art, I just wish I had done it as a hobby rather than a career, because then I might still be drawing with the same drive and passion I had in my twenties. My biggest hobby these days is reading ( can't get enough of it) I just love words! This passion I can pass on to the kids in my charge and to see their progress is just so amazing.

B x

joyful164

Hello Babette.

Some of us do not seem to have got the luck that a 7 year old lad in Norfolk has. Hehas his pictures in the gallery at Holt and his pictures are bringingin £900 a time. He has a personal tutor, so it makes you wonder doesn't it.

Most of the Impressionist, apart from Constable found it hard going. Tisot was fairly successful. About 15 years ago, I purchased a picture at our local gallery for £400, because I thought it would be worth something. It was by a local artist who came from Norfolk. Andrew Amis or something like that. When I look at it now, I realise that I could do similar work myself now.

I do struggle with my hands at times and find sketching difficult, but I now tend to sketch in large books and with felt tips. You can also buy these special grips for your brushes andpens. There is also a range of brushes. Don't know what make they are, but theyhave fat handles easy to hold and they are only £1.99 each. Most good art shops have them.

Anyway. I could talk art all night so see you later

Joy

ichabod6

I work (purely as a hobby) in watercolour, charcoal,pastels and
watercolour pencils but my favourite is painting in pen and ink.
I use my Parker 61 fountain pen which my twinkle bought me
many many years ago. For washes I use my fingertips and
occasionally a number 2 sable brush.
I started doing this on the backs of briefs whilst in court
waiting for my case to be called and have carried on to these
happy years when the government pays me for staying alive.
When RA struck and my wrists and fingers were stiff it was
relatively easy to hold and still is.
Even more occasionally I may add one or two watercolour
washes.
The big joy is that my nine year old grand daughter has tried
and likes it.

livinglegend

The main difference is that people look and artists see.

Just look around your home, try to see the way light is reflected off a surface. Look for the different tones and subtle changes of colour on a flat or curved surface.

Go close up to any object; looking for small details and imagine how you would draw/paint it. Where would you start? What would you need to look for especially? What medium would you use to produce the best picture? Would you use a white or tinted background? Why not draw it upside down or on its side? If using watercolour, what weight of paper and why? How much detail are you going to give it? What style are you going to use or have you developed your own? How large, how small?

Above all, know WHY you are choosing to do what you do.

Always leave spaces in trees for the birds to fly through. Trees should not be a solid shape of paint or the birds bump into them.

Joseph 8)

babette

livinglegend wrote:

The main difference is that people look and artists see.

Hi Joseph

You are so right about this. To give an example; our school Education Officer (paid too much to spout tosh at us teachers; the phrase about grannys sucking eggs springs to mind) came in to my class to observe an art lesson. I had older kids at the time. We were painting a still life and I had spent the previous 20 mins or so talking to the kids about looking at reflected light and the colours cast in the shadows of the fruit (we had decided they were a deep blueish colour). Then I overheard the big, pompous numpty telling one of the kids in class to paint the shadows black. Luckily she said to him, "Ms Scott made us look at them and they're blue!"
Victory!!!!!!!!Wanted to do lap of honour round the room with shirt over my head screaming na na na na na!
I think this illustrates your point wonderfully!

B x

joanlawson

I lost my confidence with painting, and didn't pick up a brush for about a year. I think I got an attack of ''blank paper syndrome'' and was afraid to even try. But then I decided to give it another go, and not to worry about the end product too much, but to enjoy the experience of painting for its own sake. I now have a much more relaxed attitude and my enthusiasm has returned.

Always leave spaces in trees for the birds to fly through. Trees should not be a solid shape of paint or the birds bump into them.

I see now why all those dead birds keep appearing in my paintings :!:

joyful164

ichabod6 wrote:

I work (purely as a hobby) in watercolour, charcoal,pastels and
watercolour pencils but my favourite is painting in pen and ink.
I use my Parker 61 fountain pen which my twinkle bought me
many many years ago. For washes I use my fingertips and
occasionally a number 2 sable brush.
I started doing this on the backs of briefs whilst in court
waiting for my case to be called and have carried on to these
happy years when the government pays me for staying alive.
When RA struck and my wrists and fingers were stiff it was
relatively easy to hold and still is.
Even more occasionally I may add one or two watercolour
washes.
The big joy is that my nine year old grand daughter has tried
and likes it.

joyful164

joyful164 wrote:

ichabod6 wrote:

I work (purely as a hobby) in watercolour, charcoal,pastels and
watercolour pencils but my favourite is painting in pen and ink.
I use my Parker 61 fountain pen which my twinkle bought me
many many years ago. For washes I use my fingertips and
occasionally a number 2 sable brush.
I started doing this on the backs of briefs whilst in court
waiting for my case to be called and have carried on to these
happy years when the government pays me for staying alive.
When RA struck and my wrists and fingers were stiff it was
relatively easy to hold and still is.
Even more occasionally I may add one or two watercolour
washes.
The big joy is that my nine year old grand daughter has tried
and likes it.

