Thursday 11 June 2015

Summer of colour 1

When I remember my school art lessons the thing that first springs to mind is that our art room was at the top of the East block of classrooms. Five floors up. So for many of my art lessons I was out of breath for the first five minutes after running up the stairs after the previous lesson elsewhere in the school.  I remember one lesson in particular which was immediately after us all having our BCG inoculations.   I remember sitting in a circle with our easels, drawing some still life in the centre of the classroom. My friend Nicky wanted to get my attention so she punched me on the arm.  The same arm that had just had an injection in it – ouch!  So you see although I have memories of art lessons, they don’t really involve drawing or painting, in fact they seem to involve pain of one type or another!  You won't be surprise to hear that when we had to choose our O level options at the beginning of the 4th year, art did not appear on my list.

I would love to be good at drawing. My husband is, and can easily sketch something.  I see him pick up a sketch pad and a pencil and he is able to capture a scene.  But for me, it just doesn’t happen. So when I decided to join in with the Summer of Colour, it never once crossed my mind to do something that involved drawing.  My first thought was to do something that involved fabric.  But then I decided it was time to step out of my comfort zone; have a go at something different.  I felt sure that maybe the nature of the project would find me if I just opened my mind.

Fast forward to me checking Instagram.  I see several pictures from Deb at PaperTurtle drawing mandalas.  They are beautiful, and she sure manages to draw a lot of them!  So I decided to give it a try and guess what?  I found it incredibly relaxing.  I was really absorbed in the task and whilst the end result was definitely not to Deb Turtle's standard, I was quietly pleased with it.  You can see where the ‘Eureka’ moment is coming from can’t you?  So yes, my Summer of Colour will be done via mandalas.  It’s a simple way to interpret the colour schemes and also pushing me to try something new.  Who knows, by the end of it I may be able to draw a straight line with a ruler and a circle with a compass (at the moment, both of these things are causing me grief!)

The first choice was blue + blue + green.  And this is what I have made ...
 
I know it's really simple and that when I check out what other people have done I'm going to feel like I should have done something more dramatic and arty but I really enjoyed doing it so I'm going to stick with my plan.
 
Linking up with Summer of Colour here 

 

 

 


 


19 comments:

alexa said...

It's lovely! How wonderful you've found something which lets you push out the boat a bit, but yet really enjoy the whole process. Looking forward to seeing how it all develops for you :).

GlorV1 said...

I think it's wonderful. It's simplicity is what makes it. Straight from your soul. Great work. Nice to meet you.

Deb @ PaperTurtle said...

Oh, Deb, I just LOVE this!!! I am SO happy that you are enjoying drawing mandalas. Yours is beautiful! Remember though, that the point of drawing a mandala is more about the journey than the finished piece - but I for one can't help admiring some of the finished pieces I see. It took much practice for me to be able to use a compass - it will come in time! Just keep at it. And keep posting photos of your lovely mandalas. Hooray!!! :o)!!!

sue :) said...

I think this is wonderful too, very detailed using all the colours suggested in SOC. Can't wait to see next weeks version. x

Abi said...

I think this is so beautiful. It's clean and bright. I admire you for stepping out of your comfort zone too!

Christine said...

nice work!

Linda Kunsman said...

gorgeous mandala-and a wonderfully creative theme to work with each week! Looking forward to seeing more.

Sharon Fritchman said...

I just LOVE mandalas and have tried to draw them, too. They are not easy!!! I love what you did using this week's SOC colors! Simply beautiful!!!! HUGS!

Deborah Weber said...

Oh I think this is fabulous Deb. Not only is the mandala lovely in itself, but I think it's delightful you've chosen to give yourself a bit of a stretch and choose to do something unfamiliar. Yay to that! I find drawing mandalas is addictive and wonderful fun - here's to plenty of that in this SOC.

Ileana said...

I love art that's meditative and your piece is beautiful. Can't wait to see more of what you do.

helena said...

beautiful piece, a great idea for SOC. Art was on the top floor in my school too so likewise each lesson started with us all out of breath

scrappyjacky said...

I think it's lovely...and you've worked the colours together so well.

Miriam said...

I also think this is lovely! I don't find it easy to draw mandalas. My art class was at the top of the building too!

Laila said...

Beautiful mandala in those lovely colors.

Maria Ontiveros said...

I think it's a great choice. I drew lots of mandalas on my last business trip. They are super relaxing

Sian said...

Fantastic! I love your art room memories too..mine would be very similar. I was a C grade art student, though I'd probably been given an A for talking..

froebelsternchen said...

Great take on the colors!




FROEBELSTERNCHEN
ART-JOURNAL-JOURNEY-CHALLENGE
MOO-MANIA & MORE -CHALLENGE

Kristin said...

xo

Rolina said...

You know what? You CAN draw!