I love experimenting with other tools including fingers with my work. I am doing another pen and wash (with acrylic paint thin like watercolour) it is on board and I love the way acrylic moves around the work. I am enjoying bringing in different sizes of pen and there is a lot of dark shadow in the trees leading into the hole in the tree where the owls are. It could look black but to me there is nosuch thing as black shadow. Three of my grandchildren show a good eye and technique with their paintings and they are only 9, and two aged 7 I love painting sessions with them.
Happy Painting
Joy

joyful164

Sorry about the previous post. My hand starting shaking and I pressed the mouse at the wrong time.
I hate it when my hand starts shaking. Worried it will happen in the middle of a picture, which is why I don't seem to do so many watercolours at the moment. At least with oils or acrylics you can go over it. I am pretty tired at the moment just got back from the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge looking at the Sargent, Sickert and Spencer exhibition.
Joseph, thanks for your insight on starting a picture. I am on the verge of starting a commission. It is a picture of a greyhound. I have been sketching this creature morning noon and night, now think I am ready to commence. Canvas is primed and I shall start fresh tomorrow. I shall work in acrylic and if I don't like the finished product, I shall try going over it is oils. Apparently Shepard did that a lot with his wildlife. I have just finished my picture of a leopard and I'm finding the drawing of animals and birds more enjoyable than humans.
My biggest question I would like to ask you. How do you know what subject to choose in the hope that you will sell it. I have lost count. I don't know how to put it but "does size matter?" Do you think people go for smaller pictures or larger ones. What's the largest picture you have done?

Joy

annebr

I love are but can't paint or draw to save myself. I read a lot always have, even as a wee girl of 4 or 5 I always had a book. And I sew. I have just finished a couple of samplers one an alphabet upper & lower case in a gothic script and a house & cat one. Just doing a design for a baby sampler for a friend who had a baby girl.

Anne

tkachev

I did attend art college doing fashion and design but it was too much like school (which I hated). I soon left.
I totally agree with Joy about helping to forget the pain. You can get so lost in a drawing. I will be starting art classes in March and am looking forward to it as I look at objects and people so differently nowadays and would like to see if I have improved.
I do have to help my son with his art homework but end up taking over! He has had a few house points lately. I am trying to encourage him and hope he is picking up important information about how to draw. That is my excuse anyway....
Elizabeth

joanlawson

Hi

Going back to what Joseph said,

The main difference is that people look and artists see.

I think this is so true, but you can train yourself to see by really observing things around you in detail.

Who would have thought that a painting of an ordinary chair could become a masterpiece of colour and brushstrokes, but Van Gogh proved that this can happen.

jaspercat

Hi, I like doing Tapestry when my hands let me, also love knitting and have finally finishes a jumper for me that I have been doing for 6 months, I am no good at writing, but love reading of all different types love Jaspercatxx

joyful164

I would like to get my tapestries finished, but there are never enough hours in the day and I am no good do it at night. The light is never very good for my eyes these days.

Joy

joyful164

tkachev wrote:

I did attend art college doing fashion and design but it was too much like school (which I hated). I soon left.
I totally agree with Joy about helping to forget the pain. You can get so lost in a drawing. I will be starting art classes in March and am looking forward to it as I look at objects and people so differently nowadays and would like to see if I have improved.
I do have to help my son with his art homework but end up taking over! He has had a few house points lately. I am trying to encourage him and hope he is picking up important information about how to draw. That is my excuse anyway....
Elizabeth

Just go for it Elizabeth. Make it your time whenever you can. My daughter was a brilliant artist, but she is a bit of a snob now when it comes to art. She follows the crowd when it comes to choosing abstract and feels that this is the only sort to feel anything for. When I look back to the work she did for her GCSE and then A level, I now realise that there was a very strong influence from her tutor. I don't think she does very much at the moment.
joy

joyful164

joanlawson wrote:

Hi

Going back to what Joseph said,

The main difference is that people look and artists see.

I think this is so true, but you can train yourself to see by really observing things around you in detail.

Who would have thought that a painting of an ordinary chair could become a masterpiece of colour and brushstrokes, but Van Gogh proved that this can happen.

I love it when you are not only observing things, but you are painting it in your mind. On the coach coming back from Cambridge on Saturday, we were all looking at a beautiful cloud formation and sunset, some were trying to photograph it, but I was able to hold this vision in my head and then transport it to the picture I was painting on Sunday of a greyhound. I have set Benny the greyhound in a landscape and have painted the sky I saw on Saturday into the picture.

Joy

wallysatt

I love music and graduated with a music degree in 2005. I then went on to do a masters in music performance and graduated in 2008. I love performing and have done quite a lot of it although I don’t do much of it now.

I also love knitting and go to all sorts of different clubs, we have a great laugh and I've met some lovely friends.

wallysatt

Had I had a few or was it serious?

wallysatt

Ahhh fanks...